Language’s ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’

‘Rhetoric’ is a common term used over the years to denote the power of persuasive and impressive speaking and writing. This also signifies the elimination of common errors enabling a better communication. There is an ongoing discussion on the standard of the knowledge of language and grammar both at the school level of education and at professional levels gained via higher education.

The controversies abound around the words, sentences, sentence patterns, expressions and other emerging semantic factors. Mass media channels, with special reference to FM channels are accused of misguided and pseudo usages on the part of announcers and programme moderators.

Invaluable writing

This ongoing situation is addressed by several scholars belonging to university and non-university levels. In this direction one scholar who was engaged in such a venture is a veteran translator and columnist Premachandra Alwis.

He continued to contribute an invaluable column to a weekly Sinhala literary supplement titled as ‘Padarut Vidi’. His contribution was noteworthy as he dealt on common errors as well as wrong usage as a result of the correct awareness of various forms of a better form of the use of language.

While refraining from blaming any particular person or academic, Premachandra Alwis goes n to call material from various available sources for his investigation in the manner of a teacher and researcher.

He picks sentences from several newspapers and shows how the embedded expressive intentional meaning is clouded by pseudo constructions and misguided connection patterns. Perhaps he sees that given the chance of learning via rectification the knowledge in a better expression could be achieved.

In the text he has published by collecting some of his notes written to the said supplement, the title is apt as he denotes in the form of notes what should be expressed as against what should be avoided. The term ‘Padarut Vidi’ may mean a cluster of meanings. It may also mean ‘meanings in words’ as ‘vidi’ may mean ‘modes’. As such the book is a basic guide to all those interested in language and its usage in a multifaceted manner. As an initial guidance, Alwis rests focus on traditional belief.

Traditional forms

This view is supplemented from Sidat Sangarava’ where he quotes ‘vaharanu seren sapaya’ (held through traditional forms) as the basic premise. According to Alwis, people have been using a spoken language and a written language. The spoken language perhaps had been much more powerful than the written language. In this case, what is accepted as spoken language comes to stay as against the learned usages in the written language. He attempts to explain in the clearest possible manner how words are formed and used.

When he examines how the pattern of use had been changed either via ignorance or undermining of a visionary standpoint. Then he presents several instances where new words and verbal patterns have entered the communication field. One example is the Sinhala equivalent to the word ‘launch’. The term is coined in Sinhala as ‘Pot Dorata Vadinava’. But the word ‘diyat kirima’ had been in vogue over the years in the agrarian culture. But ‘diyat kirima’ may not sound good. Instead of all these, a new term has come to stay. That is denoted as ‘janagatha kireema’.

I am not sure if the term may give the exact intended meaning of ‘launch’. In the common public parlance, ‘janasathu’ means ‘nationalized’ as brought down the years giving way to a political sense. The writer does not take sides in this matter. He only states that a term is available as ‘diyat kirima’. Alwis also picks yet anther term ‘turning point’ where he says that two words are coined: ‘heravum for ‘turning’ and ‘lakshaya’ for ‘point’ resulting in a strange pattern: ‘heravum lakshya’.

Classical knowledge

As new words and verbal patterns enter the expression, one has to reconsider whether they denote any real sense or not. One cardinal point that Alwis draws is that the lack of knowledge in classical literature is the result of these accidental coinages, which may sound fallacious and unintelligent.

He also examines the Sinhala expression ‘apada kalamanakaranaya’ used to denote ‘crisis management’. He feels that the Sinhala word coinage is too narrow and does not express a wider sense. He draws our attention to some pitfalls and fallacies as found the textbooks prescribed at school levels.

This, he firmly believes, will give rise to a false sense of language and grammar acquisition, which may inevitably come to stay as ‘right’ as against the ‘wrong’. Alwis examines the standpoint of the advent of technologies on words, sentences and other verbal patterns such as computer and mobile phones.

All in all, this volume of notes could be recommended as a handbook. He attempts to cover words, similar sounds and spellings, words frequently confused, informal word patterns, archaic and obsolete words, technical words, mixed and illogical constructions, shifts in tense, mood and verb forms.

[email protected]