Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Timothy Stamps
13 July 2009
opinion
Harare — England may, in the past, have acquired an empire, but Britannia no longer rules the waves. The plot is now much more subtle. English aims to rule the air waves, and its progress, to date, is encouraging more and more people to become Anglophone.
I use the "Anglophone" advisedly, because the alternative -- literate -- is more elusive. Sir Ernest Gowers, a noble lexicographer, maintained that language was an instrument for conveying ideas from one mind to another.
Whether or not that is done depends on both the skill of the communicator, and the precision, or at least, the common understanding of the meaning of the words used is clear, not only to the immediate participants, but to a wider audience of hearers or readers, both at the time and in future generations.
My daughter studied, at A-Level, amongst other authors in the English language, Chaucer, and it is impossible to know what he's getting at without a translation.
Contrast that, if you will, with a 6th century Welsh poem, which can be understood by any Welsh-speaking person without any need to resort to translation into modern meanings.
I suppose many fewer people have read, or need to refer to an old poem in Welsh, than those who read or need to quote the Canterbury Tales, but it illustrates how much the ordinary English expressions have changed over the past nine centuries.
It shows what Dr Samuel Johnson was hinting at when he resisted the imposition of strict rules in English grammar as "being contrary to the spirit English liberty".
But that does not detract from the need for clarity of expression, if one intends the point to come across. A spanner is not the best tool to use to knock a nail down, though it is frequently used for that purpose. A hammer is precise and exerts the force just where and when it is needed on the name.
English also has this extensive ability to "steal" from other languages, although I suppose the politically correct thing to say is "borrow on a long-term basis without acknowledgment and rent-free, later assimilating it as though it were an English word".
Some would claim it illustrates the nature of the English in other spheres appropriating land, for instance. Suffice to say that, in the present context, no other language is safe from the need, or greed, of the English language for new words, or phrases. Although the French have suffered the most, a lot of English words, especially in field of medicine, have been directly lifted from so-called "dead languages", such as Latin and classical Greek.
Indeed, the English language is also inventing words, and recently recorded a total of one million words although whether that included several meanings of a word, such as "bow" is not clear.
My father used to claim that modern English language was created with three main objectives:
1. To confuse cryptic crossword solvers by giving clues which were deliberately misleading;
2. To ensure that contracts were so written that they were open to different interpretations.
3. To enable politicians to deny that they ever said what they were said to have said.
Certainly, on the last point, we have many recent illustrations. Apart from the more frequently quoted examples, the one to me which was the choicest quote, being at that time directly, and negatively, involved, was the comment, in 2001, by Jack Straw, that the British NHS (public health service) did not employ any Zimbabwean nurses.
He was, of course, strictly correct. The NHS engaged agencies, which independently recruited nurses, and a lot of other health personnel educated and trained here, because they spoke English and understood communication well.
Joseph Stalin, in one of his rare statements in the public Press, reacted strongly to Churchill's Fulton (Missouri) 1946 speech, appealing for the unity of the English-speaking people", as both the inheritors and the custodians of world peace:
"Now Mr Churchill is starting his process of unleashing war (like Hitler) with a racial theory, declaring that only those who speak English are full-blooded nations, whose vocation it is to control the fate of the whole world . . ."
Never has so clear a prophecy come true, within less than 60 years. The US and UK "and her allies" invaded Iraq on a patent distortion in 2003, and now the world economy is in a tailspin because of the arrogant, but foolish English- speaking controllers of the world financial, fiscal and economic institutions.
But the blame, ultimately, belongs to those who deliberately or carelessly distorted the plain purpose of language, which is to communicate ideas clearly and consistently.
Here academia must take its share of the blame. Academic articles, especially those related to sociological or human behavioural observations, are very prone to this trend, particularly those involving communities. People end up to become numbers, to bolster quasi-scientific arguments and such articles tend to be peppered with tables and graphs purporting to prove theories, which the several authors of the article set out to show.
One of my favourite quotes is from Professor Bela Schick, originator of the famous Schick test for diphtheria: "You can prove anything from statistics -- even the truth!" I think this is better than the much more frequently quoted statement from the British prime minister in the 19th century, Benjamin Disraeli, that "there are lies, damned lies, and statistics".
But, with all this lack of clarity, there comes a much darker side of language, namely, the language, which is set out deliberately to mislead. Covering up for lack of oratory skills is forgivable (and increasingly frequent).
For example, this extremely dense way of describing a one-on-one interview as "a face-to-face interaction in which the participants are immediately present to one another and share a common spatial temporal reference system".
But deliberate falsehoods such as Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans have had to suffer over the past decade are much more harmful and tend to leave wounds, which take time to heal.
Barry Turner, to whom I'm grateful for the quote, says: "The weasel words of sociology have carried over to management studies . . . The essence of good management, it seems, is to avoid saying what you really mean. So it is that meetings have become "brainstorming sessions" and desks are "work units". Employees are no longer sacked, they are "outplaced" (and, can I add, companies are no longer shrunk, they are "downsized" or more obscurely "right-sized".
"Nobody (modern) has aims anymore; they have 'mission statements' . . . The language of mystification has only one motive. It is to persuade the uninitiated that simple ideas are actually highly complex, a let out for those who are none too sure of their academic credentials."
And Lucy Kellaway (the financial commentator to the Times newspaper) complains how sporting metaphors have invaded the boardrooms, long after the users played a physical game, talking about "ball parks" and "level playing fields" -- and, may I add, "moving the goalposts", in the quest for better health or what is euphemistically called good governance and political commitment.
I must admit freely I have no idea what the last two couplets means, but they are increasingly frequently used in international statements and memoranda of understanding.
The decline of the crisp meaning of the English language is nowhere more evident than in politics, especially party politics. Politically correct words and phrases are now required in any formal gathering, so one can no longer accuse colleagues of telling lies -- the phrase "using inexactitudes" is now popular, and accusing a person of being a liar now required one to say in polite company, that "he exercises extreme economy with the truth".
An embedded journalist as well as meaning somebody who goes in with the invading army also can mean a journalist who has just got married!
"Dog whistle" politics has now become popular in the US, where the politician reads or gives a speech which contains quotations from past leaders which have greater importance to some members of the audience who it is his specific intention to alert and react accordingly.
US President Barack Obama is very good at finding quotes from Dr Martin Luther King and slipping them into a speech so that the previously disadvantaged community can understand better what is the basis of his "change", whilst the majority of the audience takes the words at face value, and do not know where they have come from.
The scenario has become more complicated still with the advent of the cellphone and the widespread and rapidly expanding use of initials; especially the latter can considerably increase the level confusion. The need for context has dramatically expanded.
For example, in my own field, Acquired Human Immuno Deficiency Syndrome has become AIDS, then AIDS, and now Aids even in some newspapers, including our own, aids. Human lymphotrophic virus has, by similar process become HIV, and now, to add to the confusion, lay people and professionals (who should better) refer to HIV/Aids as though to amalgamate the separate virus causing it into and the clinical condition itself into one comprehensive challenge.
The use of initials spreads to walks of life. My son told me recently that he needed a new CV. This came as a surprise, because we had just completed his curriculum vitae, in fact spending some time over finding the relevant documents. The penny dropped. He was talking about the constant velocity on his clapped out Golf (1983).
On most television and video programmes the end is marked by the logo plus the date in roman numerals, e.g. BBC, MMVIII.
The practice is now widespread, and the print media use it increasingly as a mark of their modernity.
The letters MDC stand for the Year of our Lord, 1600; let's hope that, in Zimbabwe, we shall not have go back to 17th century politics to resolve the current difficulties. Especially as in the middle of that century a king lost his head.
On a broader note, Genesis Chapter 11 (the Tower of Babble) is likely to affect us all in the near future, as well as the distant past.
Dr Timothy Stamps is the Health Adviser to the President and Cabinet.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
An excellent example on how to manipulate the english language while saying absolutely nothing. He must have gotten gibberish lessons from Mugabe.
Personally I would have no qualms about Africans totally dumping the English language and further isolating themselves from the "wicked west." As Africa is comprised of so many indigenous tribes and dialects, the question becomes what language would they adopt that will be used in world trading and that which will unite all the African people without squabbles arising? Maybe consider Chinese, but even they, trade in English. So Phiri, I think for a long while, you are stuck with the British tongue.
Krsj120, No one is suggesting that English language be dropped. English Language is an international language and has become a standard for most, if not all languages. However, It is fine to promote local languages. Zimbabwe has evening news in Shona and Ndebele and that is great. And then of cause they also have english.
The point is that the english language has been used by anglo white people to lie to Africans. This was done during Lobengual and Shaka Zulu when land was being taken away from them. UK agreed to reimburse white Rhodesian farmers, yet Tony Blair said the document signed did not mean what it said. Then the issue becomes can you trust a white anglo person when they sign a contract! Can you trust the "wording" of the contracts you sign with the UK? And can you verify that a contract says what it says, when you have a very limited understanding of the english language?
Phiri it is not language that does harm or not but the people behind whatever language are responsible for good or bad. Had the early settlers spoken gobbledygook, the outcome would have been the same. Had the early settlers been some powerful nation from other corners of Africa speaking an unknown dialect, the results would have been the same but this time with no bargaining but just heads chop chop. If Mugabe and Zanu-PF had been your early settlers, most Zimbabweans would not have lived to tell the tale.
Excellent article on how the english language can manupulatively be used to convey a whole lots of sins, with a smile of cause! New word meanings like good govermance, non-govenmental organization, sub-saharen Africa, even the word "Africa" have become the most manupulated words in descrbing Africa.