Big English Is Not Always Noisy

Read Article

Comments (18)

This article is closed for comments.

Read Comments Comments (18)

Sikafuturo 12 years ago

I've always advocate simple words in the use of the English language. Ooooops!"advocate" may be I will use a simpler word.
I,ve always beleived in the of simple words in the English language.Is not this better?

I've always advocate simple words in the use of the English language. Ooooops!"advocate" may be I will use a simpler word.
I,ve always beleived in the of simple words in the English language.Is not this better?
don`t care !!! 12 years ago

Hmmmmm!here they come with their book-long foolishness &..without wisdom & commonsense...

pay attention 2 the under-tone of them responds...SHOW OFF!hmmm!

Hmmmmm!here they come with their book-long foolishness &..without wisdom & commonsense...

pay attention 2 the under-tone of them responds...SHOW OFF!hmmm!
Hamid 12 years ago

"The academic would rather we said ‘former government’, instead of ‘erstwhile government’, swap ‘repeat’ with ‘reiterate’, replace ‘people’ with ‘citizenry’, ‘death’ with ‘demise’, and of cours ...
read full comment

"The academic would rather we said ‘former government’, instead of ‘erstwhile government’, swap ‘repeat’ with ‘reiterate’, replace ‘people’ with ‘citizenry’, ‘death’ with ‘demise’, and of course ‘very large’ with ‘gargantuan."

Did the writer of the original article really say those things? I thought he said the opposite - that we should replace "citizenry" with "people", "demise" with "death" and, if you want, "gargantuan" with "very large". Or am I the one who is confused?

Well, this Dr. Ansah is not really the late P. A. V. Ansah.

And, Kwesi, why didn't you join us in the discussion of that article? Why do you find it necessary to go and write a long rejoinder? Are we not fit to discuss things with you?

Paa Kwesi Mintah will get you. This time, I will not be your counsel, sorry, lawyer.
ATAKORA BEDIAKO 12 years ago

This one is noisy-" the delays of the malaise of third world bureaucratic obscurantism"

This one is noisy-" the delays of the malaise of third world bureaucratic obscurantism"
Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law 12 years ago

Delightful read. Fluid and fluent writing.
Your assignment should be to research the actual words used by your senior prefect and Chancellor Kohl. You do them an injustice by ascribing to them "catacum" and "caviet".

Delightful read. Fluid and fluent writing.
Your assignment should be to research the actual words used by your senior prefect and Chancellor Kohl. You do them an injustice by ascribing to them "catacum" and "caviet".
Hamid 12 years ago

Often Kwesi writes on topics that he doesn't expend a lot of time in researching properly. That is one of his greatest shortcomings. Kwesi can write an article on an author or a book that he hasn't read. He once wrote an arti ...
read full comment

Often Kwesi writes on topics that he doesn't expend a lot of time in researching properly. That is one of his greatest shortcomings. Kwesi can write an article on an author or a book that he hasn't read. He once wrote an article on Esi Edugyan and you would see clearly that he had not read a single word written by Esi! He often makes references to other writers and professors but is too lazy to research the actual reference points. That is one thing Paa Kwesi Mintah has been criticizing Tawiah for.

Tawiah writes fluid and fluent language but he is very lazy about sourcing and producing accurate citations.
KOJO BUHARI 12 years ago

MY BROTHER, NEWSPAPERS ARE JUST THAT: NEWS AND PAPER. YOU READ THE NEWS AND THEN S..HIT WITH THE PAPER IN GHANA!!IF YOU WANT REAL GRAMMAR, GO TO OSHOGBO MOTOR PARK: THERE IS A NEW DICTIONARY EVERYDAY!!

MY BROTHER, NEWSPAPERS ARE JUST THAT: NEWS AND PAPER. YOU READ THE NEWS AND THEN S..HIT WITH THE PAPER IN GHANA!!IF YOU WANT REAL GRAMMAR, GO TO OSHOGBO MOTOR PARK: THERE IS A NEW DICTIONARY EVERYDAY!!
MARCUS AMPADU 12 years ago

As I pointed out in my response to Dr. Ansah's piece, it is not the "Big English" per se, that produces the noise that kills the message in communication. Rather, it is the use of grammar, style, vocabulary, and how one eff ...
read full comment

As I pointed out in my response to Dr. Ansah's piece, it is not the "Big English" per se, that produces the noise that kills the message in communication. Rather, it is the use of grammar, style, vocabulary, and how one effectively, i.e. successfully, performs with these words paying attention to the audience and the context. It is the inability to comprehend the interplay of grammar, new words - literal and figurative meanings, style, and performance that creates the noise that hinders communication.

The problem we are having as a nation is that many of us are not reading enough to expand our vocabulary and see how various writers crafted their message. There is a slew of new words most of us didn't come across when we were at school. A good example is trying to understand the conversation on climate change and variability.
Nana Ansah 12 years ago

Marcus you are right on the spot! Ask most Ghanaians how many books they have read in the last 5-10 years and the response you get; simply put is disgracefully disappointing. Why?! We are still folks who don't read and only t ...
read full comment

Marcus you are right on the spot! Ask most Ghanaians how many books they have read in the last 5-10 years and the response you get; simply put is disgracefully disappointing. Why?! We are still folks who don't read and only transport our message(s) orally even in cyberage. Keeping records and writing for posterity/future generation is not our way of life. But each time we keep on complaining that the whiteman has twisted our history when we are still doing nothing to reverse the situation. Until this indifferent/phlegmatic habit changes we will still have folks who think verbosity and tautology is the best way of getting the message across. What a folk!
Hamid 12 years ago

It's true that Ghanaians, indeed, Africans or black people in general don't read. And I mean even the very literate ones. Reading is not just our thing.

But there are Ghanaians who read a lot. And I don't mean only the ac ...
read full comment

It's true that Ghanaians, indeed, Africans or black people in general don't read. And I mean even the very literate ones. Reading is not just our thing.

But there are Ghanaians who read a lot. And I don't mean only the academicians. But those Ghanaians who read a lot are few - and they don't come to ghanaweb! 95% of the visitors to ghanaweb belong to the class of Ghanaians who don't read unless it is absolutely necessary. Many of them do not even understand the things they read!

Write a good review of a relevant book on ghanaweb and see the number of people who read and comment! All the regular commentators will be missing. Book reviews do very poorly on ghanaweb.

But there are Ghanaians who read a lot - for the pleasure of it. They'll prefer to immense themselves in a book to spending time on ghanaweb.

Hamid 12 years ago

Last sentence - for "immense", read "immerse". These are two very different words...

Last sentence - for "immense", read "immerse". These are two very different words...
MARCUS AMPADU 12 years ago

Hamid, how many of our cities and towns have a functioning libraries? We have a national problem. You can deny it all you want , but it is affecting our individual and national development.
I guess we are too busy trying to ...
read full comment

Hamid, how many of our cities and towns have a functioning libraries? We have a national problem. You can deny it all you want , but it is affecting our individual and national development.
I guess we are too busy trying to survive.
Hamid 12 years ago

Marcus, I am not denying your assertion. I even affirm it. My point is that there are some Ghanaians who read and read well but they are not many. Are you denying that? And I am also saying that most of ghanaweb's visitors be ...
read full comment

Marcus, I am not denying your assertion. I even affirm it. My point is that there are some Ghanaians who read and read well but they are not many. Are you denying that? And I am also saying that most of ghanaweb's visitors belong to the class of Ghanaians who don't read. Are you denying that also?

There ARE some Ghanaians who read a lot. And I suppose you, Marcus, are one of them, else you won't be complaining about our reading habits. Anaa?
mojingles 12 years ago

Hamid, it is the younger generation of Ghanaians who hardly read...evidenced by its rudimentary writing skills....reading does not necessarily mean acquiring a pile of fiction and non-fiction tomes and going through them....r ...
read full comment

Hamid, it is the younger generation of Ghanaians who hardly read...evidenced by its rudimentary writing skills....reading does not necessarily mean acquiring a pile of fiction and non-fiction tomes and going through them....reading also entails subscription to magazines, periodicals and newspapers which in my estimation enrich one's worldly views and perceptions.....and finally, those of us who visit Ghanaweb do so primarily to see what the hell is going on in Ghana....period....a book review is not going to attract readers for obvious reasons...even in internationally renown magazines such as the New Times Magazines, book reviews don't attract readers, sophisticated as they may be.....
MARCUS AMPADU 12 years ago

Why is the younger generation not reading, they were not taught the values of reading, didn't have the kinds of parents who instilled the values of reading in them, or is it because our culture does not encourage reading?
I ...
read full comment

Why is the younger generation not reading, they were not taught the values of reading, didn't have the kinds of parents who instilled the values of reading in them, or is it because our culture does not encourage reading?
I can never get over a national leadership - political, religious, business and otherwise that does not encourage the citizens to read.
The fact that we don't have public libraries is really troubling.
Nana Ansah 12 years ago

Almost every cottage in England has a bookshop and in addition a library for those who cannot afford to buy books all the time. Not to mention the big towns and urban areas with their numerous bookshops and library facilities ...
read full comment

Almost every cottage in England has a bookshop and in addition a library for those who cannot afford to buy books all the time. Not to mention the big towns and urban areas with their numerous bookshops and library facilities. This explains why democracy works in Britain, America, France, Germany etc because the society is to a greater extent enlightened/literate. When a law is passed it reaches almost everyone because most of them can read and write and understand what the law is about. In our case even the law makers who pass the bill don’t know their left from right. So what do expect from the illiterate rest?

Reading shapes our mind and enhances our scope of fantasy. Reading greases our brains not to become rusty. A literate society engages in a healthy debate which makes many join the conversation to bring out the best out of every situation. The ingenuity of a literate society is immense. A literate society is more innovative and creative. Yes not all problems can be solved at once but such a society drives the debate for continues brain storming. Going forward Ghana needs desperately a literate society. Literature is one way of advancing ones art and culture. Without which you become a slave of your own history. If I had three wishes. FIRST EDUCATION; second EDUCATION; third EDUCATION. I am done.

READING IS FOOD FOR THE SOUL AND BRAIN. THE JOY OF READING IS WHEN YOU SINK OR GET IMMERSE INTO A BOOK AND GET LOST AND THEN FORGET ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND YOU. IT IS A THRILLING EXPERIENCE. TRY IT FOLKS!
ivy 12 years ago

Both displaying what was learnt.

Both displaying what was learnt.
FUFUO DADESEN 12 years ago

NOISE: "THEY ENGAGE IS THE JUSXTAPOSTION OF TWO ORBICULARIS ORIS MUSCLE IN CONTRACTIONAL ACT"------ A KISS OR KISSING..LOL

NOISE: "THEY ENGAGE IS THE JUSXTAPOSTION OF TWO ORBICULARIS ORIS MUSCLE IN CONTRACTIONAL ACT"------ A KISS OR KISSING..LOL

18 Comments

Welcome,

SIGN IN

Welcome,

RESET PASSWORD

Hello,

Terms and conditions

REGISTER

Big English Is Not Always Noisy

Read Comments .st0{display:none;fill:#14BDD3;} .st1{display:none;} .st2{display:inline;fill:#FC0F0F;} .st3{display:inline;fill:#FFFFFF;} .st4{display:inline;fill:none;stroke:#000000;stroke-width:6;stroke-miterlimit:10;} Comments (18)

Read Comments Comments (18)