– Helen – 28/8/97
I have reached the age when my grey hair and crows feet entitle me to air my grievances. It is a truism perhaps but the person who said “Everything has changed, but it has always been that way,” was right . Throughout the centuries the older generation has taken upon itself the right to comment on current events as if they, as young people, had a premium on all that was decent and good. “Things were very different in my day” has probably been heard in every group of senior citizens since time immemorial, so who am I to gainsay historical fact?
New Zealand Today “At this point in time I would like to take a window of opportunity and make my ideas transparent. Here and now less people are able to manage their expenditure. Basically, they are hurting in a political climate fraught with downsizing. In the work situation Mission Statements make it necessary for them to take on board packages which maximise inputs and outputs when taking into consideration relevant service delivery. Objectives must be realized. The large mass of the populace who are currently in a state of employment are working to excess, while the rest of the population are subsisting on the Benefit. I expect you know where I am coming from”.
So what is wrong with that, I hear you say. We are all aware of the changes which have taken place in New Zealand over the past decade. Young or old would surely agree with the sentiments expressed. BUT NOT, I HOPE, IN THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY ARE PHRASED. What is happening to the English language? Is it because we are surrounded by speech, that an expression used correctly or originally in one context, should immediately be picked up, and used in every possible situation? “It was always thus”. Maybe, but presumably the plethora of jargon was not disseminated so widely or so quickly when the world was a much larger place. My plea is that people, especially those in public office, make themselves aware of expressions which have become cliches. By using such language, their communication lacks the precision which is possible in a language as rich and varied as English, and robs it of originality and dynamism.
Perhaps we should begin to develop this awareness before our young reach the sacred precincts of Parliament or become spokespeople for national organisations. As an English assignment, High School pupils could translate a paragraph such as the above into English. I am sure that many readers could improve on the attempt which follows, but it is a start.
“Now I would like to speak clearly. Today fewer people are able to budget, mainly because their prospects have been threatened by unemployment. They are expected to work much harder than before, and are under far more pressure, in order to give the same service. Some people are working themselves into an early grave, while others are on the dole. Do you understand what I mean?”
Questions to dwell upon As a former student of linguistics, I am well aware that English is a living, changing language and that throughout the centuries both the meaning and the pronunciation of words has changed and developed. My complaint is directed not at those changes in language which add to its vitality and diversity, but at the hackneyed phrases which pepper our everyday existence. Pronunciation is also another bete noire when it interferes with understanding. For example, why should “women” be pronounced “woman”? Why is the neutral vowel (pronouced as ‘uh’ ) frequently replaced by ‘ay’ or ‘ee’ in words such as ‘a’ and ‘the’? This destroys the rhythm of the sentence such as,”I am the Prime Minister of a country which is the greatest in the world.”
What are some of the other mutilations of the English language which give rise to heated debate? Is it truly only my generation which has the experience and the time in which to consider these matters? Is the younger generation equally concerned by the use of jargon, cliche, mis-pronunciation? Or am I a lone voice crying from the suburban wilderness of Ilam?
