Redundancies, stale expres-
sions are taking over a size-
able portion of the airwaves
and pages of newspapers as
if no one cares any more about the
quality of messages transmitted for
public consumption day in day out.
We have been fed on several occa-
sions with these outdated and worn
out phrases that no longer make
sense to the listening or viewing au-
dience, yet the editors, journalists and
the reporters take delight in them as
if heaven would fall without recycling
these words or phrases.
“Selling like hot cakes” is one of
the families of redundant and stale
expressions that should be despised
and consigned to the waste bin. It’s all
about looking for a better alternative
to replace the phrase, better still work
on and expand your vocabulary; you
can even go beyond them. The secret
of achieving this is to Read! Read!!
And Read. Never limit yourself. Be
adventurous, break new grounds in
English lexicon to remain relevant.
Many instances, I hear people, even
the educated ones, mention “selling
like hot cakes” in attempt not only
to play up simile a figure of speech
in which one thing is compared to
another of a different kind, but talk
about the scramble for goods or a
particular item in the market by the
buyers; may be because the product
is good and affordable in a season
of low purchasing power which has
taken its toll on many homes.
It may sound confusing, but that is
the dynamism of language, that the
verb “reoccur” and the noun deriv-
ative “reoccurring” has since given
way to the verb “recur” and the noun
derivative “recurrence or recurring,”
the current usage approved by the
English purists and masters.
The word “recur” and “recurrence”
or “recurring”- to happen again or
repeatedly is structurally acceptable,
over and above “reoccur” and “reoc-
currence” or “reoccurring.” Even as I
did listen to a national radio station,
monitored from Abuja, Nigeria’s fed-
eral capital territory to my surprise
the station kept faith with the old
expression “reoccurring” in its news
bulletin a couple days ago.
So, when next you are tempted to
use the phrase as most journalists,
reporters and writers would do stay
with the current trend, phrase it “re-
cur,” “recurrence” or “recurring” not
“reoccur” “reoccurrence” or “reoccur-
ring.” You can simply write or speak
“In order to avoid the recurrence of
communal clashes between the two
border communities, all are enjoined
to preach tolerance, peace and love.”
The statement, “foundation laying
ceremony” should be done away
with. It is no longer fashionable or
relevant whether in the spoken or
written form. Surprisingly, even as I
write, a good number of people the
media inclusive-journalists, reporters
and writers are still stuck to the old
phrase “foundation laying ceremony”
when writing or reporting about top
government functionaries turning the
sod at project sites or carry out offi-
cial launch of projects or programmes
that would be of benefit to the people
or community.
Yes! Before now writers fancied the
expression “foundation laying cere-
mony” which unfortunately cannot
stand the test of time today. Change is
constant, says an old adage. So, we go
alongside with the time. Otherwise
we get stuck while the rest marched
on and dust us behind with dire
consequences.
Replace “foundation laying ceremo-
ny” with “ground breaking ceremony”
especially for the journalists and re-
porters attached to government house
who are bound to use the expression
are regular intervals, as they join the
governor’s entourage to inspect or
perform the ground breaking cere-
monies of projects and programmes
around the state.
The good news is that readers can
now get a full dose or compilation
of English for Communicators
online. Follow us or go to www.
englishforcommunicators.com and
read more.
