Lest we forget where the conversation on the topic: “Should colloquialism go along standard English?”, ended with the beginning of the 2023 Liturgical Year for the Catholic Church, precisely on November 27, 2022 and the ushering in of the New Year, December, the Advent season; then the Christmas break to join the rest of the world to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Thank God we are back to duty to continue from where we stopped after the Christmas and New Year conviviality or merry making. Just to refresh our minds before breaking into part 2 of our lesson. The reminder, about colloquial English upstaging the Standard English with time, the language pragmatist don’t foresee that happening in the nearest future, not even with the forces of change that are presumed to be constant or permanent. Instead, the polarisation of language would get deeper with the growing consciousness among the indigenous people or locale to teach and promote mother tongue. Colloquialism falls under the general heading of ‘Misuses of words’, as one of the language purists observed. “There is, obviously, nothing ‘wrong’ with colloquialism.”
The point the English purists are stressing is that, colloquialism cannot be mixed or adulterated with the Standard, or Queens English just as we have the Pidgin or smarting English, for example, separated and standing apart from pure English. For comic effect, especially in the entertainment circle, Pidgin or local language can be tolerated or excused to a lesser extent. Never to be carried too far in order not to confuse the mixed audience; in some cases, a sophisticated one made up of persons of different backgrounds. In part one of our conversation, I listed and gave examples of the implications of the misuse of colloquialism in a standard business letter and dealing with friends and acquaintances. The shock and disappointment can only be imagined, and of course, opportunities lost along the line if one insists on marrying the two- colloquialism and Standard English, in a global audience that recognises only Standard English in any business transaction. I would amuse and shock you more, quoting from the author, the damage that could possibly be inflicted when one, knowingly or otherwise, attends a job interview and when asked by a potential employer to state his or her interest currently, and states; “I am heavily into punk.”
The potential employer would certainly flinch, if not thoroughly embarrassed with such a vague answer. Again, one would be unlikely to endear himself or herself to his or her boss or bank manager if he ended his letter to him or her with “cheers for now” or “see you.” Similarly, close friends and family members would be justified in wondering what has come over you if you signed your Christmas cards “yours faithfully.” Remember, and bear in mind to draw a distinction between colloquialism and slang, even the Standard English, to avoid committing blunders In closing, let me advise you with these remarks from an English purist, concerning the use of contractions such as “don’t, didn’t, won’t”, and more. A similar longstanding problem is when to use contractions such as “don’t, didn’t, won’t, haven’t” etc. with words like these, as with so many other colloquialisms, ‘misuse’ is largely a matter of context. The “don’t” and “didn’t” family is still considered out of place in certain kinds of writing but at other times “do not” and “did not” could sound pompous and absurd. Again, it is really up to you to decide where the dividing line should be drawn. Reflect on the recent FIFA organised world cup that took place in Qatar; notice the diversity in the use of languages to bring the tournament live and direct to peoples’ home. No one was cut off- ranging from Standard English to Pidgin, Swahili among others, radio and television commentaries stole the show. It was fun, according to one’s choice of language or channel to follow the event.
