Sample 1: “In the haste, he did not border to walk the little distance to IyanaIpaja bus terminus, but simply hopped on a half-filled minibus, which conductor’s shout of ‘LekkiAjah! LekkiAjah’ rented the calm morning atmosphere…He claimed most of the money in the accounts were church funds and wondered how he would explain the matter to members…Unfortunately, it was a ‘one chance bus’—a Lagos acronym for robbers’ trap bus”(PoS Machine, Latest Tool for ‘One-Chance’ Robbers, The Nation, Sunday, 25 June, 2017)
I draw readers’ attention to the word acronym which occurs in the following context: “a Lagos acronym for robbers’ trap bus.” What does the writer refer to as an acronym? According to him ‘one chance bus’ is a ‘Lagos acronym for robbers’ trap bus’. The reporter clearly has a wrong idea of an acronym. Also sometimes called an initialism, an acronym is a word made up of the first letters of the words that make up a phrase which is itself the name of an organization. An example is NEPA, derived from National Electric Power Authority. Another example is NUC which stands for National Universities Commission. NNPC stands for Nigerian National Petroleum Company/Corporation. FRCN is the acronym for Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria. UNO is the acronym for United Nations Organization.
I believe the word that eludes the reporter is parlance. Parlance is a particular way of expressing an idea which peculiar to a group of people. Here are usage examples: 1) The man died of a heart attack known in medical parlance as cardiac arrest. 2) Petty bribery, or ‘egunje’ in Nigerian parlance, is one of the surest means of perverting justice. 3) You are discharged and acquitted, if one is permitted to borrow legal parlance. 4) We are all ‘suffering and smiling’, in Fela’sparlance. 5) In journalistic parlance, a pen is mightier than a sword. 6) We have to stand at alert in military parlance.
At any rate, the word parlance should replace acronym in the context under review.
Next, we consider the plural verb-form, were, which occurs in the following context: “He claimed most of the money in the accounts were church funds…”How does the reporter arrive at the decision to make the verb plural? Could his decision have been influenced by the plural noun accounts to the immediate left of the verb slot? That noun is irrelevant as far as concord matters are concerned. That it is irrelevant, however, does not rule out the possibility that it is a source of influence for the reporter’s choice of the plural verb-form. However, the most likely source of inspiration for the reporter’s choice of the plural form of the verb is the subject-complement, church funds, which is obviously plural. Again, this decision is wrong even on this account. The relevant noun in the context of the sentence is money, which is clearly a singular noun. Given that fact, the verb has to be changed to its singular form: was.
The sentence would then read: “He claimed most of the money in the accounts was church funds…” However, if the reporter feels uncomfortable with the choice of the singular verb-form on account of the plural nature of the subject-complement, he may adjust the wording of the sentence slightly: “He claimed most of the money in the accounts belongs to the church…”
Sample 2: “Meanwhile, Governor Samuel Ortom who cancelled all his engagements on Tuesday and made an assessment tour of the ravaged town insisted that the act was perpetuated by Ghana and his group. ‘This act is perpetrated by Ghana and his group. He has been killing people…”(Day Agents of Death Invaded Zaki-Biam, The Sunday Sun, March 26, 2017)
I draw readers’ attention to the words perpetuated and perpetrated both of which occur in the following context respectively: “the act was perpetuated by Ghana and his group” and “this act is perpetrated by Ghana and his group.” Readers should please note that the act under reference in each context is that of violence allegedly brought about by one Ghana and his group. The community in question here experienced killings, destruction of houses and physical injuries. These were obviously criminal acts of horrific dimensions.
It is obvious that the linguistic and ideational contexts in which the word perpetuated occurs are not different at all from those in which perpetrated occurs. What seems clear to me is that the reporter is unable to differentiate between the two words, an inability aided by poor pronunciation skills.
It is important to identify and illustrate the usage differences between these two words as a way of minimizing if not totally eradicating the confusion that may arise from their use. Actually the discussion of these two words has featured repeatedly in this place, but the discussion will continue for as long as reporters are still confusing them.
The word perpetrates usually collocates with something bad or criminal. Please read the following sentences: 1) Three key officials of the ministry have been arrested for perpetrating a large-scale fraud. 2) The violence was said to have been perpetrated by people who are no more in the service of the establishment. 3) Undercover policemen are out to fish out those who have perpetrated one crime or the other. 4) The soldiers who perpetrated mutiny have been arrested, court-martialled, convicted and jailed. 5) Women should not give those men with warped minds the opportunity to perpetrate rape. 6) If those who perpetrate crime regularly escape sanction, then others would be encouraged to do same.
To perpetuate something is to make it endure, make it to be in existence for a long time, make it perpetual. Please read the following sentences: 1) The Bible is the chief documents perpetuating Jewish and Christian values. 2) One of the functions of the family is to perpetuate love. 3) We should find a means of perpetuating the positive aspects of our culture and discarding the negative ones. 4) The media have a duty not to perpetuate the divisive features of our national life. 5) Nature has a way of perpetuating valuable qualities and destroying less desirable ones. 6) Religions are known to perpetuate values regarded as dear to the Supreme Being.
It should be clear from the discussion and illustrations so far that the word perpetuated is out of the question in both contexts. The appropriate word for both contexts is perpetrated.
and then