Group it among the Nigerian writers’ albatross, the un-English statement, ‘upliftment’ has gained so much currency in the recent times that apart from being freely mouthed or bandied about by our local pastors, the majority of people now see nothing wrong in the aberration ‘upliftment’, often exaggerated or blown out of proportion to imply the transitive verb ‘uplift,’ and the present participle of it, ‘uplifting.’ The out of favour phrase, not at all in the English lexicon, ‘upliftment’, is a typical example of what the masters and purists of English describe as the pitfalls in the language one should be mindful of. The copy, copy syndrome that is common among the users of the language, and indeed any other venture that appears attractive, kills or slows down personal initiative or adventure to find out the truth. The result, or outcome is that we become victims of unpopular statements made popular by the so-called role models in the society. Pastors and men of God, unfortunately, are our role models in many instances, and we fall for them in the direction they want us to go. ‘Upliftment’? ‘My pastor can never be wrong,’ he was quite convinced, when I confronted an acquaintance, insisting that the un-English expression can’t be found in any good or standard dictionary, and neither recognized in the English lexicon.
The debate continued just as he referred me to one of the social media platforms at the touch of a button to justify himself. But I stood my ground, warning him not to rely on the social media which everyone knows is unregulated, and is like garbage in garbage out, to put it plainly. Be warned, do the right thing. Don’t just chorus what other people think and put to practice. Or jump on the bandwagon because every other person is doing so. Like the cliché succinctly states, look before you leap, is a timely warning not to fall prey to the pitfalls and blind spots of the language. The secret to success, and being well grounded in the language of mass communication, as I often repeat myself, is to read, read wide and discover new things. The language is dynamic and evolving. Nothing is cast in gold as far as the language, like any other popular language, is concerned. Now putting it in the right perspective, the transitive verb ‘uplift’ or the present participle, ‘uplifting’ is what our local pastors or ministers of God want to put across or say, and perhaps to uplift the congregation or worshippers spiritually, they fall into the temptation of what the language experts call overkill. The Nigerian coinage, ‘Upliftment’, note it today, has become an albatross, not only for some clergy men, but the writer, journalist and the reporter. Never join the chorus, ‘upliftment’ to popularize the un-English expression any further. Rather shun it whenever it rears its head, asking to be engaged at your peril.
To further break it down, it is pertinent to explain in details that to spiritually uplift someone, according to the dictionary, is to help somebody attain a higher intellectual, moral, or spiritual level, or improve the living conditions of somebody. In the present participle, one can correctly write, ‘the Church programme is spiritually uplifting; try to attend and you will find it interesting.’ On the other hand, the pastor or clergy man can as well raise the spirit of somebody and make him or her feel happier. But in doing this the minister of God should play safe by avoiding the mistake of anointing the congregation with this unpopular phrase, ‘your business, family and indeed, your endeavours would witnessed uncommon upliftment.’ Speak or write ‘spiritual uplift.’ That is the correct usage of the transitive verb, ‘uplift.’ One can also physically lift something or somebody, by performing the simple task of lifting the chair or table off the ground. To raise or lift somebody, a baby or that child, for instance, who slipped and needed to be taken off the ground by the mother.
