Maritime University…

languageThere was an omission of a word somewhere in the last week’s presentation, creating a little bit of confusion. Here is the portion in question with the missing word (be) supplied: “The drug…is now available…”even a pupil in an elementary class should have no problem identifying the noun drugs as a plural item. He would quickly point to the final s in the word as evidence of its plurality and he would be right.” The emphasis is on the independent clause, “and he would be right.”

Sample 1: “Akande said the NDDC has also established Job Placement centres which is expected to engage about 208,000 youths in the Niger Delta with a view to reducing unemployment and youth restiveness in the region.” (First Set of Students Resume in Maritime University Next Year—Presidency, The Nation, Sunday 11 March, 2018)

I draw readers’ attention to the singular verb-form (is) which is sandwiched between the relative pronoun which and the word expected. The verb occurs in the following context: “Job Placement centres which is expected to engage about 208,000 youths…” It is reasonable to assume that the reporter has chosen a singular verb-form (is) in response to a singular subject/noun having a logical and grammatical relationship with the verb slot. But we cannot find any such singular noun. There is a noun, however, about three words to the left of the verb slot. That noun is centres, a noun obviously in its plural form.The noun, centres, has a clear logical and grammatical relationship to the verb slot. Given the plural form of the noun, the verb has to be changed to its plural form as well: Job Placement centres which are expected to engage about 208,000 youths…”

Now, we note the verb resume which occurs in the headline of the same excerpt that has just been analysed. Here is the headline: “First Set of Students Resume in Maritime University.” It is important to note that the headline says it is the first set of students of the Maritime University that resume studies. The first paragraph of the story reads: “The waiting is over for the formal take off of the Nigerian Maritime University…” This means that the university has not taken off; it is about to take off; the students have not started their studies; they are about to start.

The point we are preparing ourselves to make is that the verb assume has been wrongly selected. Here is one dictionary definition of assume: “to begin again after stopping; to return to or begin again after interruption.” That definition clearly contradicts what we have in both the headline and the body of the report.It is important also to note the verb forms of the relevant nouns: The verb form of assumption is assume; of resumption is resume.

The problem of insufficient grasp of the nuances of a word resulting in confusing its identity with that of another with varying degrees of seriousness is endemic in the Nigerian usage terrain. The problem arises because writers don’t care enough to make the words their “own” by thoroughly and consciously internalising their essential and distinguishing properties.

The verb resume under review here is a typical example. The impression the writer gives when he uses the verb resume, as in many instances of its use in the Nigerian context, is that the students have been on a break and are about to come back to their studies.

Some Nigerians would say, “The newly appointed Minister will resume duty on July 1” when they mean, “The newly appointed Minister will assume duty on July 1”. They would say, “The new Inspector-General of Police will resume duty next week” when they mean, “The new Inspector-General of Police will assume duty next week”.

We need to make a distinction between assumption of duty (which is about commencing work for the first time) and resumption of duty (which is about coming back to work after a break). To resume work is to begin to work again after one has stopped working, and to assume duty is to report for an assignment for the first time.

• Much and other modifiers

Sample 2: “With little fanfare than expected, the coalition was formally inaugurated, distributing branded T-shirts and caps to the attendees.”(Third Force: Can Obasanjo Coalition Change 2019 Political Equation, The Punch, 11 February, 2018)

Let’s pay attention to the word than which occurs in the following context: “With little fanfare than expected…”To appreciate the error involved in the writer’s choice of the element than, we need to know how comparison operates in English. The word than is usually employed for the purpose of constructing comparison.

But it usually occurs in conjunction with another adjective to which the morpheme –er is attached: higher, bigger, richer, greater, fewer, lower, nearer; otherwise the word more is employed. Examples: (1) Our house is bigger than yours. (2) Christmas is nearer than I have thought. (3) That tree is taller than the one near our house. (4) The weather is brighter today than it was yesterday. (5) This well is deeper than that. (6) This novel is more interesting than that. (7) Titi is more brilliant than Dayo. (8) This task is more demanding than the previous one. (9) Our farm is more extensive than yours. (10)The old generation cars seem to be more durable than the modern ones.

The rule is this: Do not use the word than unless it is preceded by a comparative word ending in –er (such as better, higher, lower, etc.) or its synonym more. This rule does not fail to apply even when the word much is involved in the structure: (1) The girl is much more brilliant than the boy. (2) This car is much more efficient than that. The word much is simply used as an intensifier and does not affect the comparative structure of the sentence.

To return to our sample, we find the word than in the structure, but it is not preceded by any of the comparative words we have identified. There lies the error. That sentence should be restructured in such a way that it would accommodate a comparative word. Otherwise the item than would remain hanging.

This is the structure I propose: “With a little more fanfare than expected…”