Sample 1: “…Prof. Itse Sagay called out supporters of the Labour Party over how they attack anyone whose opinion defers from theirs.” (Keyamo reacts as Prof. Sagay said he accepts Prof. Soyinka’s views about the Obedients…Opera News, 12 April, 2023)
The word that interests us is defers which occurs in the following context: “attack anyone whose opinion defers from theirs.” Thecontext does mediate the idea of difference of opinion. But is that the dictionary meaning of the word defer? I want readers to realise that the writer has confused the meaning and usage of differ with those of defer. Of course, the words defer and differ would have similar presentations in speech. One of the hallmarks of a literate person is the ability to convert speech sounds to appropriate forms in writing. There are many words in English that have similar sounds but are clearly different lexically and semantically. Examples are: write and right; buy and bye/by; sort and sought; break and brake; week and weak; feet and feat. The pronunciations are almost identical in each case, but the written forms and meanings are significantly different.
What is the difference between defer and differ? Now read the following sentences illustrating the usage of one of the senses of the word defer: 1) The chairman advised that the decision be deferred till the following meeting before which more facts would have emerged. 2) My intention is to defer payment for the service till the job is completed. 3) It is not advisable for women to defer childbearing till a later date because the biological clock does not favour that. 4) The government had to defer the announcement until the court made the fateful pronouncement. 5) Service to God and humanity should not be deferred for any reason. 6) Lawyers have advised INEC not to defer the general elections on account of the prevailing anarchy. 7) Please permit me to defer my comments till the next meeting. 8) The naming ceremony takes place today but the actual celebration will be deferred until funds are available. 9) If this generation decides to defer the sacrifices it ought to make now, it will be transferring unnecessary burdens to the future generation. 10) Death is one of the phenomena that cannot be deferred; its call is often urgent and final. 11) The government deferred the composition of the cabinet to avoid unnecessary controversy. 12) It is better to defer pleasure and make sacrifices now and not vice versa. 13) The Board permitted the Chairman todeferhisexplanation till a more opportune time.
It should be clear from those sentences that to defer means to postpone, delay action or decision.
But there is another sense in which the verb defer can be used. Please read the following sentences: 1) In the Yoruba culture, young people are expected to defer to elders. 2) For the first time on matters of this nature, the national assembly deferred to the presidency. 3) Though I loved the lady with a passion, I deferred to my mother’s views on her and refused to lead her to the altar. 4) Is it always in the interest of patients to defer to their doctors? 5) Lawyers may seem to always defer to judges; in reality, they defer to the law. 6) Is the government likely to defer to the public on the issue of the removal of subsidy on petroleum products? 7) In our culture, people tend to look down on men who defer to their wives. 8) Should students always defer to their lecturers? 9) People defer to policemen more out of fear than out of respect. 10) In modern society people defer to experts on many issues. 11) Are State Governors expected to defer to the President in all matters? 12) Genuine humility should enable you to defer to fellow human beings. 13) You can defer to your boss without necessarily being subservient. 14) The President should defer to the Council of State. 15) Should married women always defer to their husbands?
When you defer to people or their opinion, you allow them to have their way, you accept their opinion because you respect them or their authority.
Now let’s illustrate the usage of the word differ: 1) African peoples differ from each other as well as from European peoples in many significant ways. 2) In what ways does life in Lagos differ from life in rural areas? 3) A democratic government differs from a military government in that the former runs on the basis of the rule of law and the latter on decrees. 4) The computer and the human brain are similar but differ in that the former can only act on the information the human agent puts into it. 5) The approach to teaching differs from teacher to teacher. 6) Democracy is not of one and the same kind: It differs from country to country. 7) Do characteristics of verbs differ from language to language or are they universal? 8) Her attitude to money differs remarkably from mine. 9) Does men’s attitude to life differ essentially from women’s? 10) Members of the cat family have very similar characteristics but also differ from each other in some important respects. 11) Political power differs significantly from spiritual power. 12) Human language differs from animals’ instinctual form of communication. 13) Aquatic and terrestrial forms of lifediffer uniquely. 14) Do the arts and science differ essentially from each other? 11) The human brain differs fundamentally from artificial intelligence.
The meaning of the verb differ in each of those sentences is related to the meaning of the noun different. But the verb differ has yet another meaning. The following sentences illustrate this: 1) Scholars differ on the date Oduduwa, the legendary father of the Yoruba race, moved to Ile-Ife. 2) Opinions differ even up till today on the cause of General Sanna Abacha’s death. 3) Medical experts differ on the origin and cause of Ebola. 4) The president seems to differwiththeNational Assembly on how to tackle and defeat the Boko Haram insurgency. 5) We are close friends, but we differ sometimes on fundamental issues. 6) In life, we should agree to differ. 7) Members of the cabinet differ on certain budget details. 8) We may differ on how to tackle the problem of violent crime, but we should all agree that violent crime is an evil that should be attacked frontally. 9) Do religious thinkers and psychologists differ on the nature of crime and criminals? 10) Nigerians should not differ with one another on the need to have a united country. 11) We may differ on how to achieve progress, but not on the desirability of progress.
At any rate, the appropriate word for the context is differs.
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