The electorate voted ‘en mass’ for the candidate

DAR ES SALAAM: THE Kenyan General Election is near, on Tuesday, 10 August 2027, to be exact. Voters will elect the president and members of the National Assembly and Senate.

As would be expected, there is a lot of word trading going on in the country; those who are in power showing and defending what they have achieved; those who are outside arguing that too little has been achieved.

In some cases, those who are in power are reminded of who voted them in. The Kenyans think in tribes (and in togues)! In one posting, the incumbent President is reminded that: “Such and such a tribe are not your enemies, they voted you ‘en mass’”. “En mass”? Not quite. The writer clearly had “en masse” in mind. Yes! “en masse”, not “en mass”.

“En masse” is widely used and accepted in the English language. However, it is a borrowed phrase adopted directly from French that means “all together” or “as a group”. Besides, I would not say: “they voted you”, but rather, “They voted for you”. So, a rephrased sentence would read as follows: “Such and such a tribe are not your enemies; they voted for you ‘en masse’”. We are advised by language experts, to always spell “en masse” with the final “e” to avoid nonstandard phrasing.

The President is also advised to listed to “disenting” voices from the weak”. Fine, but “disenting” is not spelled with one “s”. Another “s” is missing from the word” It is “dissenting”. From Kenya, we move to Norway, where a young man posted something about his Dad: “He is 82 and ‘walkes’ up the hill with the dog every morning.

He says it ‘kick starts’ his pump”. Great for the old man. He “walks up the hill”, not “walkes up the hill”. The writer presents “kick start” as two words. We can ask ourselves whether it is “kick-start”, “kickstart”, or “kick start”?

In most formal writings it is kick-start (with a hyphen). Kickstarter (closed) is a brand; kickstart (closed) shows up in casual situations and kick start (two words) usually reads as two separate actions. In this particular case, I would go for “kick-start”; and re-write the sentences into: “He is 82 and ‘walks’ up the hill with the dog every morning.

ALSO READ: Beyond hashtags: The two intellectual giants Tanzania forgot to applaud

He says it kick-starts his pump”. Back to Tanzania, we have this news item titled: “Simba Queens title wait continues” (Daily Blog 28 May, back page). In two cases, I found myself differing with the writer, only to find out that he was right. Midway through the news item, the writer tells us that: “the first half ended goalless”.

I would have gone for: “The first half ended in a goalless draw”. So, is “ended goalless” incorrect? On consultation, it was established that: “The first half ended goalless” is perfectly correct. It is a standard phrase used in sports journalism (like football/ soccer) to describe a first half where no goals were scored. Alternatives, which are equally correct and commonly used include: “The first half ended in a goalless draw” (my favourite); “The first half finished scoreless”; “It was goalless at the break”; and, “The teams were tied at 0-0 at half-time”.

Thanks for the tutorial. Towards the end of the news item, the writer presented a thrilling story: “Fasila Omondi stepped up and struck a superb effort that crashed against the woodwork, much to the relief of the Tausi side”. “Against the woodwork?”

I was sure this was wrong and would have gone for “against the goalpost”. Consultation proved otherwise, To “crash against the woodwork” is a sports idiom, typically used in football (soccer) to mean a shot taken at the goal that hits the goalpost or the crossbar, instead of going into the net” This is a reflection of yonder years when goal posts and crossbars were made of wood! There is always new knowledge to take in! lusuggakironde@gmail.com