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MY MEDIA ENGLISH WATCH

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I am inviting Forum members to team up with me in doing My Media English Watch. This way, we can further widen this Forum’s dragnet for bad or questionable English usage in both the print media and broadcast media, thus giving more teeth to our campaign to encourage them to continuously improve their English. All you need to do is pinpoint every serious English misuse you encounter while reading your favorite newspaper or viewing your favorite network or cable TV programs. Just tell me about the English misuse and I will do a grammar critique of it.

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Wage war versus water hyacinths, not versus water lilies in general!

As someone who grew up in a house just a stone’s throw away from a creek, a creek that normally would get flooded during the rainy season, I had more than just a passing acquaintance with water hyacinths. They would blanket the inundated rice paddies and root themselves there for several weeks, making themselves such a nuisance when rice planting season came. We had to hack through them with spade, shovel, and bolo so they could be hauled away from the rice paddies, left to dry under the sun, then burned for good. Every year, the backbreaking effort to get rid of water hyacinths from our rice paddies made them familiar to me to the point of contempt—a contempt that I didn’t have in the same measure for water lilies. This other, more attractive water-borne plant was a much less inconvenient nuisance, for it rarely ventured out of the river about two kilometers away to join the destructive water hyacinths in our creek. At any rate, it’s still very clear in my mind that water hyacinths are water hyacinths and there’s no way I would confuse them with water lilies, which is an altogether different plant, as the following pictures I have put together for this essay will show:


Water Hyacinth
Water Lily

Imagine my surprise, then, when I came across the recent Malacañang photo release below, published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, whose caption referred to “water hyacinths” interchangeably as “water lilies”:

THE GRAND GREEN RIVER. President Aquino standing on the Delta Bridge points to a section of the Rio Grande de Mindanao river carpeted with water hyacinths during his inspection of the flooded areas in Maguindanao on Wednesday. About 20 hectares clogged by water lilies had to be cleared often by hand. Two and a half hectares remain to be cleared. Trailing the President is the Presidential Security Group commander, Col. Ramon Chito Mateo Dizon.

(In the main news story, “Aquino leads ‘war vs water hyacinths’,” “the water hyacinth problem” is repeatedly referred to as “the water lily problem.”)

It looks like Malacañang is hardly alone in thinking that the term “water hyacinths” is synonymous with “water lilies.” Agribusinessweek.com, in a news report entitled “Handicrafts Out Of Water Hyacinth,” reports that water hyacinth is “more popularly called water lily.” The Department of Science Technology itself has acknowledged that the water hyacinth plant is “often mistakenly called ‘water lily’” (“FPRDI helps water hyacinth industry”). I gathered from Google that several other news reports during the past three years or so have erroneously referred to water hyacinths as water lilies.

I am therefore stating for the record here that it’s inaccurate to interchangeably refer to “water hyacinths” as “water lilies.” These two are different and look different, and biologically, they belong to different plant families.

The water hyacinth, whose seven species comprise the genus Eichhornia, is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native with broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves. This plant may rise as much as 1 meter high above the water surface. Its erect stalk supports a single spike of 8-15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in color with six petals. The common water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, grows very vigorously and is known to double its population in two weeks, thus its strong potential to cause flooding. It’s a very aggressive invader that forms thick mats that can cover the entire surface of a river or pond, causing oxygen depletions and fish kills. (Source: Water hyacinths)

In contrast, water lilies, whose estimated 70 species comprise the genus Nymphae, are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with flat, almost circular or oval leaves that either float on the surface of the water or are held above the water. The flowers are borne singly on the stems and have numerous petals that all look alike. The beauty of many water lily varieties has led to their widespread use as ornamental plants. They also serve as valuable natural oxygenator for ponds, allowing fish to breathe and beneficial bacteria to thrive. (Source: Water lilies)

For this reason, I think that if we must wage war against water hyacinths for flood control purposes, it must be made clear to the public—perhaps the Department of Science Technology should make the official clarification—that the war has to be waged against water hyacinths alone. It should by no means be waged against water lilies in general—a war that might turn ecologically disastrous for us.

VERY INTERESTING RELATED READING:
“A Home Before the End of the World”


SHORT TAKES IN MY MEDIA ENGLISH WATCH:

(1) Philippine Daily Inquirer:  Misplaced modifying phrase

Over 25,000 Marikina folk pack 15 evacuation centers

Fearing a repeat of the disaster wrought by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” in 2009, Mayor Del de Guzman said many residents from throughout the city continued to stream inside the 15 designated evacuation centers even though their areas had not been badly hit by heavy flooding.

He said that as of Saturday morning, only some 10 percent of the entire city was submerged in floods.

“But the people left (their houses) even though it wasn’t flooded yet in their areas. That’s why the number of evacuees has increased,” De Guzman earlier said in a radio interview.

The lead sentence above is an unwitting victim of this misplaced modifying phrase, “fearing a repeat of the disaster wrought by Tropical Storm ‘Ondoy’ in 2009.” As a result, the fear is wrongly attributed to the subject “Mayor Del de Guzman,” when it should contextually and logically be attributed instead to the Marikina folk who had packed the town’s evacuation centers.

The following reconstruction puts that footloose modifying phrase in its proper place so it can do a proper modifying job:

“Mayor Del de Guzman said that many residents from throughout the city, fearing a repeat of the disaster wrought by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” in 2009, continued to stream into the 15 designated evacuation centers even though their areas had not been badly hit by heavy flooding.”

(2) Philippine Daily Inquirer: Highly problematic modifying phrase

Ten outstanding Manilans feted in 440th Araw ng Maynila rites

Ten personalities, including the first woman associate justice of the Supreme Court to administer President Aquino’s oath of office, were bestowed on Friday medallions of honor for being adjudged outstanding Manilans for the 440th Araw ng Maynila.

The annual search aims at recognizing men and women who have contributed immensely to the benefit and development of Manila and its residents and whose achievements in their respective fields have given prestige to the country’s capital.

Anyone who reads that lead sentence above is bound to ask: How many woman associate justices of the Supreme Court were needed to administer the oath of office to Philippine President Aquino? Wasn’t just one woman associate justice enough and that, in fact, only one actually did?

These questions are sure to arise because of the grammatically and semantically flawed construction of the modifying phrase “including the first woman associate justice of the Supreme Court to administer President Aquino’s oath of office.” And from the looks of it, that very serious flaw is such a tough nut to crack from a grammar standpoint!

Let me try anyway by jettisoning most of the premodifying and postmodifying elements of that highly overloaded phrase, which at its core is none other than the proper noun “Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales”:

“Ten personalities, including former Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, were bestowed on Friday medallions of honor for being adjudged outstanding Manilans for the 440th Araw ng Maynila.”

As for the other encomiums for the distinguished honoree, I think it would best serve the interest of clarity to just list them down later in the story.

(3) Philippine Daily Inquirer:  Misuse of the present perfect; misuse of preposition; wordiness

Governor arrested over mining graft case

BUTUAN CITY—The governor of Agusan del Norte has been arrested for a graft case at the Sandiganbayan yesterday but wasn’t likely to spend time in jail after posting bail immediately after his arrest was made.

An antimining group in the province, who sued Gov. Erlpe John Amante for alleged irregularities in issuing permits to transport nickel ore out of Agusan del Norte, hailed the arrest, calling it a triumph for the environment.

The lead sentence above misuses the present perfect tense “has been arrested.” The simple present tense “was arrested” should have been used instead because the time of occurrence of the arrest is specified—“yesterday.” The present perfect would be called for in such sentences only if a recent time of occurrence isn’t given.

In the same sentence, the prepositional phrase “after posting bail immediately after his arrest was made” is grammatically incorrect because it misuses the preposition “after” in introducing the reason for the unlikelihood of the governor having to spend time in jail. For that phrase to function correctly and logically as a reason, it has to be introduced by the conjunction “because” instead and reworded accordingly. Also, the prepositional “after his arrest was made” is redundant; the sentence could very well stand without it.

Here then is that problematic sentence as corrected:

“The governor of Agusan del Norte was arrested for a graft case at the Sandiganbayan yesterday but wasn’t likely to spend time in jail because he posted bail immediately.”

(4) Philippine Daily Inquirer: Misplaced modifying phrase; wrong verb tense

Commuters’ umbrellas, raincoats not enough for ‘Falcon’ rains

MANILA, Philippines—Makati city commuters seemed prepared for Tropical Storm “Falcon,” armed with umbrellas, rain coats, and even flip-flops for the flood. But they seemed to be caught off-guard by the storm’s strength.

Commuters were left stranded and soaked at the MRT Magallanes station on Thursday evening as PRC-bound jeepneys usually plying Chino Roces Avenue were scarce when rain, wind and floods brought by tropical storm “Falcon” became worse.

Because of a misplaced modifying phrase, the lead sentence above conveys the absurd sense that it was Tropical Storm “Falcon” that was “armed with umbrellas, rain coats, and even flip-flops for the flood.” The correct subject of that modifying phrase is, of course, the “Makati city commuters,” and the sentence would have yielded the correct sense if the modifying phrase was positioned up front of the sentence, putting it closer to this subject.

The use of the verb phrase “seemed to be caught” second sentence of that lead paragraph is also grammatically wrong; since the action is in the past, that phrase should have been rendered in the passive form “seemed to have been caught” instead.

Here’s that lead paragraph with all its grammatical bugs corrected:

Armed with umbrellas, rain coats, and even flip-flops for the flood, Makati city commuters seemed prepared for Tropical Storm “Falcon.” But they seemed to have been caught off-guard by the storm’s strength.”

(5) The Philippine Star: Misuse of verb “flock”; merry mix-up of tenses; preposition misuse

Passengers flock on final test-run of Bicol Express

MANILA, Philippines – Hundreds of passengers flock the Philippine National Railways (PNR) as the agency launched tonight the final test run of Bicol Express, which will re-open its Manila-Naga-Manila operation on June 29.

Philstar.com is among those that witness tonight’s event as the PNR fully simulated the full services of the train that will leave Manila at 6:45 p.m. tonight.

Officials of the Department of Transportation and Communication also joined the activity. The Bicol Express route was suspended on 2006 on the aftermath of typhoon Melinyo.

The above lead passage looks every bit like a badly written news story that also missed being edited. It not only misuses the intransitive verb “flock” but renders it in the wrong tense, “Hundreds of passengers flock the Philippine National Railways.” The grammatically correct rendering is, of course, “Hundreds of passengers flocked to the Philippine National Railways station at _______.”

Then the second paragraph lost track of time altogether by rendering this statement in the present tense, “Philstar.com is among those that witness tonight’s event.” It should have been rendered in the simple past tense instead: “Philstar.com was among those that witnessed tonight’s event.”

In the third paragraph, the use of the preposition “on” in the clause “The Bicol Express route was suspended on 2006.” In English grammar, when only the year and not the exact date is given, the proper preposition to use is “in”: “The Bicol Express route was suspended in 2006.”

(6) The Philippine Star: Dangling modifying phrase

Woman goes missing while crossing river in Albay

MANILA, Philippines - A woman was swept by floodwaters while crossing a river in Albay, bringing the number of persons reported missing in Bicol region to 11, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported this afternoon.

The NDRRMC identified the woman as 54-year-old Rosa Breda of Ligao City in Albay.

The NDRRMC earlier reported that 10 fishermen were reported missing after they went fishing in waters of Catanduanes province, despite warnings from authorities against venturing into the sea due to tropical storm "Falcon."

Due to improper construction, the lead sentence above has fallen victim to a dangling modifying phrase, “bringing the number of persons reported missing in Bicol region to 11.” That phrase couldn’t find a logical antecedent subject in that construction. Contextually, it couldn’t be the noun “Albay” or the noun “river” or the noun “woman.” It must be the noun “floodwaters” then, for there’s nothing else in the grammatical horizon, but how do we grammatically establish that for sure?

After several tries, I think I’ve figured out a construction that really gets rid of that dangling modifier:

Floodwaters swept a woman who was crossing a river in Albay, bringing the number of persons reported missing in Bicol region to 11, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported this afternoon.”

This time we have clearly established “floodwaters” as the grammatically legitimate agent that brought “the number of persons reported missing in Bicol region to 11.”

(7) The Philippine Star: Awkward use of the word “abroad”

Hold imposition of new OFW travel clearance, POEA urged

MANILA, Philippines - A migrant workers' rights group today urged the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to reconsider the implementation of the new travel clearance procedure for abroad-bound workers.

Migrante-Middle east regional coordinator John Monterona also suggested that POEA chief Carlos Cao Jr. hold consultations with OFW groups to get their inputs.

The use of the compound modifier “abroad-bound” in the lead sentence above is very awkward if not outright grammatically wrong. “Abroad” is either an adverb or adjective that means “beyond the boundaries of one’s country,” and as such is more properly used as an adverb complement or adjective complement, as in this rewrite of that sentence:

“A migrant workers' rights group today urged the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to reconsider the implementation of the new travel clearance procedure for workers bound for abroad.”

An alternative is to use the word “foreign,” as follows:

“A migrant workers' rights group today urged the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to reconsider the implementation of the new travel clearance procedure for foreign-bound workers.”

(8) GMA News Online: Wrong word choice

PHL Coast Guard: 3 fishermen rescued off Manila Bay

At least three fishermen who encountered big waves brought by tropical storm "Falcon" (Meari) off Cavite were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Friday.

The Coast Guard said the fishermen left for Sangley Point early Friday but big waves caused their motor banca to capsize.

“Based on the initial physical examination, the rescued fishermen are experiencing hypothermia and were instantaneously brought to Coast Guard Medical Service for proper medical attention,” the Coast Guard said.

The Philippine Coast Guard must have superpowers to have “instantaneously brought” the rescued fishermen to the Coast Guard Medical Service for medical treatment. The word “instantaneously” means “done, occurring, or acting without any perceptible duration of time,” a feat that only fictional heroes like Superman, who is capable of flying faster than the speed of light, can possibly do.

Surely then, the Coast Guard must have meant “immediately,” a less ambitious adverb that means “directly” or “right away.” Of course, since the usage is part of a direct quote, the reporter or editor should have paraphrased the statement so the wrong word choice could be corrected. By not doing so, they legitimized the wrong word choice for their readers.

(9) GMA News Online: A modifying phrase with an ambiguous subject

The three naked men in Rizal statue in Catbalogan

WHILE walking along the Mother Mary Joseph Hall at Miriam College last week, Dr. Victoria Apuan took me by the arm and brought me to her office. “I will show you something you’ll be very interested in," said the professor whom I fondly call Ma’am Vicky.

“I have photos in my computer of the Rizal monument in Catbalogan City, Samar. It has three naked men. Very unique," she told me, smiling in an enticing way.

OK, I want everybody to take this instant grammar test: In the lead sentence above, who was “walking along the Mother Mary Joseph Hall at Miriam College last week,” Dr. Victoria Apuan or the first-person narrator?

Those who, like the first-person author, answered “Dr. Apuan,” got 0 in the test; those who answered “the first-person author” got a perfect score of 100%. But why?

Well, since the modifying phrase “while walking along the Mother Mary Joseph Hall at Miriam College last week” doesn’t specify its subject, that subject is ambiguous; it could either be the noun “Dr. Victoria Apuan” or the first-person pronoun “I.” By proximity to the modifying phrase, “Dr. Victoria Apuan” wins hands down as that subject. Logically and contextually, though, the author must have meant herself as the person walking in that modifying phrase. I’ll bet on this anytime.

Of course, the grammatical dilemma arose because the reporter and the copyeditor were unable to make absolutely clear who the subject of that modifying phrase is. I am therefore offering the following rewrite to clarify the matter:

While I was walking along the Mother Mary Joseph Hall at Miriam College last week, Dr. Victoria Apuan took me by the arm and brought me to her office.”

(10) GMA News Online: Double-barreled use of ineffectual phrases

Govt to increase oxygen level in Taal Lake to save remaining fish

In an effort to increase oxygen levels in Taal Lake, the government will lay out several oxygen pumps around the affected areas in Batangas in order to counter the natural processes that caused the massive fish kill in the province in late May.

In an interview with GMA News TV's "Balitanghali" on Monday, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director Asis Perez said some 17 oxygen pumps will be deployed around the lake.

The lead sentence above has fallen prey to the double-barreled use of ineffectual phrases, namely “in an effort” and “in order to.” As discussed in an essay of mine posted in the Forum last week, ineffectual phrases are undesirable stock phrases in English because they are wordy and only tend to give false depth and emphasis to what is being said (“Ineffectual phrases, repeater phrases, and other enemies of good writing,” June 17, 2011).

Here’s that lead sentence shorn of the two ineffectual phrases:

To increase oxygen levels in Taal Lake, the government will lay out several oxygen pumps around the affected areas in Batangas to counter the natural processes that caused the massive fish kill in the province in late May.”

(11) The Manila Times: Confusing sentence construction

Washington honors Manila territorial stand

MANILA, Philippines—“What is ours is ours, and what is disputed can be shared.”

Foreign Affairs Secretary made this position of the Philippine government regarding disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) clear to Washington even as Manila stood ready against “any aggressive action” in the area where tension with China has been rising.

During a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington, Del Rosario said the “Philippines has made clear its position on the issue to maintain peace while allowing for the economic development of the area.”

The second sentence of the lead passage above is difficult to comprehend because it makes use of a “stranded” prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase is “made clear,” but these words are separated from each other by as many as 17 words (“made this position of the Philippine government regarding disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea)’), making it difficult for readers to figure out their grammatical and semantic linkage.

Here’s how that stranding can be avoided to make the sentence much easier to understand:

“Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario clarified to Washington this position of the Philippine government regarding the disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), even as Manila stood ready against ‘any aggressive action’ in the area where tension with China has been rising.”

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