The ManicaPost
Morris Mtisi
WHEN schools open look forward to the above development.
The English language is not our first language. To many people, both teachers and learners, it is not even a second language. It is a third or fourth language. As such there are many errors we make in both speech and writing. These are a result of several reasons.
First, and perhaps most notorious of all, are errors caused by mother-tongue interference. This refers to the habit or tendency to think in the mother-tongue and then translate into English. Linguists call this Transliteration. Examples are: 1.They ate their money foolishly and ended up destitute. 2. The man we are talking about has beards. 3.Pirai walked all the way home, but Toky came with a bus. Pirai akafamba kusvika kumba, asi Toky akauya nedutavanhu (bhazi is acceptable.)
There are also errors caused by sheer ignorance: For example, not knowing that butchery refers to the shop where meat is sold and the man who runs that business, a butcher; that what we buy and eat are groceries, not grocery; that the wall around our house is a pre-cast wall, not a durawall; that we pack clothes in a travelling bag, not a monarch. Durawall and Monarch are names of business companies, the former known for putting up such walls around homes and the latter for manufacturing these popular and common travelling bags. There are hundreds, if not thousands more common errors.
Some errors are caused by confusing the sounds and ending up not knowing what word is correct in what context. Examples: later or latter; comprise or consist; specially or especially; temper or tamper; tailor or teller; site or cite or sight; jealous or jealousy; nuisance or nonsense; compliment or complement; envelope or envelop; wealth or wealthy; health or healthy; except or accept; their or there or they; death or dearth; persecute or execute or prosecute and slap or clap, among others. Linguists call this type of error Malapropism. We do not clap people in the face, we slap them.
The game that is commonly played during lunch hours in the industrial sites is not called draft, but droughts, meaning the pieces moved from one box to another during the game. There is no room called mu‘dining’-(watch the spelling…no two n’s). This room is called a dining-room. Dining is a verb…an action word…a doing word. ‘Dining’ refers to a social lunch where family or friends or a group of people enjoy the scrumptiousness of food. So you cannot say, ‘I was in the dining.’
We do not talk about cover-beds or sheet-beds in English. They are bed-covers and bed-sheets.
You cannot say, “I saw the President with my own eyes. Is it not obvious that we use eyes to see? ‘I saw the President…is enough. Do not say, ‘I heard it with my own ears.’ We use ears to hear…what else would we use? Of course these are not typical errors. They are simply nonsense statements we make in English and must be avoided. They do not emphasise anything. They are simply foolish statements. It is as foolish as saying, ‘he killed her and she died.” Interesting nonsense, isn’t it? Or ‘she was bleeding blood from the mouth.’ Aida ku ‘bleeder’ chii if it is not blood? Linguists call this type of error Pleonasm.
There are many more types or errors which cheapen, weaken and indeed make our English language funny, not fun.
Spelling is another area that needs serious attention from a tender age in school. A lot of little words give both children and adult learners a torrid time: words like writing or writing; believe or believe; receipt or receipt; cabagge or cabbage; priviledge or privilege; refrigerator or refridgerator and knowledge or knowledge. There are hundreds of these little words whose spelling is tricky business…interesting nuisance. A lot of educated or learned professors still find these words and more difficult to spell. What can be more fun than teaching spelling through spelling bees? We cannot overemphasise the criticalness of correct spelling in any form of written work, can we?
There is no better way to teach these numerous notorious errors than through quiz. Pupils love competitions and what they learn here while they are still young is mastered forever.
Finally, Literature Quiz: We have completed compiling lots of important revision questions from various Literature set books. ‘We’ refers to The Manica Post, Diamond FM Radio’s Head-to-Head programme. Several NGO’s have indicated interest in partnering this noble idea and project.
We look forward to more!
Both Primary Schools and Secondary Schools are welcome to become members and participate in these competitions. Contact me on 0773 883 293 (also on WhatsApp) indicating your interest. You are free to participate, as a school, in both Literature Quiz and Spelling-Common Errors Competitions. Simply indicate your interest and we will give you details of how to take part.
Our goal is to start around Mutare in the second term (2018) but slowly grow into other districts and eventually the whole of Manicaland…then of course finally all provinces of Zimbabwe.
The Manica Post and DiamondFM Radio through their special education development programmes are dedicated to making learning and teaching easy and enjoyable. Be in touch!
