OUR KIND OF ENGLISH : Man dies ‘after being beaten to death’

What you need to know:

  • And in another, a headline chief wrote: “Mtu mwenye ugonjwa wa kisukari… (instead of, simply, “mtu mwenye kisukari). We also heard following, on an otherwise reputable FM radio station: “Yanga WALIWEZA kufungwa na Mazembe FC.”
  • Enough lecturing and so, let’s proceed with what this column is about—unearthing linguistic gems from the Bongo English press, so here we go…

A veteran media colleague, Mboneko Munyaga, is apt to say: “The main problem with many scribblers isn’t poor language; it’s poor thinking.” His argument is that if you stretch your thought processes well enough, there’re certain things you won’t commit to paper—or the microphone, if you’re a broadcaster. Like I recently read in a Kiswahili newspaper: “…mnyama aina ya nyani” (instead of, simply “nyani”.

And in another, a headline chief wrote: “Mtu mwenye ugonjwa wa kisukari… (instead of, simply, “mtu mwenye kisukari). We also heard following, on an otherwise reputable FM radio station: “Yanga WALIWEZA kufungwa na Mazembe FC.”

Enough lecturing and so, let’s proceed with what this column is about—unearthing linguistic gems from the Bongo English press, so here we go…

On page 8 of the tabloid that’s close to this columnist (Monday, Aug. 22 edition) there’s a story headlined, “Don’t lynch suspects, wananchi of Siha told”, and the scribbler wrote:

“Residents of Siha District have been implored (sic) to stop taking LAWS IN THEIR HANDS in their hands after apprehending CRIMINAL suspects. The PLEA was made by the councillor for Sanya Juma Jani (!), saying JUNGLE JUSTICE has often led to the killing of innocent people”.

Do rulers er, sorry, leaders, implore (in simpler English, “beg”) those under their jurisdiction? Let’s be honest, they don’t! Leaders call on us, the led, to do things. They even order us, since it’s their statutory duty to ensure we, the led, toe the line as per the laws of the land. It means, they don’t even make PLEAS to us (simple word, “requests”)—that’s too soft, unless it’s nearing elections time.

Leaders (or bosses, if you like) order, instruct, direct, command… The verb “tell” is also okay as it’s neither too soft nor too hard. The President does not appeal/implore to us to pay tax, tells us!

And then, who’s a criminal suspect? It implies a suspect who, in the mind of the speaker, is already condemned as a wrong doer (criminal) even before the court has determined his case! How about “taking laws in their hands”? Nope; we say “taking the law INTO their own hands”. And we don’t say “jungle justice”… the idiom is “law of the jungle”.

In Para 4 the scribbler writes:

“…on June 21 this year… 53-year-old (man) DIED after being BEATEN TO DEATH by a group of youths over alleged theft.” Duh! You know what our scribbling colleague is telling readers here? He’s telling them that, the 53-year-old fellow was first beaten until he died, after which, he died again! That is, he died two times! It’s a lie of course. We’re certain what our colleague wanted to say is this: “(The man) died after he was beaten by youths who alleged he was a thief.”

On Saturday, Aug. 20, Bongo’s senior-most broadsheet had a story on Page 1 entitled, “To evade law enforcers, smugglers now train cows,” in which the scribbler tells readers in Para 3:

“However, he said, their innovations were short-lived after the police force carried out a special operation TO all smuggling routes…” The correct preposition here is “IN” … (not “to”) all smuggling routes. “

There are two grammatical categories known as “indefinite article” (A/AN) and “definite article” (THE). Many of us in the scribbling industry, including, sadly, some sub-editors, have a problem with the articles. It’s like we use either of the two correctly by chance.

Let’s lecture a bit. The “indefinite article” is a determiner that INTRODUCES a noun phrase and implies that the thing referred to is nonspecific (as in “she bought me A book; governance is AN art). Typically, the indefinite article is used to introduce new concepts into a discourse.

The definite article (THE) is one that indicates that its noun is a particular one which is identifiable to the listener. It may be something that the speaker has already mentioned, or it may be something uniquely specified.

Now on Aug. 21, the Sunday tabloid that’s sister to Bongo’s huge and colourful broadsheet, ran a story headlined, “Over Sh193 billion lost annually to ghost workers”, in which the scribbler says in her intro:

“A LATEST government report has indicated that over 400 public institutions have been costing the government over Sh193 billion annually….”

When something is “latest”, it’s specific, the ONLY one, so, it should NOT be preceded by the indefinite article. It means, our colleague should have written: “THE latest government report…

Ah, this treacherous called English!