Recall the speech made at the National Assembly by a member of the House Committee set up to investigate Chief Godswill Akpabio, former Governor of Akwa Ibom state and now Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs over abandonment of contracts awarded to individuals and groups after allegedly collecting huge sums of mobilization fees running into trillions of naira and how he fought back to exonerate himself from blame. The embattled minister who was on the hot seat entertaining questions from the committee members attempted to spill the beans (colloquial), on how top politicians and government officials benefitted from the missing funds, but was shouted down by a member of the committee with the unpopular vocabulary, ‘off the mic! ‘off the mic!!’ Perhaps in the bid to stop Mr. Akpabio from opening up the can of worms that would have implicated some highly placed persons who are the direct beneficiaries of contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
The colloquialism, ‘off the mic’ is acceptable in informal conversation, rather than in formal speech or writing. The listening or reading audience should discountenance the speech inadvertently made by the seemingly angry House Member from his tone aired on national radio. Though it was a formal assembly where colloquialism in the spoken or written word should not be entertained, he can be excused for sounding informal in his conversation with the minister. A popular radio station based in Lagos, had even gone ahead to popularize the informal statement, ‘off the mic’, in one of its in-house promo jingles to prove a point that the station’s microphone is always on to the publics to speaks up and bare their minds on issues that affect the polity. What a cheap way of giving legitimacy to something that is poisonous to the impressionable and vulnerable groups, including adults and learners of the language of mass communication.
Let’s put the record straight with the standard dictionary as our guide. The adverb, ‘off’ is the synonym of ‘away’, at or to a distance; loose, separate, turn the radio off, for example, the dictionary emphasizes. One would be correct to speak or write, ‘the football match was called off owing to the heavy downpour’. One can also direct someone to turn off into a side street. A friend of yours may decide to have an off day from his or her regular routine. Or, choose to put off a meeting with a friend or business partner; one can also correctly write, ‘the matter has been off and on’ etc. There are no limits to employing the adverb, ‘off’ used contextually.
My argument is that keep away from using colloquial English, especially in business transaction when the standard of Queen’s English would work for you. One may not strictly adhere to the rules of engagement in the normal day-to-day conversation or discussion with one’s close associate and partner, we can still do better by making conscious effort to stick to the Standard English when the occasion ask for it. One other way to achieve this is to jot down your ideas or opinions, and never be in a hurry to join the conversation when one is not sure of what to say. Use the right terminology to put your thoughts or points through to convince the listening or reading audience. Otherwise, one may find himself or herself struggling of stuttering to buy over the audience; and that is evidence of failure, or that the actor, the newscaster failed to rehearse his or her lines or script well in advance of shooting the film and casting the news. No producer or director would tolerate or condone any On-Air personality that is lackadaisical towards the job, or who is not showing enough commitment to duty.
In which case one stands the risk of being fired or sent home for misdemeanour or insubordination. Television and radio production, just as in the print media is a serious business that attracts only the serious minded individual and shut its doors against lazy and unserious people. Putting it right, rather than mouth the colloquialism, ‘off the mic’ as the unnamed member of the upper chambers voiced it, one can speak or write in confidence, ‘switch off’ or ‘switch on’ the microphone, if you like. Well, we have the word ‘switch off’ as a noun and the verb form. The Chambers 21st Century dictionary describes ‘switch’ as a manually operated or automatic device that is used to open or close an electrical circuit, e.g. lever or button that makes or break a pair of contacts, a change, an exchange or change over. We are however, concern with the correct engagement of the verb, ‘switch’, ‘switched’, ‘switching’. Sometimes we think of exchanging something or person for another.
In another vein, one can switch something off; to turn (an appliance, or electrical device) off by means of a switch. That is exactly what the Honourable member of the House meant to say, ‘switch off the mic’ and not the colloquialism, ‘off the mic’ which would have been taken as a slip of the tongue. But for the public show of the drama that was broadcasted on air, he would have denied it, that he was misquoted by mischievous gentlemen of the press. On the sideline, one can switch someone on though treated as colloquial English, to make him or her become aware of something or an unfolding event.
