We aren’t having our usual lecturing as a preamble to this column’s cardinal task of dishing out linguistic gems, for space won’t permit. Why, our basket of goodies is overly full today, and so, here we go…

A fervent follower of this column, one Ali Makengo, sent us screenshot of a partial page from Bongo’s senior-most broadsheet (July 28 edition) in which the headline for a feature article reads thus: ‘Visit the valley where a river turned TO water’.

Our subbing colleague has—as it often happens to many of us, to whom English isn’t our indigenous language—shot himself in the foot with misguided preposition.

The preposition has widely been said to be the most treacherous component in the English language grammar.

Let’s refresh the reader with how our wordbook define preposition. It says that a preposition is a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun, expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause.

Check, for instance the words we capitalise: “Look AT the man ON the stage right now.” Or, “Ms Semvua arrived BEFORE dinner.”

In everyday speech, using a preposition at the end of a sentence is also common, e.g. “What did you invite him here FOR?”

We say the preposition is a most treacherous component in English grammar because we can hardly state a rule that guides its usage. You just have to subscribe to the way the indigenous users apply them, period!

And then, you need to note, a “misuse” may bring about a message that you didn’t intend to communicate.

For example, in the headline we cite above, i.e. “…a river turned TO blood,” there’s this unlikely suggestion that the said river “reached out to blood, probably to ask for help!”

That’s nonsensical of course, but that’s what the clause is suggesting! The headline writer, we aver, set out to say, “…where a river turned INTO blood.”

We move on to Friday, August 1 and pick up copy of Bongo’s huge and colourful broadsheet whose Page 6 has a story with the headline, ‘Major solar-powered steel factory to bolster Dodoma’s industrial landscape’.

Let’s look at what the scribbler writes in Para 4: “The commitment from the Chinese investors signals a STRONG vote of confidence in Dodoma’s potential…. Regional Commissioner Siyamule WARMLY welcomed the investors…commending their strategic choice of Dodoma…”

How measurable is the strength of the said vote of confidence? Dropping the adjective “strong” would make the sentence shorter and the message would remain the same. That’s journalese.

And then, the RC simply welcomed the investors. Drop the “warmly” since, needless is simply an imaginary thing which readers can’t tell how the scribbler quantified it.

Finally on Saturday, August 2, Bongo’s senior-most broadsheet ran a front Page1 story entitled, ‘EACLC set to drive industrialisation, regional trade integration.’ In his intro, the scribbler reports: “The newly launched East Africa Commercial and Logistics Centre (EACLC), has been designed with a STRONG focus on local impact aiming to boost trade…”

What value does the adjective “strong” add to the figurative “focus”? Let’s say it again, that the using adjectives or adverbs to define situations that are not scientifically observable is engaging in intellectual wastefulness. It would suffice it to simply say:”…. The newly launched…(EACLC), has been designed with a FOCUS on…”

On Page 5, there’s an assortment of pictures, one of which has a caption that reads: “The Executive Director of JKCI Dr Peter Kisenge hands over a model OF HEART to the Chairman of the Heart Transplant Committee….”

Is it grammatically correct to say a model of heart? Nope; we say model of THE heart…

Ah, this treacherous language called English!

Send your photos and linguistic gems to email abdisul244@gmail.com or WhatsApp on +255688315580Read More