In this age of political correctness, people tend to use inoffensive language. For example, you don’t tell someone he or she is short, but “vertically challenged”. Or, don’t call someone ugly, but say they are “aesthetically challenged”. Teachers are no longer teachers, but facilitators. Students don’t fail, but have deferred success! And, they aren’t dumb either but differently abled. And, one that takes the cake, you are no longer sleeping in class, but you are “rationing your consciousness’!
S. Upendran, author of the popular Know your English column in The Hindu for the past over two decades, and Professor, Department of Materials Development, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, regaled the audience on how the language has evolved with these examples, at the launch of the second of his four-volume book series on English at the British Council recently.
Published by the Universities Press and distributed by Orient BlackSwan, the second volume of his book is on words frequently confused while the first one is on idioms and their stories.
Upendran’s message to the motley crowd was simple enough. “There’s a great desire to improve one’s vocabulary,” he said, adding that he’s always accosted by people who use a lot of verbiage to impress him. “But, don’t impress people with your vocabulary. Communicate in a language that is understood by everybody,” he emphasised.
Use simple language and use words correctly, he exhorted. “If I displace my wife in the kitchen, she will be happy if I take over her role, but if I misplace her, only I will be happy,” said Upendran, to great laughter from the audience. Taking a dig at how matrimonial columns are worded, he said, most classified advertisements say ‘wanted tall, fair, homely girl…; : “But, homely means unattractive and not a homemaker,” he said.
His new book deals with pairs of words that cause problems, those that have an almost similar spelling or similar pronunciations: human, humane; lightning, lightening; stationary, stationery; review, revue and so on. All the words explained are selections from his column in The Hindu over the years.
K. Srilata, associate professor of literature, IIT, Madras, presided over the function while Paul Sellers, Director, South India, British Council, released the book.