Language

I have just spent two days editing papers written in English by students for whom English is not their first language. In fact, most of them have only been speaking or writing in English for about four years. Now they are required to write academic research papers in this relative new language. The results are mixed, and challenging for the editor (me) to determine what they really meant to say.

Please understand, there is no lack of intellectual ability, just a lack of the knowledge of the language to communicate that intellect. That is where my powers of deduction come into play – to figure out what they meant, not what they actually said. The challenge here ranges from the simple to the perplexing. Sometimes it is just a matter of omitted articles, since most Bantu languages (Chichewa, Swahili, Kinyarwanda), do not have articles. Sometimes it is an issue of syntax – word order – since Bantu languages do not use a subject-verb-object word order, but begin with a root verb and then add prefixes, infixes and suffixes that indicate the subject, object and verb tense. (Birakomeye – This is difficult). Sometimes it is a matter of understanding the meanings and uses of the “little” words of the language – the prepositions and conjunctions. That involves making sense of the difference in meaning between of and at or through and for, or when to use and and when to use but. All of these are small things, but when all are put together a number of times in one single paragraph, the meaning can get lost in the midst of the words.

So I have had the challenge of playing word games for the past few days. I like crossword puzzles and word searches, but this has been more challenging than a crossword or a simple word search. This has been searching for the meaning and the syntax while keeping in mind the intent of the writer. It has been trying to get into the mind of the writer to grab the ideas and then put them in standard English. Tomorrow I get to explain my interpretation to the authors and see if I won or lost this round of this word game. The consolation is that there will be many more rounds for all of us. We are all learning in the process. That is one of the reasons I am hear – to teach English. And I know that I have job security for a while.