The ManicaPost
Your dosage for the week
Morris Mtisi Education Correspondent
WHY do we Zimbabweans, Africans, second-language learners, continue to make the same errors over and over again? I am not a stickler for researches yet I am horribly fascinated by the way we seem to fail to grasp or master these errors and push them to the back burner of our teaching and learning process forever. Are we just dumb or is it an attitude problem?Why do special writers and speakers, people doing responsible jobs in big offices continue to make the same errors over and over again? Are we proving to the world that we have no aptitude to learn? What with our diplomas, degrees and doctorates? Are we proving that we can indeed be thick in the head when it comes to learning the so called Queens language? How come these days you spend many years in the educational pipeline but go through it without anyone pointing out these errors to you? Just what is wrong with today’s education? Both boys and girls learn more about how to twist their mouths and tongues when speaking, some through their noses to sound genuine British or American. But it is not the sound, the music or accent that makes English correct. You must master the art of threading speech or writing without breeching rules of grammar in the contexts of both syntax and semantics. Critical.
I do not for one minute understand why we continue to speak and write ‘in hot soup’, instead of ‘in the soup’ meaning ‘in serious trouble’. Does the soup have to be hot to express seriousness?
Why do we continue discussing ‘about’ issues, instead of simply ‘discussing’ issues? Why do we continue to call our eldest child in the family ‘the first born’ then obviously the ‘third born, the fourth and fifth born’ and so forth? Are we not able to learn that the youngest is ‘the youngest’ and not the ‘last born’?
Where did you learn the language, ‘yesterday but one’ or last year but one or next year but one or last week but one? Certainly not from the English speakers! Certainly not from good English Language textbooks!
I personally do not remember how many terrible common errors I have identified in passages appearing in popular English language textbooks currently in use in schools.
Why do we continue to say ‘irregardless’, speak about a durawall, a cheater (referring to someone who cheats), overspeeding and pensioners, pronounced ‘penjeniyaz’ referring to those pensioned. Do we not hear or understand that there are no words like that in the English Language?
We keep on saying or writing, ‘I wanted to fix him’ or she was impregnated or I wash my body twice a day or what a wonderful structure she has! or comprise of. . . or none of the boys ‘are’ instead of ‘is’ or ‘she was married by’, instead of ‘she married…’ or ‘she was or is married to’. . . How many times have you seen or heard these errors exhaustively reviewed and underlined in this your newspaper or on air by your radio teacher on Diamond FM?
We all still talk and write about ‘smelling beer, oranges or onions instead of ‘smelling of. . .’ or every day we bravely and confidently refer to what we buy at the supermarket as ‘grocery’ instead of ‘groceries’ or say ‘can you borrow me some money’ instead of ‘can you kindly lend or loan me some money’? or call human children ‘kids’ when we know ‘kids’ are the young ones of goats or ‘eating or enjoying rice with chicken’ instead of ‘. . .and chicken or say he was ‘putting on’ a red dress today’ instead of ‘…wearing a red dress today.’ What about ‘grocery worth so and so American dollars’? These are called groceries, not grocery! ‘Grocery’ refers to the shop where groceries are sold.
When will we permanently avoid these embarrassing errors that reduce our social status and sizes of our offices and ego. . .and for students compromise our intellectual and academic levels and obviously pass rate? For journalists, this is most embarrassing. We should be exemplary, should we not? For teachers it is not only embarrassing. It is a crime.
The point is we do not take these errors seriously. For some reason we say and think they do not matter. ‘After all we are not American or British people,’ many of us say. Of course we are not, and will never be! But why do we continue to follow their examination systems and use their language for business, travel and education? Why do we not ignore inaccuracies in scientific, historical and mathematical facts when we are teaching or marking examinations? How long will it take us to realise that while we proudly and deservedly won our freedom and sovereignty in the political context, we will never ever win the war against use of the English Language for national development. The reason is simple. . .and obviously very unfortunate. I honestly and sincerely wish we could abandon English tomorrow. In socio-political and economic development we need to interact with the world. That is the cruel truth. And for now there is only one way to do it, namely via English language! It is the language for flying, for business, for politics, for commerce and industry, for lawyers and doctors, for swimming, for life and for dying. So it is important to make sure you clearly and correctly speak or write what you mean and are understood in the correct context.
If you want your child or children to go far in education in his or her pursuit of success, do not forget to advise and assist them to thoroughly master the English Language. The mastery of English language will make them better in whatever field of interest or career. How to do that is another thing, but certainly a must-do.
