Dear Editor,
I have two little comments regarding news coverage in Guyana. My comments are in the realm of the English language. We are in bad shape.
“These policemen at the La Grange Police Station lazy; when the teachers called them, them tek over one hour fuh come and then when them come, them ah skin them teeth and the boys gone. Them nah police; them like them nah interested in protecting we; all them care fuh do is tek bribe.”
I must point out that ‘them’ is English language and is the ‘objective’ form of ‘they.’ It must not be written as in the above excerpt, when it is Creolese and intended to be the ‘subject.’ I think it would have been better to use the pure Creolese ‘dem’, as ‘dem’ is used for both subject and object in Guyanese Creolese.
That ‘them’ really spoilt a good story. How about changing the ‘one’ to ‘waan’?
The second comment has to deal with the seven o’clock news story about the “…student from …who was found in the home of a Guyhoc policeman, “with her clothes’ on…” I am sure that it was the student who had on her (own) clothes, but the reader/writer made it appear as though it was the policeman who had on her (the student’s) clothes. Read again please! Believe me, I was stumped for a while.
Please note that the ‘with’ is grammatically attached to the policeman. Maybe ‘grammar’ in the category of ‘correct attachment’ is no more taught in our schools. Or maybe, the editor is just not competent.
Yours faithfully,
Shelliza Ali
