Don’t speak, write like this!

24 Feb, 2017 - 00:02 0 Views

The ManicaPost

Morris MtisiONE of the most stubborn errors people make is the use of ‘discuss’. Almost everyone you hear, say every eight out of 10 speakers will say: “We are here to discuss about……..” The word ‘discuss’ is never followed by ‘about’. You cannot speak like this. You cannot write like this. When such an error occurs especially in the public domain, radio, television or newspaper, it reduces all the speaker’s or writer’s effort to sparkle as a gentleman, lady or celebrity.

Don’t speak or write about making tea or coffee. No matter how beautifully you say it, British or American accent, those who know will not stop asking, “How does he/she MAKE tea or coffee? A god of sorts?” Tea was made by God. We only boil it, add sugar and milk and enjoy the hot beverage.

Talking about teas and coffees, we do not ‘put’ teaspoon of sugar in them. This is a multi-pronged error. First, we do not ‘put’ sugar. We ‘add’ sugar. Remember there is already the hot water, the tea-leaves, coffee and milk. Second, you do not add teaspoons, do you? You add teaspoonsful sugar – not teaspoons of sugar (Shona). If you listen to yourself carefully you will realise or pick up the error. Some people talk about ‘teaspoonfuls’. It is ‘teaspoonsful sugar’ – not ‘of sugar’, please note. ‘Teaspoons of sugar’ is an example of very common transliteration (Shonglish).

Have you heard or read: “He stole her meat”? Interesting isn’t it? Perfect Shona and perfect nonsense in English.

These days it is very common, fashionable perhaps to hear people say: “If we win votes of like 500 people” – or “We spent like three days in the hotel” You sit down and you are like really? It is like he is fed up with her behaviour etc.

People are now too lazy to think what “It’s like” means. It’s simple, isn’t it? “It’s like” means ‘It resembles.’ How does this then come into ‘spent like three days’? Are we saying the days resembled three? Awful English isn’t it? Not awesome!

Do we go for lunch, supper etc? Think! Be careful! Do we go for lessons? Of-course this is the language we hear people speak. English speakers and writers who know what ‘for’ means will say, “We go to lunch at one o’clock. After that we go to our lessons”- better still “…..go to our classes”. The point is we ‘go to’ all the time, not ‘for’. When you go somewhere you physically move from one point to another, don’t you? It can therefore never be moving ‘for’ but moving ‘to’ Got the point? Thank you.

One other difficult expression people make, including, seemingly learned people I know, is the use of “One of……..”

  1. One of the suit belongs to Joseph.(incorrect)
  2. One of the school is owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church.(incorrect)
  3. One of the pen doesn’t write.(incorrect)

All the above sentences are wrong. What confuses the speaker, or writers is the mention of ‘One’. If we are talking of ‘one’, it must be one suit, one school, one pen. So the above wrong sentences appear and sound correct: “One of the suit,” one of the school…etc” The speaker or writer forgets that we are not talking about ‘One’ but ‘One of…’ This means one of many suits, schools, pens etc.

The following sentences are accordingly correct:

  1. One of the suits belongs to Joseph.
  2. One of the schools belongs
  3. One of the pens doesn’t write.

Yes, it can be quite confusing because even grammatically the above 3 sentences seem wrong. To have ‘belongs’ after plurals “suits” and “schools” indeed appears to be grammatically wrong, doesn’t it? But hello, we are not talking about suits or schools, but one of them….hence the appropriateness of ‘belongs’. The same for number three. We are not talking about ‘pens’ but one of them, hence the appropriateness of ‘does not write’, and not ‘do not write’.

It is critically important to speak or write proper English because oftentimes not doing so tarnishes or interferes with our effort to project a learned or celebrated status or image.

Newspapers and magazines whose writers (journalists and reporters) make too many of these errors tarnish their own images and their newspapers. The same goes for radio and television. It is not the noisy excitement or borrowed British- American accent that builds the image and celebration, but above all the hoity-toity, the correctness of the English language.

If you can’t, why not resort to the vernacular? It’s better to speak and write perfect vernacular than resort to English and breach all the acknowledged rules of grammar.

Please note, these English lessons based on Corrective Tuition are strictly intended for pupils and students who want to write examinations and are our future journalists, correspondents, reporters, columnists, radio and television presenters.

Share This:

Sponsored Links

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds