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Picture Copyright Greg Ward, Shutterstock
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A young woman hung up this aptly worded tee shirt during the remembrance service for victims murdered at the Christchurch mosque.
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Exemplary language from the New Zealand leader
After the appalling massacre of 50 people by a gunman at a Christchurch mosque on 15 March, New Zealand prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made a profound impact with her simple words of compassion and wisdom.
But what was it that made the New Zealand leader's oratory so powerful and influential, not just in her country but across the world? Tony Spencer-Smith analyses some of the factors that made Ardern's statements so exemplary.
The massacre also showed the dangers of racial and religious hate propaganda: the vitriolic words spewed out on social media by the white supremacist who videod himself killing people at prayer. We deplore what happened and the divisive language so casually used, not just by the gunman but by shock jocks and right-wing politicians, who often cite the right to free speech as an excuse for sharing their venomous views.
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Also included in this issue is an article explaining why it is no longer considered bad English to start a sentence with and or but and a review of a humorous book that can help to take the pain out of grammar.
If you have ideas for topics you would like covered in future issues, let us know.
Linda Vergnani
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What makes Jacinda Ardern's oratory so powerful?
A grieving Jacinda Ardern at the Christchurch mosque after the massacre. This photo by Kirk Hargreaves of the Christchurch City Council has become as symbolic of the New Zealand Prime Minister's stance as her calm and utterly compelling words.
By Tony Spencer-Smith
With her careful choice of simple, powerful words, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern showed herself to be a leader gifted with the ability to communicate with enormous emotional impact. There is a lesson there for everyone who wants to use words to deep and meaningful effect.
When she learnt of the Christchurch massacre, she described it as ‘one of New Zealand’s darkest days’.
When she spoke of the man behind the slaughter of 50 Muslims in two mosques, she said he had sought notoriety. ‘That is why you will never hear me mention his name. He is a terrorist; he is a criminal; he is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless.’
When she announced sweeping new gun control laws, she said: ‘On March 15 our history changed forever. Now, our laws will too.’
Ardern was reacting to the horrifying killing of 50 women, children and men by a right-wing extremist, but she did not resort to clichés. She used words to react to the massacre in a deeply empathetic way, eloquently expressing the grief of the survivors and the shock of the nation.
She avoided the slogans so common in political discourse. She refused to fan the flames of division, but went out of her way to say that the people of New Zealand were not chosen for this act of terror because they condoned racism, but because they represented diversity, kindness, compassion and a refuge for those who need it.
She said: ‘And those values, I can assure you, will not and cannot be shaken by this attack.’
All leaders, not just politicians, can learn from the skilful way she used words. Everything she said was clear and concise. There was no room for misunderstanding.
Ardern pulled no punches in taking on the powerful gun lobbies and banning semi-automatic weapons. She utterly condemned the massacre and the mind-set of the man who carried it out, but she did not dwell on that but rather on the forces that unite people.
When she addressed the first meeting of Parliament after the attack, she started with the traditional Arabic greeting. ‘As-salamu alaykum,’ then looking up to the public gallery added, ‘peace be upon you, and peace be upon all of us.’
Commentators in many countries are now hoping that their leaders will follow suit and switch over to similar clear, compassionate and authentic communication.
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But can you start a sentence with and?
Copyright Shutterstock
By Tony Spencer-Smith
Were you sternly taught that you can’t start a sentence with and or but? Or do you have a boss who enforces this ‘rule’?
Well, you can relax. It is perfectly acceptable. This is not a rule at all but a myth or, to quote famous English authority Henry Fowler, a superstition.
Not only is it acceptable to use these conjunctions in this way, but it is a method of emphasising a thought. It is more dramatic to say: ‘These are good budget moves. But do they go far enough?’ rather than writing it as a single sentence with but in the lower case.
Oxford Dictionaries points out that not only do respected grammar and usage guides shoot down this ‘rule’; it is ignored by famous writers such as Susan Sontag, Vladimir Nabokov, Kingsley Amis, P.G. Wodehouse and Albert Einstein.
The only thing to be careful of is starting every second sentence with conjunctions, because that is bad style.
Now what about starting a sentence with another conjunction, because? Again, the answer is a clear yes. But you need to be a little more careful. Because introduces a subordinate clause which cannot stand by itself as a sentence.
So, if you write: ‘Because I don’t like the colour of your hair’, you are writing an incomplete sentence or sentence fragment. You should add a main clause such as: ‘Because I don’t like the colour of your hair, I am leaving you.’
Now you can ignore the tetchy grammar mavens and freely wield those conjunctions!
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Proceed versus precede
Often people use proceed and precede incorrectly. Which of these two sentences do you think is correct?
His proceeded his lecture with a verbose introduction about his glittering career.
Everyone must precede to the hall.
See if you got the right answers at the end of this newsletter.
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Stop cringing at the okker Aussie accent
Australians have largely overcome their cultural cringe. But according to two academics at Monash University, it is still there in the attitude of many to Australian pronunciation – and they say it is high time to put an end to this.
In an article in The Conversation called Oi! We’re not lazy yarners, so let’s kill the cringe and love our Aussie accent(s), linguists Howard Manns and Kate Burridge say the way Australians speak is often called lazy or slovenly, and this is just not true.
They write: ‘So let’s learn to love our Aussie accents in 2019 in all forms, posh, broad, ethnic, Aboriginal — and by this we mean love the people who use them.’
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GREEN TIP
Create a grassroots green team
Copyright Shutterstock
Most firms today want to be greener. But, as Kermit will tell you, ‘it’s not that easy bein’ green’.
Forming a sustainability team is a great way to get employees involved, by giving them the opportunity to develop and implement ways of making your business more sustainable.
Such a team can help educate staff by organising lunch-and-learn sessions with outside experts. It can monitor how well you are doing with green initiatives and support campaigns of non-profit organisations like WWF Australia. The team members can initiate projects like a better recycling program and encourage their colleagues to participate.
Your green team can not only foster grassroots ideas but help ensure that top-down sustainability initiatives are on track.
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BOOK REVIEW: Making grammar less grim
Copyright Linda Vergnani
For many people, grammar is a vexed issue. Some missed out on it at school altogether, and now have a hollow feeling at the pit of their brain. Others have a vague recollection of what they were taught (and probably loathed) a long time ago.
But never fear, Caroline Taggart and J.A. Wines have a solution: their best-selling and amusing book My Grammar and I (or should that be ‘me’?).
In their introduction, they point out that English is always evolving, and only pedants waste their time trying to stop this. But they say we can try to preserve the best features and stop the language from being compromised.
They write: ‘Since linguistic sloppiness often leads to ambiguity – which is one of the things grammar rules try to avoid – a few rules are surely a good thing. And frankly, if you can’t bring yourself to agree with that, you might as well stop reading now and go and get your money back before the book starts to look tatty.”
They point out that when you’re chatting with friends, it may not much matter how you express yourself, but it is a different story when you are applying for a job or compiling a report. ‘Language is as much part of how you present yourself – and how others react to you – as the way you dress.’
Aware of the fear many people have of grammar, the authors go out of their way to use humour to make the whole exercise more human.
So if you don’t know your part of speech from your elbow; if you think a misplaced modifier is a phrase calculated to baffle you; and you guess a gerund is a small animal, this book will inform and comfort you.
- You can learn more by taking our new course Grammar and punctuation made easy. Talk to training director Tony Spencer-Smith if you are interested in arranging an in-house session.
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Answers for precede versus proceed
Both sentences are wrong. While precede and proceed look and sound similar,they have very different meanings. In the first sentence the writer should have used precede, which means to come before something else. The introduction obviously came before the speech.
In the second sentence, the word proceed is needed because it means to move forward or go to. It can also mean to go on or continue with a course of action, as in We must proceed with the arrangements before it is too late.
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Published by Express Editors and Eco Editors
Editors
Tony Spencer-Smith and Linda Vergnani
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As award-winning writers and highly experienced editors, we can assist you with compelling web and print copy and edit and improve your reports, case studies, brochures, books and other content. Our special areas of interest are the environment, health, natural sciences, education and ecotourism.
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