Owing to the exigency of the time, we have to digress for now; away from our countdown to the 50 most abused clichés or hackneyed words still making the rounds in our daily conversation to draw attention to the misused of the adverb, “presently,” and the unpopular phrase now taken or regarded as spent English, “be rest assured.” These two, “presently” and “be rest assured” top the group of words that is frequently in use but misused by the writer, journalist, and reporter, even scholars; talk of people in the ivory tower, the lecturers and students alike, no one is spared so long as users of the language refused to do the right thing. There are numbers of misused phrases that adorn the newspaper pages or make headlines on the radio and television news, that it takes one with an eagle’s eye and great skill to point them out. They appear now and then, but still are widely in circulation because no one seems to care anymore, especially for those the English purists and masters brand as lazy essayists and writers who spend their energy in recycling words or phrases, especially proverbs and words of wisdom, already in place, God knows for how long, to sustain their write ups. This is not good enough, and so errors continue to fester. With time on our side, we would continue to expose them, and try to set standard in the use of modern English. The change cannot just come overnight, taking a cue from the trio of the different eras; Elizabethan (1558-1603), Shakespearean (1564-1616) and the Victorian (1837-1901) English, sharing between them decades apart to arrive at the modern English the masters are trying to patch together.
Yet, expect stiff opposition from the established order who are averse to change. The cliché, change is constant can never be faulted going by the way events and new developments are unfolding on daily basis. Accept them as they come and adjust to suit the time. Otherwise, you would be left behind complaining to no end. However, you can’t turn back the hand of the clock. Speak less of the phrase, “presently” and the moribund statement, “be rest assured” in modern usage of the two unpopular but erroneously spoken clichés. Write or speak without romancing them. It would surprise you that a little adjustment of the word and phrase, “presently,” “be rest assured” would take you a step towards joining the group of people conscious of modernity. Language, the experts agree, is evolving. It is never cast in gold, that nothing would soil or change it. Now, talking about the adverb “presently,” the majority of users of the language equate it with the adverb, “now,” at the present time, or moment. And if you prefer, currently. That in itself is a misnomer people have refused to discard or do away with. It is a common mistake that has been left to be and does appears that the English pragmatists no longer bother. But to the concerned language purists, the dialogue continues to dissuade the culprits from insisting on wrongly engaging the word. On the contrary, the phrase, “presently” is the exact opposite of what the speakers and writers of the language intend to say. The Chambers 21st Century Dictionary tells us that the adverb, “presently” connotes something soon to take place, or shortly being expected, but delayed in coming. In other words, the American English, like in other instances, does not distinguish between the statement “presently” and the expression, “at present,” “at the moment,” that is the British Standard English adopted by Nigeria and other Commonwealth countries.
A colonial heritage, the American English or incursion tries to dislodge. Of course, the Nigerian media and indeed, the nation’s institutions recognise officially the British English as the accepted model in the day to day business procedure. Another, among the misused statements gaining currency still, “be rest assured,” seems harmless when considered figuratively. To shock you, the masters of the language maintain that the verb “be” has no business tagging along the complete statement, “rest assured.” One begins to wonder how the simple word, “be” renders the expression invalid and un-English in the modern sense. So, if your friend invites you to a party, simply speak, “rest assured” I will attend. Leave out the extra baggage, “be”. Remember, English language is odd and eccentric. Learn the curves to know it. Avoid the pitfalls and blind spots that litter its path that could put you on the spot.