Another indiscriminate-
ly abused and misused
phrase is when we attempt
to report about the season
pointing to rainfall. It’s either the
rains are over or just setting in, then
we are told or warned by the mete-
orologists or the weather forecasters
to prepare ourselves to battle the
floods that often comes with it. But
on a happier note, farmers are asked
to gird up their loins for a good or
bountiful harvest when the plough
the farm land early enough for
cultivation. A time it is the other way
round when the rains are scanty a
bad harvest should be expected.
Now in our reporting about the
rains we sometimes hear or listen
to people referring to the “Raining
season” is here again, or “what a
raining day?” when they mean to say
“Rainy season” or “Rainy day” which
is the correct usage. ‘Rain’ a noun,
according to the Oxford dictionary
of Current English interpretation
is the condensed moisture of the
atmosphere falling in separate drops.
Some see it as a blessing to have the
rains with us, for them, it wet the
ground and cool the atmosphere for
good. Yet when it comes in torrents
and unceasing the damage could
be unimaginable, farmlands are
destroyed, buildings are submerged
from heavy flooding and lives lost in
the process.
So, when next you report about
the rains, use the adjective ‘rainy’ to
denote a rainy day or rainy season.
You can correctly write “the rainy
season is here again so get prepared
for another wet day.” Don’t write or
speak “the raining season is here
again so get prepared for another wet
day.” It would amount to abuse and
misuse of the standard expression
‘rainy.’ Nothing wrong if you express
it straightforward “it might rain, it’s
raining so get prepared for another
wet day.’
Still on brevity of expressions
let’s cut short these long winding
statements that I, like other English
purists and masters considers time
wasting, especially for the broadcast
media. “In the vicinity/region/neigh-
bourhood of, in view of the fact that,
in spite of the fact that, it cannot be
denied that, leaves much to be de-
sired.” Flowery as the phrases appear
to sound, it is dysfunctional and
out dated. This day smart writers,
journalists or reporters engage one,
two to three-syllable words to sound
better and straight to the point the
information they intend to feed the
public with.
Rather than bore the reading and
listening audience with expressions
such as “in the vicinity/region/
neighbourhood of ” you can do
better by pruning it to read “about,
near, around, close.” That is from the
angle of the newsman’s English which
I strongly think all should embrace.
Think of it, not many people are
interested in reading for too long, not
these days when there are so many
demands and distractions that occupy
the mind. Short, simple and function-
al English should be preferred to keep
them reading.
“In view of the fact that” just as “in
spite of the fact that,” statement dom-
inates everyday use of the language.
We can read it and even hear it on the
newspaper pages, radio and television
and converse them openly in friendly
or business chats. We can simply write
‘since, because’ in place of “in view
of the fact that.” It sounds simple and
straight to the point. The two-sylla-
ble words, ‘despite, although’ equally
replace the dull and wordy phrase “In
spite of the fact that…”
Other expressions we should try to
avoid because they are boring and
colourless are “it cannot be denied
that,” “leaves much to be desired” and
their family. Shorten them to read
‘undeniably, agreeable’ in place of “it
cannot be denied that…” Similarly,
“leaves much to be desired” expres-
sion should be dumped for the simple
and functional word ‘unsatisfactory,
bad’ so the masters and purists insist.
Do remember to download the
e-Book English for Communicators:
Pitfalls and Blind Spots direct. Here
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