It is yet another Friday. Been an eventful week and we have seen a lot of things worth a two page article. We heard of issues of women on woman violence, HE’s surprise visit to ESCOM and the establishment of the new state of MUST. If you are a normal human, in which case you like to read articles from our substandard online publications and the social media, you might be fed up with the ripples and echoes of the mentioned stories. It is in the light of that fact that I have chosen to divert from all those current affairs to focus on something that people may not want, but surely need to read about. That is how considerate I can be at times.
A couple of days ago I found myself reflecting upon the future of the concept of marriage and families. I am not sure as to whether these reflections came from the fact that I have been watching a TV Show with dysfunctional families or from the fact that I had been reading something on the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage. I am pretty sure that it might have been a bit of both. These thoughts triggered a chain reaction of thoughts and got me thinking about how there are many young people who are not too keen on making or sustaining a commitment to such an institution as marriage. I pondered upon many possible causes of this anomaly but I stuck to one to an extent that I ended up turning into a Whatsapp status post. The reason? Lack of model families that one can look up to. I know I have to defend myself here.
I might not have been around God’s green earth for long but I think I have been around long enough to have noted that there have been some changes in the way people value and handle marriage. I would not comment much on the issue of enduring marriage versus enjoying it. In as much as I think that there are many that are moving into and staying in marriages of convenience (as my friend Edmond calls them), I do not think that I have sufficient evidence to write a full paragraph on this. You, however, could look around your own community and identify those who got married or are staying married just because it is convenient to do so and not because it was/is the best thing to do. This is not a very good thing considering the fact that some of us who look at this from the other side of the wedding bridge like to think that marriage ought to be enjoyed as opposed to being endured. On the other hand, I have come to learn that a good fraction of the marriages we have are just for mere appearances and not for the real purpose. Showbiz. People are investing more into weddings than they are investing in marriages and as such what we are ending up with are dysfunctional families which do not last as long as people promise (on the altar) they will. Divorce rates are escalating and people are getting more liberal with their ideas towards marriage. For us Catholics, our leader likes to tell us that the liberal ideas that are coming in the modern day are part of the Devil’s attack on the institution of marriage. He continues to say that families are being attacked because with dysfunctional families come dysfunctional communities and so on (achina Hope mukonze malamulo a chingerezi apa). I find this true, to a greater extent.
A couple of scenarios…
Pretty recently I found myself chatting with some gentlemen who happened to be waiting for a lady workmate of theirs (amafuna andipatse through ball, if you know what I mean). When the lady in question arrived, she appeared troubled and without being asked she started narrating how she had met her sister’s husband as she was driving from Chilomoni. I didn’t mention the time it was but this was around 2100 hours on a Friday night. Reason for being troubled? She knew her mlamu had another lady there. I don’t know whether she was seeking opinions from us or just thinking out loud but she ended up asking us if she should tell her sister about what she had just seen. The friends in question, some of whom are married gladly offered their advice that she should keep her mouth shut and avoid ruining her sister’s family over what they called “a single episode of cheating which her sister probably already knew about.”
A chat with another friend also brought up the excuses that people make for cheating. The most interesting one was this feeling that men have that whenever they have extra money that their immediate family cannot use, it ought to be spent on other women. This has seen people with moneys have chains of girlfriends and friends with benefits.
Before we blow the issue of cheating out of proportion, it is important to note that it is not the only thing that is ruining the quality of families around. There is this thing of the commercialization of marriage that has ruined the perception and behavior around marriage. This is probably related to the mentioned of point of men cheating because they have “enablers” (money, rides) but there comes an interesting point when we factor women into the equation. There is this belief that circles around some women that the moment they make it financially they do not need a man. The interesting thing is how this belief affects marriages at various levels. For those who do make it before they cross the bridge, it is hard to sustain meaningful relationships with people who are seemingly worse of financially regardless of their financial potential or character. In the end they end up going for the anything that comes their way akatopa ndi kudikira. This also applies with education (ngati ine ndili ndi masters atandikwatire ndi wa PhD) and spiritual life (akazi akufuna ma prayer warrior) and pretty much many other attributes. The interesting thing is how things get complicated when women rise in marriage. Such cases have seen women undermining their husbands, situations that have led to breakups.
Away from all that, I also like to think that the other reason that we don’t have the best and admirable when it comes to marriage is the poor or lack of preparation for the same. As I already said, people are more about making appearances than they are about working out what matters in their relationships. Modern day couples in courtship would rather spend time on a photo shoot putting on “soul-mate” t shirts than on hour planning their future. Modern day couple would rather spend time planning a wedding than they would planning their marriage. It’s all about the HD photos nowadays and what comes out of all this is a picture perfect but unsustainable relationship. And then there is the issue of choice of partner. This, again gets complicated when comprehensive objectivity is substituted by appearances… Ma slay queen ndi ma rich nigga amenewa.
Having said all this, I must say that I do believe in the importance of functional families; the best ground for raising responsible future leaders. I believe that good families are far more important for the society than modern philosophies make us believe. Those of you who grew up in nice families can relate and so can you if you did otherwise and with that we all have the noble obligation of making and sustaining the best families we can get. This goes down to issues of preparation and good choices of a partner that are more objective than they are subjective. It goes down to a good and utilized courtship period in which people can know (if they can live with) each other before making a commitment. Following that should be a period of sticking to the promises of marriage and sticking to the one (s) you are committed to without looking to the left or to the right. Some would say it is easier said than done, but there are people who are doing it out there. If you can’t do it because of your religious beliefs, do it because your moral campus guides you to. As I say sometimes, umunthu ndi uMulungu udzititsutsa 2 minutes inayake. And can we take money as the means for exchange of goods and services that it is please?
Ali ku Salima kuno andipeze kumbuyo kwa stage….
Friday, 27 October 2017
Friday, 20 October 2017
Towards 2019
Awesome day, isn't it?
Last week the Venomous one wrote a whole lot about blood suckers and the issues surrounding the response to the local vampires. I was tempted to write an article around the same issue in line with the looting and whatever else is happening in Blantyre and the ugly scenes. I however have realized that what is happening in urban Blantyre is just an excuse for looting. The real blood sucker problem is something that is happening back home in the Lhomwe Belt. Nkhani yakumtundu iyi. We and our mweene will discuss it shortly when we hold the Mulhako wa Alhomwe annual festival. As of those people who are looting and stealing, I am told the Police and Military have something cooking for them tonight.
Lero I will talk politics and if you are thinking that the MCP victory has triggered this, you are more than just right.
Over the week we had by elections for members of the August house and ward councillors. These were tightly contested elections which generated a lot of hype from Malawians from all walks of life. The reason for that is simple. These by elections were more like a foretaste of what's to come in 2019. Or at least that's what most of us are thinking. This was more of a DPP-MCP duel than it was a proper by election. For MCP, this was also a test of how firm the MCP grip was exerted on the lower states. Well. We had the elections and people voted. People dubbed it MCP's 5-1 victory over the DPP (or DziPPani as the Venomous Hope calls it). The MCP had won all the 5 constituencies that were up for grabs and the DPP walked away with the victory of a ward. People were ecstatic about the whole thing. Pictures of the front page of the Daily Times paper (which had coined the outcome "5-1") were shared all over the social media and there were a lot of memes that were generated from the same election result. The social media nation was and still is excited about the MCP victory.
One would wonder as to whether the excitement in the social media is a true reflection of the the national opinion. We probably haven't had much of experience with the social media in relation to the forecasting of General elections but one thing that I know for sure is that the proportion of Malawians that are on the social media is minute as compared to the one that is not. While we might get excited about what the 16 percent or so are sharing on the social media, we need to remember that the rest do not have the platform for expressing their opinions of the same. Kongeresi might be popular among those of us who are on Whatsapp but Umodzi party might be very popular among the masses in Kameme, Mphonongo and Kalimezako where the average dude does not know what Whatsapp is. This may mean that in as much as people might be excited about the new dawn in the social media, someone else who may not be popular on Facebook or Twitter may end up carrying the day after convincing (or maybe fooling) the masses come 2019. This makes 2019 elections more interesting, in my view.
Another interesting thing to think about before projecting the parliamentary by elections to the general elections in 2019 is the issue of the 2014 voting pattern and how people made a clear demarcation between voting for a political party and a person. Here is a curious case of Zomba Central constituency. In almost all centers, people voted for the DPP presidential candidate and People's Party parliamentary candidate. Reason? They were fed up with the DPP member of parliament and PP president. In other words, they were looking for change in those areas. They did not care about the consistency when it comes to political parties. This begs the question as to whether the choice of the presidential candidates had more to do with their personal potential or their party affiliation. It also begs the question as to whether we should generalize the parliamentary by elections to the general elections which include the choice for "el jefe" of the whole nation. We probably shouldn't be too excited.
There is another thing that is to be kept in mind in line with the elections is the current state of the contenders for the elections. The DPP had of late been associated with acts of violence. Gonapamuhanya. Remember? That scandal will surely cost them come northern votes. I saw a recent clip of DPP guys beating some random guy in the presence of a district governor. Reports also have it that some cadets from the same party took it as far as destroying the tarmac road in lower Shire, with the premise that Chakwera, whose party a certain constituency has voted for, should come and build another tarmac road.
The MCP, on the other hand has it's own intrastate squabbles which have seen some prominent members silenced. That is bad for business considering that cutting out some of the prominent leaders means chopping off votes.
Last but not least, we need to consider the fact that the election outcome is not always decided by the people who vote, but rather by the people who count the votes. No further details required.
2019 is coming slowly and with it are the most interesting and anticipated general elections. On the other hand, I am looking forward to the year because it is the year I will get engaged to my long time sweetheart. I will also be on a good and satisfying job, earning a decent seven figure salary. I admit. I am looking forward to the elections, but my personal life has more to offer in the year, or so I think.
I can't wait for the year 2019.
Did I mention that it's my mum's birthday?
Taking gifts on her behalf, at the moment.
Have a lovely weekend.
Last week the Venomous one wrote a whole lot about blood suckers and the issues surrounding the response to the local vampires. I was tempted to write an article around the same issue in line with the looting and whatever else is happening in Blantyre and the ugly scenes. I however have realized that what is happening in urban Blantyre is just an excuse for looting. The real blood sucker problem is something that is happening back home in the Lhomwe Belt. Nkhani yakumtundu iyi. We and our mweene will discuss it shortly when we hold the Mulhako wa Alhomwe annual festival. As of those people who are looting and stealing, I am told the Police and Military have something cooking for them tonight.
Lero I will talk politics and if you are thinking that the MCP victory has triggered this, you are more than just right.
Over the week we had by elections for members of the August house and ward councillors. These were tightly contested elections which generated a lot of hype from Malawians from all walks of life. The reason for that is simple. These by elections were more like a foretaste of what's to come in 2019. Or at least that's what most of us are thinking. This was more of a DPP-MCP duel than it was a proper by election. For MCP, this was also a test of how firm the MCP grip was exerted on the lower states. Well. We had the elections and people voted. People dubbed it MCP's 5-1 victory over the DPP (or DziPPani as the Venomous Hope calls it). The MCP had won all the 5 constituencies that were up for grabs and the DPP walked away with the victory of a ward. People were ecstatic about the whole thing. Pictures of the front page of the Daily Times paper (which had coined the outcome "5-1") were shared all over the social media and there were a lot of memes that were generated from the same election result. The social media nation was and still is excited about the MCP victory.
One would wonder as to whether the excitement in the social media is a true reflection of the the national opinion. We probably haven't had much of experience with the social media in relation to the forecasting of General elections but one thing that I know for sure is that the proportion of Malawians that are on the social media is minute as compared to the one that is not. While we might get excited about what the 16 percent or so are sharing on the social media, we need to remember that the rest do not have the platform for expressing their opinions of the same. Kongeresi might be popular among those of us who are on Whatsapp but Umodzi party might be very popular among the masses in Kameme, Mphonongo and Kalimezako where the average dude does not know what Whatsapp is. This may mean that in as much as people might be excited about the new dawn in the social media, someone else who may not be popular on Facebook or Twitter may end up carrying the day after convincing (or maybe fooling) the masses come 2019. This makes 2019 elections more interesting, in my view.
Another interesting thing to think about before projecting the parliamentary by elections to the general elections in 2019 is the issue of the 2014 voting pattern and how people made a clear demarcation between voting for a political party and a person. Here is a curious case of Zomba Central constituency. In almost all centers, people voted for the DPP presidential candidate and People's Party parliamentary candidate. Reason? They were fed up with the DPP member of parliament and PP president. In other words, they were looking for change in those areas. They did not care about the consistency when it comes to political parties. This begs the question as to whether the choice of the presidential candidates had more to do with their personal potential or their party affiliation. It also begs the question as to whether we should generalize the parliamentary by elections to the general elections which include the choice for "el jefe" of the whole nation. We probably shouldn't be too excited.
There is another thing that is to be kept in mind in line with the elections is the current state of the contenders for the elections. The DPP had of late been associated with acts of violence. Gonapamuhanya. Remember? That scandal will surely cost them come northern votes. I saw a recent clip of DPP guys beating some random guy in the presence of a district governor. Reports also have it that some cadets from the same party took it as far as destroying the tarmac road in lower Shire, with the premise that Chakwera, whose party a certain constituency has voted for, should come and build another tarmac road.
The MCP, on the other hand has it's own intrastate squabbles which have seen some prominent members silenced. That is bad for business considering that cutting out some of the prominent leaders means chopping off votes.
Last but not least, we need to consider the fact that the election outcome is not always decided by the people who vote, but rather by the people who count the votes. No further details required.
2019 is coming slowly and with it are the most interesting and anticipated general elections. On the other hand, I am looking forward to the year because it is the year I will get engaged to my long time sweetheart. I will also be on a good and satisfying job, earning a decent seven figure salary. I admit. I am looking forward to the elections, but my personal life has more to offer in the year, or so I think.
I can't wait for the year 2019.
Did I mention that it's my mum's birthday?
Taking gifts on her behalf, at the moment.
Have a lovely weekend.
Sunday, 15 October 2017
Mother's Day Reflections
So...
It says it's Mother's Day on the Malawi Calendar. I have been thinking about what was circling in the mind of the one who proposed this holiday. Unlike some of those half relevant holidays we have in January and in March, I think this one makes more sense. Mothers need to be celebrated. Well. Some mothers.
The discussion as to how important a mother is to one's life is not relevant. Many would tell you as to how much their mothers are their heroines taking it from the input and investment in their lives. Perhaps those efforts are overlooked as we all just dismiss it with the feeling that it is every parent's duty to take care of their child. Recent observations, however, have shown me that it is not every mother who has that tender and caring touch.
A couple of months ago I happened to be walking home from work when I saw a woman with a baby on her back. As this woman was continuing with her journey (along the road near where I was putting up), she tripped and fell. Immediately my doctor instincts kicked in and I went over to check on her. In as much as she was still struggling to get to her feet, the face she made and the incomprehensible words she uttered gave me a clear impression that my helping hand was not welcome. I left. Sitikakamiza zinazi. Moments later I heard some noise and when I peeped through the window I noticed that people had gathered around the woman. From what they were saying, she had made a name out of her habit of going on drinking sprees with her baby. To those who knew her, this wasn't the first time she had been found off her feet with her baby on her back. I had missed the fact that she was drunk from our short encounter. While some men were slapping her, there were some women who were helping her unbundle her baby while some were proposing that they take the baby away from her as she did not have a motherly character. It is such encounters that make me appreciate the role our good mothers have played in our lives. I do not think that there are too many mothers who have gone too wayward with negligence of their children. In as much as these scences do pop up once in a while, our mothers are generally disciplined and they raise us into the good Richie Online patrons we are (if you get these articles it means you have made it in life, by the way).
We have been granted the opportunity to celebrate with our mothers. Our presence would probably be of value to the ones who raised us on a day such as this.
I happened to be listening to a radio program and some random human was giving a recommendation of how we ought to celebrate Mother's Days. He said it was a day for parent child interaction; a day in which children out to spend their time with their parents. He also said it is the ideal day for reconciliation between parents and children should there be squabbles. I liked the latter because it is a rare and useful piece of wisdom. I mean... we have heard these other things of buying them zitenje for a long time. It's almost a reflexive tout that everyone says year in year out.
More often than not, I am bothered by the question of whether we should also count fathers in on this day. My old man has at some point asked me what I was planning for him "pa tsiku la anakubala" only for me to see him buy my mum some Mother's Day chitenje. Confusing, right? We should probably have a public holiday in honor of fathers, a day on which we can buy our fathers some Nigerian outfits which we will be unveiling over a casket of wine or veremuti la kachasu. That could help with the confusion. As it stands, we can freestyle through this and deal with the parents as we see fit.
I do hope that those of you who are posting pictures of your parents on Whatsapp spent some time with them today. The benefits of doing that do outweigh the costs. I am heading to my parents' as I type this. I am almost empty handed but I will go back to Mandala with some goodies, having left some happy parents at home. Kuba, right?
If you are to ask me, a millennial, I would tell you that makolo asamaphweketse. Tikawatengera zinthu kumene.
My boss at work once asked me as to who would take care of me if I got seriously sick. The question reminded me of how my parents took care of me when I was down with malaria a few months before. It was my mum who spent that night on the bedside. We laughed at the whole thing and my boss ended up telling that it was time for me to marry. What I learnt? Parents will be parents, whatever level you are at.
It's a day to celebrate with parents, but at the end of the day every day should be Mother's Day. Celebrating with parents should be done but not be limited to this day.
Happy Mother's Day to all mothers... and of course to all mothers to be.
It says it's Mother's Day on the Malawi Calendar. I have been thinking about what was circling in the mind of the one who proposed this holiday. Unlike some of those half relevant holidays we have in January and in March, I think this one makes more sense. Mothers need to be celebrated. Well. Some mothers.
The discussion as to how important a mother is to one's life is not relevant. Many would tell you as to how much their mothers are their heroines taking it from the input and investment in their lives. Perhaps those efforts are overlooked as we all just dismiss it with the feeling that it is every parent's duty to take care of their child. Recent observations, however, have shown me that it is not every mother who has that tender and caring touch.
A couple of months ago I happened to be walking home from work when I saw a woman with a baby on her back. As this woman was continuing with her journey (along the road near where I was putting up), she tripped and fell. Immediately my doctor instincts kicked in and I went over to check on her. In as much as she was still struggling to get to her feet, the face she made and the incomprehensible words she uttered gave me a clear impression that my helping hand was not welcome. I left. Sitikakamiza zinazi. Moments later I heard some noise and when I peeped through the window I noticed that people had gathered around the woman. From what they were saying, she had made a name out of her habit of going on drinking sprees with her baby. To those who knew her, this wasn't the first time she had been found off her feet with her baby on her back. I had missed the fact that she was drunk from our short encounter. While some men were slapping her, there were some women who were helping her unbundle her baby while some were proposing that they take the baby away from her as she did not have a motherly character. It is such encounters that make me appreciate the role our good mothers have played in our lives. I do not think that there are too many mothers who have gone too wayward with negligence of their children. In as much as these scences do pop up once in a while, our mothers are generally disciplined and they raise us into the good Richie Online patrons we are (if you get these articles it means you have made it in life, by the way).
We have been granted the opportunity to celebrate with our mothers. Our presence would probably be of value to the ones who raised us on a day such as this.
I happened to be listening to a radio program and some random human was giving a recommendation of how we ought to celebrate Mother's Days. He said it was a day for parent child interaction; a day in which children out to spend their time with their parents. He also said it is the ideal day for reconciliation between parents and children should there be squabbles. I liked the latter because it is a rare and useful piece of wisdom. I mean... we have heard these other things of buying them zitenje for a long time. It's almost a reflexive tout that everyone says year in year out.
More often than not, I am bothered by the question of whether we should also count fathers in on this day. My old man has at some point asked me what I was planning for him "pa tsiku la anakubala" only for me to see him buy my mum some Mother's Day chitenje. Confusing, right? We should probably have a public holiday in honor of fathers, a day on which we can buy our fathers some Nigerian outfits which we will be unveiling over a casket of wine or veremuti la kachasu. That could help with the confusion. As it stands, we can freestyle through this and deal with the parents as we see fit.
I do hope that those of you who are posting pictures of your parents on Whatsapp spent some time with them today. The benefits of doing that do outweigh the costs. I am heading to my parents' as I type this. I am almost empty handed but I will go back to Mandala with some goodies, having left some happy parents at home. Kuba, right?
If you are to ask me, a millennial, I would tell you that makolo asamaphweketse. Tikawatengera zinthu kumene.
My boss at work once asked me as to who would take care of me if I got seriously sick. The question reminded me of how my parents took care of me when I was down with malaria a few months before. It was my mum who spent that night on the bedside. We laughed at the whole thing and my boss ended up telling that it was time for me to marry. What I learnt? Parents will be parents, whatever level you are at.
It's a day to celebrate with parents, but at the end of the day every day should be Mother's Day. Celebrating with parents should be done but not be limited to this day.
Happy Mother's Day to all mothers... and of course to all mothers to be.
Friday, 13 October 2017
Vampire Republic
by the Venomous Hope
I owe one bottle to the proprietor for giving me another bite of his blog so that I can write again, perhaps more today as it is Friday the 13th, some 24 hours that are historically considered to contain mishaps. There's some mendacious history that this infamous day became reverent due to the fact that there were 13 people during Jesus's Last Supper on the 13th of the month of Nissan. The subsequent crucifixion of Christ a day later added some superstitious ingredients to this unusual Friday, and just as well did the death of some talent-stunted Italian music composer on Friday the 13th in the 1800s. Well, its folly to adhere to a silly rumor that misfortunes are bound to hit on you today just for the nature of the day, and more folly are the rumors circulating in the Lomwe districts of Mulanje, Phalombe and Chiradzulu and in some parts of the country, about fabled blood suckers. These rumors have led to the mob killing of at least 7 people who are believed to have been loitering around the villages like hungry owls of Somalia with a thirst that can only be quenched by blood.
Mob justice has always been considered as an injustice because emotions rather than reason play a huge part in the adjudication, and for the fact that the punishment meted out is usually not proportional to the misdemeanor committed. Perhaps, the departed former president Bingu 'wa' Mutharika was right to say that we have a devil firmly sitting on our backs, translated- 'Satana anatikhalira pa nsana.' For those who have memorized the scriptures, there's a passage in John 8 about a woman caught in adultery and they (leaders of the law, pharisees, Saducees, the mob, and mahopu) brought her to Jesus to seek his opinion. The mob was about to exploit their prejudices and stone her to death in accordance with their archaic laws instituted centuries before. Nevertheless, Jesus quelled the situation by asking the crowd to examine their moral inequities before anyone can cast the first stone. Now this is an important element that has to always be in the back of our mind before forcing someone to kick the bucket. The element of self-examination especially about whether we are fit to cast the first stone can help us go back to the normal levels of justice and fairness, more especially when making decisions about someone's life. Its amazing how a few misguided individuals can take the law into their hands on the basis of unfounded rumors, pure evil people. Malawi has always been a 'god' fearing nation... a country built on the foundations of taboos can never thrive, I quote myself.
Not that anyone has cared to do an "AfroBarometer" on the number of Churches this country has, but surely there must be more Churches in a square mile than there's a borehole or Sukulu ya Mkaka. We claim to be a gods fearing nation to the extent that we spend a good chunk of our time doing incantations, meditations, fasting, intersessions, dawas, and pilgrimages. Only in cash strapped countries like Malawi that the need for men of gods is as invaluable as our need for drinking water. It has now become impossible to go on with life without consulting these men in collars and strange silky gowns; as a nation we don't have any other hope of getting out of dire poverty than wait with open arms for the elusive miracles. Religion indeed has become an opium for our eternal problems. Uganda's President, himself doesn't know the date he was baptized, has urged his subjects, whom he is about to rule forever, to curb on the time they spent swimming in spirituality and use this time for more productive things so that they develop themselves and their country. "We lax too much," he is quoted, "and for any funeral, a week of doing nothing follow." Maybe, we are blessed with the sprouting of technologically savvy prophets, Apostles, Pastors, evangelists, Reverend Cardinals, and even fake Popes and Ana a Zeruah. Interest in religion and receiving miracles nowadays is just at the tip of one's Tv remote and cellphones that don't go beyond freebasics webpage. Every monger who can regurgitate a few verses and had once dreamt sitting on the verandah of a mosque will suddenly bellow on top of their voices that they are real men of gods and can interpret the Bible just as well help lost souls to get past the formidable St Peter on the gate of paradise when the Armageddon will arrive. We live and breath religion and spirituality, we crave for the fulfilling life and to being embarrassed with Godly blessings. But we still believe vampires still exist and they roam in our muddy streets.
There's a reason we mix fetishism with religion; it is dire ignorance. High levels of illiteracy for Malawi are alarmingly embarrassing for a country that has been independent for more than half a century. No wonder we are near the bottom of every notable index about human and social wellbeing. Nowhere but in Malawi in 2017 people will lock themselves after seeing a police car for fear they are coming to suck the tainted solution with cells that give us BP.
The response from the government has been very appalling. During a useless decade under Atcheya, these same Lomwe districts, and especially Chiradzulu, became notorious for news about body mutilations such that one could think it was a fertile land for these private raw materials. A number of women were found dead and people were afraid to go out even to gulp the usual pot of kachasu. The rumors escalated because the government had been silent at that point until when the president decreed that he will personally behead those responsible for these horrific homicides. No one was caught but the killings mysteriously discontinued, perhaps the market had closed by then as well. The Chiradzulu deaths are not similar to the mob justice on suspected blood suckers but notoriety is the same, just as well the muted response so far hasn't worked. The president should have taken immediate responsibility upon arrival from his otiose New York trip and not empty tantrums with political connotations we have heard from his lieutenants. The Big Kahuna has left it very late to make a visit to that part of Malawi when the rumors have gone beyond myths and people have lost lives. To cut the chase, I find the blood sucking fiasco as baseless and perhaps it's a diversion tactics from the ruling party to mask real issues like blackouts, unemployment, and other things on a long list of Malawi's beging bowl. If that is the case, the propaganda goofed big time. As I have alluded above, the issue has escalated because of illiteracy. A whole village, for example, could gang up to stone an ambulance or chase a suit-wearing education supervisor, suspecting them as hiding some blood milking equipments. Very idiotic and utter ignorance. But one would ask, so the whole district including Akweni Mayi Career-tea can be ignorant enough to bake up a story as dangerous as about vampires? Well, a surgical look of the arguments leave gaps that feels like these blood suckers are more also using magic, sakugwidwa chifukwa akumasanduka mileme lol. Really, then why attack government officers doing their work. We will never know. The damage these few districts have done will be hard to repair. The NGOs that have withdrawn from these areas will think twice when coming back especially this year, and as a result development works will continue to stagnate. Perhaps we should allow the Lomwe belt to form their own government, after all His Excellency Mr Vincent Wandale is contemplating leading Mulanje and Thyolo to sovereignty. It's a vampire republic and it must be led by vampires.
I can't sign off without commenting on the recent publication of a research conducted by a western firm which has found, well nothing surprising, that the current President is very unpopular among Malawians (that's why it is imperative for his cadres to ferry vendors all the way from Ndirande to political rallies in Lilongwe just to fill a football ground), and that the ruling DPP is heading to a sticky end in 2019. Among countless sins that Malawians (can be Chakwera who was interviewed) who responded to their questionnaires were that there's rampant corruption and theft at all levels of the government, there's an element of nepotism especially in senior positions appointments (we shouldn't worry, 60% of Ministers will become citizens of MUST by 26 October and will be expected to resign), and lack of clear direction in driving the economy out of it's eternal abyss. Obviously, these are not new problems for anyone associated with our wretched country, Malawi is a failed country even dogs know bearing in mind they usually don't find food in our bins nowadays. Today, I accidentally tuned in to the popular Times Radio program which is also beamed on their TV, the Hot Current, and it is hosted by one time PP sympathiser Brian Banda and it featured Times editor Kasakula and Minister of Misinformation Nicolas Dausi. The central argument was about whether DPP is indeed becoming something like a nasty name among the general public as per claims of the report, I wasted my time hearing more of malafides and innuendos than real constructive arguments, anapindiranamo ma shati I presume. Well, it's a mystery that even those in government accept that there are deep problems but there's nothing being done about them. You will hear a minister praying for normal rains in December so that Nkula can resume power generation. 20 researches can be conducted and results will be the same, that we are in deep poverty than during the time of Akafula. We seem to like making noise and offering solutions that will never see the light of the day. Dausi blamed the opposition for not doing anything in their 31 years of government, as if he wasn't Kamuzu's personal bodyguard and loyalist. When you see the caliber of politicians in high positions, it doesn't offer any hope for an average member of the society because these are the same people who have been tried and then recycled while wearing something yellow, then reused again when they joined DPP. The president is an accomplished academician if we are to believe the inflated 40 paged CV he has but he is not a leader. Everyone knows how he managed the Chanco academic freedom saga when he was minister and when he was foreign affairs he looked sideways when some diplomat was sent parking for calling a spade by it's name. But some 39% chose him and we have to endure him. We expected the opposition to have been taking advantage DPP's failings by offering practical solutions. All you hear is noise and same old recipes that have failed before. Chakwera honestly has never said anything to quench our political thirst, he will only win because he is the lesser devil, he should bless his previous job. The political landscape needs new blood and we can accomplish that by changing the laws to accommodate more brighter new brooms. MCP's thinking is not so much different to that of the DPP that's why they roped in Sidik Mia and others. The azungu report will be the same in 2022, saying that MCP is becoming unpopular. All this is because we entertain mediocrity and accept less than we deserve. It's the same across the society, one day we will elect a 97 yeard old zombie as a president because we have only changed the phenotype while the DNA is still old MCP.
Have a great weekend folks!
I owe one bottle to the proprietor for giving me another bite of his blog so that I can write again, perhaps more today as it is Friday the 13th, some 24 hours that are historically considered to contain mishaps. There's some mendacious history that this infamous day became reverent due to the fact that there were 13 people during Jesus's Last Supper on the 13th of the month of Nissan. The subsequent crucifixion of Christ a day later added some superstitious ingredients to this unusual Friday, and just as well did the death of some talent-stunted Italian music composer on Friday the 13th in the 1800s. Well, its folly to adhere to a silly rumor that misfortunes are bound to hit on you today just for the nature of the day, and more folly are the rumors circulating in the Lomwe districts of Mulanje, Phalombe and Chiradzulu and in some parts of the country, about fabled blood suckers. These rumors have led to the mob killing of at least 7 people who are believed to have been loitering around the villages like hungry owls of Somalia with a thirst that can only be quenched by blood.
Mob justice has always been considered as an injustice because emotions rather than reason play a huge part in the adjudication, and for the fact that the punishment meted out is usually not proportional to the misdemeanor committed. Perhaps, the departed former president Bingu 'wa' Mutharika was right to say that we have a devil firmly sitting on our backs, translated- 'Satana anatikhalira pa nsana.' For those who have memorized the scriptures, there's a passage in John 8 about a woman caught in adultery and they (leaders of the law, pharisees, Saducees, the mob, and mahopu) brought her to Jesus to seek his opinion. The mob was about to exploit their prejudices and stone her to death in accordance with their archaic laws instituted centuries before. Nevertheless, Jesus quelled the situation by asking the crowd to examine their moral inequities before anyone can cast the first stone. Now this is an important element that has to always be in the back of our mind before forcing someone to kick the bucket. The element of self-examination especially about whether we are fit to cast the first stone can help us go back to the normal levels of justice and fairness, more especially when making decisions about someone's life. Its amazing how a few misguided individuals can take the law into their hands on the basis of unfounded rumors, pure evil people. Malawi has always been a 'god' fearing nation... a country built on the foundations of taboos can never thrive, I quote myself.
Not that anyone has cared to do an "AfroBarometer" on the number of Churches this country has, but surely there must be more Churches in a square mile than there's a borehole or Sukulu ya Mkaka. We claim to be a gods fearing nation to the extent that we spend a good chunk of our time doing incantations, meditations, fasting, intersessions, dawas, and pilgrimages. Only in cash strapped countries like Malawi that the need for men of gods is as invaluable as our need for drinking water. It has now become impossible to go on with life without consulting these men in collars and strange silky gowns; as a nation we don't have any other hope of getting out of dire poverty than wait with open arms for the elusive miracles. Religion indeed has become an opium for our eternal problems. Uganda's President, himself doesn't know the date he was baptized, has urged his subjects, whom he is about to rule forever, to curb on the time they spent swimming in spirituality and use this time for more productive things so that they develop themselves and their country. "We lax too much," he is quoted, "and for any funeral, a week of doing nothing follow." Maybe, we are blessed with the sprouting of technologically savvy prophets, Apostles, Pastors, evangelists, Reverend Cardinals, and even fake Popes and Ana a Zeruah. Interest in religion and receiving miracles nowadays is just at the tip of one's Tv remote and cellphones that don't go beyond freebasics webpage. Every monger who can regurgitate a few verses and had once dreamt sitting on the verandah of a mosque will suddenly bellow on top of their voices that they are real men of gods and can interpret the Bible just as well help lost souls to get past the formidable St Peter on the gate of paradise when the Armageddon will arrive. We live and breath religion and spirituality, we crave for the fulfilling life and to being embarrassed with Godly blessings. But we still believe vampires still exist and they roam in our muddy streets.
There's a reason we mix fetishism with religion; it is dire ignorance. High levels of illiteracy for Malawi are alarmingly embarrassing for a country that has been independent for more than half a century. No wonder we are near the bottom of every notable index about human and social wellbeing. Nowhere but in Malawi in 2017 people will lock themselves after seeing a police car for fear they are coming to suck the tainted solution with cells that give us BP.
The response from the government has been very appalling. During a useless decade under Atcheya, these same Lomwe districts, and especially Chiradzulu, became notorious for news about body mutilations such that one could think it was a fertile land for these private raw materials. A number of women were found dead and people were afraid to go out even to gulp the usual pot of kachasu. The rumors escalated because the government had been silent at that point until when the president decreed that he will personally behead those responsible for these horrific homicides. No one was caught but the killings mysteriously discontinued, perhaps the market had closed by then as well. The Chiradzulu deaths are not similar to the mob justice on suspected blood suckers but notoriety is the same, just as well the muted response so far hasn't worked. The president should have taken immediate responsibility upon arrival from his otiose New York trip and not empty tantrums with political connotations we have heard from his lieutenants. The Big Kahuna has left it very late to make a visit to that part of Malawi when the rumors have gone beyond myths and people have lost lives. To cut the chase, I find the blood sucking fiasco as baseless and perhaps it's a diversion tactics from the ruling party to mask real issues like blackouts, unemployment, and other things on a long list of Malawi's beging bowl. If that is the case, the propaganda goofed big time. As I have alluded above, the issue has escalated because of illiteracy. A whole village, for example, could gang up to stone an ambulance or chase a suit-wearing education supervisor, suspecting them as hiding some blood milking equipments. Very idiotic and utter ignorance. But one would ask, so the whole district including Akweni Mayi Career-tea can be ignorant enough to bake up a story as dangerous as about vampires? Well, a surgical look of the arguments leave gaps that feels like these blood suckers are more also using magic, sakugwidwa chifukwa akumasanduka mileme lol. Really, then why attack government officers doing their work. We will never know. The damage these few districts have done will be hard to repair. The NGOs that have withdrawn from these areas will think twice when coming back especially this year, and as a result development works will continue to stagnate. Perhaps we should allow the Lomwe belt to form their own government, after all His Excellency Mr Vincent Wandale is contemplating leading Mulanje and Thyolo to sovereignty. It's a vampire republic and it must be led by vampires.
I can't sign off without commenting on the recent publication of a research conducted by a western firm which has found, well nothing surprising, that the current President is very unpopular among Malawians (that's why it is imperative for his cadres to ferry vendors all the way from Ndirande to political rallies in Lilongwe just to fill a football ground), and that the ruling DPP is heading to a sticky end in 2019. Among countless sins that Malawians (can be Chakwera who was interviewed) who responded to their questionnaires were that there's rampant corruption and theft at all levels of the government, there's an element of nepotism especially in senior positions appointments (we shouldn't worry, 60% of Ministers will become citizens of MUST by 26 October and will be expected to resign), and lack of clear direction in driving the economy out of it's eternal abyss. Obviously, these are not new problems for anyone associated with our wretched country, Malawi is a failed country even dogs know bearing in mind they usually don't find food in our bins nowadays. Today, I accidentally tuned in to the popular Times Radio program which is also beamed on their TV, the Hot Current, and it is hosted by one time PP sympathiser Brian Banda and it featured Times editor Kasakula and Minister of Misinformation Nicolas Dausi. The central argument was about whether DPP is indeed becoming something like a nasty name among the general public as per claims of the report, I wasted my time hearing more of malafides and innuendos than real constructive arguments, anapindiranamo ma shati I presume. Well, it's a mystery that even those in government accept that there are deep problems but there's nothing being done about them. You will hear a minister praying for normal rains in December so that Nkula can resume power generation. 20 researches can be conducted and results will be the same, that we are in deep poverty than during the time of Akafula. We seem to like making noise and offering solutions that will never see the light of the day. Dausi blamed the opposition for not doing anything in their 31 years of government, as if he wasn't Kamuzu's personal bodyguard and loyalist. When you see the caliber of politicians in high positions, it doesn't offer any hope for an average member of the society because these are the same people who have been tried and then recycled while wearing something yellow, then reused again when they joined DPP. The president is an accomplished academician if we are to believe the inflated 40 paged CV he has but he is not a leader. Everyone knows how he managed the Chanco academic freedom saga when he was minister and when he was foreign affairs he looked sideways when some diplomat was sent parking for calling a spade by it's name. But some 39% chose him and we have to endure him. We expected the opposition to have been taking advantage DPP's failings by offering practical solutions. All you hear is noise and same old recipes that have failed before. Chakwera honestly has never said anything to quench our political thirst, he will only win because he is the lesser devil, he should bless his previous job. The political landscape needs new blood and we can accomplish that by changing the laws to accommodate more brighter new brooms. MCP's thinking is not so much different to that of the DPP that's why they roped in Sidik Mia and others. The azungu report will be the same in 2022, saying that MCP is becoming unpopular. All this is because we entertain mediocrity and accept less than we deserve. It's the same across the society, one day we will elect a 97 yeard old zombie as a president because we have only changed the phenotype while the DNA is still old MCP.
Have a great weekend folks!
Friday, 6 October 2017
Random Thoughts on Language and Communication
With Corporal Richie (Retired) of the Grammar Police.
Today happens to be a Friday, and once again we have happened to be blessed with the appearance of a few paragraphs of uncommon sense (or nonsense) for perusal. The indefinite break the blog took seen to have ended pretty early (the Richie Online IT gurus were on strike among other reasons) and we are back in business once again.
More often than not I find myself getting some critical feedback on my articles. The criticism is usually aimed at the ideas propagated but once in a while I have been shot down for grossly assassinating the Queen's language. Timalakwitsa chingerezi. Probably excusable, right? I am just a Lhomwe from Chiradzulu who learnt a bit of English from a rural primary school. English is not my thing. I know that this my sound hypocritical considering the many times I have criticized some Pentecostal preachers who always mess up subject-verb agreement (as of them, they can easily switch to Chichewa).
In the recent past the social media (by social media I mean Whatsapp groups and statuses) was awash with videos of one Malawian footballer who switched languages mid-interview "to communicate well with fellow Malawians". The comment from the interviewer? "Well. It seems like he can't speak much English..." The next few days (if not weeks gave us a raging discussion on the interview. While others thought it was an issue that wasn't worth discussing, the rest thought that it was high time the football association did something to avoid further scenes. The suggestions? Have basic English classes for players (anthu amangoluza ndiye ati asiye training adziphunzira chingerezi), pick up players who are already good with the language (as if they are going for the COSAFA speakers challenge or anything of the sort) and many other funny suggestions. Some threw it to the players and argued that as people who have the potential of being on the continental or global spotlight they need to make an effort in learning these western languages. That probably sounded more reasonable but one is left to wonder as to how many would find that a thing worth doing.
Away from the solid arguments on the matter was a heavy barrage of mockery that was directed on the footballer. Supporters of rival teams took it as a big talk point and an opportunity to mock their neighbour. To add to the voice, Ras Dema composed a song about the whole interview thingy. The discussion now shifted lanes and the nation started discussing yet another trivial issue of whether the mockery was warranted or not. Useless debate, right? If your answer to that is a yes I can gladly say that we are on the same side. I don't think we ought to have the same primary school attitude of laughing at our own people who were born at Mtubwi in Machinga or at Kameme in Chitipa for failing to have a good command of some foreign language. The debate, however produced some interesting sentiments which have prompted me to come up with this piece.
Amidst the noise, some pointed out that we shouldn't beat Sailesi (I guess it's now okay to mention the name) about the whole thing because English should not be used as a measure of one's intelligence. Now that was another debate and a completely different topic in my view. This never was about intelligence in the first place, but people still decided to play the intelligence card; a thing which led to yet another debate as to whether the knowledge and perfection of one's English was important. This issue had us moving in lazy circles. Ironically, a couple of weeks after hitting Whatsapp for the wrong reasons, Sailesi was in the back pages of the papers for the right ones. He had been signed by some Zambian team and he was to be getting a lot of money with some good signing fee in his pocket. People got on the offensive and started picking on "broke English speakers". Language vs Money. This was one interesting turn of events and debates. Really got us mixed up.
The most important observation I have made is that people have lost their original appreciation for the beauty and importance of communication. The whole player interview saga demonstrates it all. I am pretty sure that the man of the match knew that he could only go so far with the interview because of limitations of language. I am not sure as to how possible this is but I think in such cases it is important to rope in a translator or something of the sort to avoid the whole issue of switching languages mid-interview. There are a lot of things I could have commented on around the interview, but I will go on to comment on another comment. When the marksman finally landed on a lucrative Zambia contract people began their mockery on broke English speakers. To that sect (perhaps understandably), whatever language one speaks or converses in doesn’t matter so long as one has fat pockets and accounts. That is what I would call faulty reasoning for the simple reason that I enjoy communicating, be it through speaking or text. I believe that communication is there to be fully utilized but above that, to be enjoyed.
There once erupted a debate as to whether we should be using vernacular languages in our August house. This was brought about when some people observed that the only words some UDF members of parliament would utter were the “chitsiru iwe” or “khala chete” slurs thrown at members who had the courage to stand up and express themselves in the Queen’s language (not without some broken construction, of course; sizimalephera). In other words, members were failing to speak out on issues of national development because they did not have the courage and competence to contribute to the business of the house for some minutes in the white man’s language. Remembering this saga triggers yet another memory of how some of my friends struggled with Standard 5 in primary school. Prior to getting to the class, we had been forewarned that everything in Standard 5 was taught in English except for Chichewa Language. While I didn’t see a cause for alarm, I noticed that there were a lot of people who were failing to grasp the basic concepts of subjects like Social Studies and Agriculture for the very reason that they were taught in English. I am pretty sure that if we were teaching those in our “not so rich in vocabulary” local languages, things would have been a bit easier. The language thing drives wedges between people and it has the potential to halt learning and development. I am tempted to say its high time we dumped the western languages, but hey…How are we going to communicate with donors (I wanted to say tobacco buyers) if we don’t speak their language? Tilalikirana bwanji opanda chingerezi?
On a lighter note, there is something interesting about interpersonal communication with regard to the topic of discussion. Most of the people in my circle happen to be bilingual. Amachita ka chingerezi kosakaniza ndi Chichewa in every sentence whether they are texting or speaking. There are some (not unlike me) who have trouble giving formal talks in local languages and prefer the white man’s tongue for the same. This begets trouble, especially in settings where people do not understand izi za azunguzi. People have been labeled as pompous because of something that is part of them. Solution? Know your audience and rehearse these things.
More often than not we fall into the temptation of thinking that everyone understands chingerezi and can fluently communicate in the same so long as they have a “Whatsapp-enabled” gadget which is far from the point. As a retired officer in the Grammar Police Unit, I used to do a lot of fault finding; telling people whenever they typed wrong spellings and constructions. I stopped for reasons I would rather not elaborate and I think that having to read messages in which rules of language haven’t been honored should be the least of our concerns. What I find depressing is this issue of having to re-explain things just because one has used a language someone did not get. For linguists like the Venomous Hope who have the ability to weave fancy words from their gargantuan vocabulary, I am pretty sure this problem pops up more often than note. Again, know and learn your audience; otherwise this language barrier will drive an unwanted wedge between you and the other human. A potential suitor, probably.
Conclusion?
Communication is vital for co-existence and for development at all levels. Knowing the audience and one’s personal capabilities is key to good communication and as such has to be applied at all times. In as much as other languages may not be important for the basic survival, learning how to fluently communicate in other popular languages may come in handy as it may be a bridge to greatness in many areas of life, be it spirituality, career and social life. Without putting too much focus on language, we also need to pay attention to the way we put our thoughts across. There seems to be a tendency of being unwarrantedly mean among the modern day humans. There are moments that people throw rude words our of nowhere in a normal conversation, lecture or speech. In most cases people hide behind correctional motives, forgetting that it is possible to correct people without stepping onup their toes. Mudzitolere.
Those of you who think English is the best language for your children might as well teach them a Chichewa word or two. Nanga adzikanika kuyankhula ndi agogo awo?
Have a lovely weekend, anthu a Mulungu.
Today happens to be a Friday, and once again we have happened to be blessed with the appearance of a few paragraphs of uncommon sense (or nonsense) for perusal. The indefinite break the blog took seen to have ended pretty early (the Richie Online IT gurus were on strike among other reasons) and we are back in business once again.
More often than not I find myself getting some critical feedback on my articles. The criticism is usually aimed at the ideas propagated but once in a while I have been shot down for grossly assassinating the Queen's language. Timalakwitsa chingerezi. Probably excusable, right? I am just a Lhomwe from Chiradzulu who learnt a bit of English from a rural primary school. English is not my thing. I know that this my sound hypocritical considering the many times I have criticized some Pentecostal preachers who always mess up subject-verb agreement (as of them, they can easily switch to Chichewa).
In the recent past the social media (by social media I mean Whatsapp groups and statuses) was awash with videos of one Malawian footballer who switched languages mid-interview "to communicate well with fellow Malawians". The comment from the interviewer? "Well. It seems like he can't speak much English..." The next few days (if not weeks gave us a raging discussion on the interview. While others thought it was an issue that wasn't worth discussing, the rest thought that it was high time the football association did something to avoid further scenes. The suggestions? Have basic English classes for players (anthu amangoluza ndiye ati asiye training adziphunzira chingerezi), pick up players who are already good with the language (as if they are going for the COSAFA speakers challenge or anything of the sort) and many other funny suggestions. Some threw it to the players and argued that as people who have the potential of being on the continental or global spotlight they need to make an effort in learning these western languages. That probably sounded more reasonable but one is left to wonder as to how many would find that a thing worth doing.
Away from the solid arguments on the matter was a heavy barrage of mockery that was directed on the footballer. Supporters of rival teams took it as a big talk point and an opportunity to mock their neighbour. To add to the voice, Ras Dema composed a song about the whole interview thingy. The discussion now shifted lanes and the nation started discussing yet another trivial issue of whether the mockery was warranted or not. Useless debate, right? If your answer to that is a yes I can gladly say that we are on the same side. I don't think we ought to have the same primary school attitude of laughing at our own people who were born at Mtubwi in Machinga or at Kameme in Chitipa for failing to have a good command of some foreign language. The debate, however produced some interesting sentiments which have prompted me to come up with this piece.
Amidst the noise, some pointed out that we shouldn't beat Sailesi (I guess it's now okay to mention the name) about the whole thing because English should not be used as a measure of one's intelligence. Now that was another debate and a completely different topic in my view. This never was about intelligence in the first place, but people still decided to play the intelligence card; a thing which led to yet another debate as to whether the knowledge and perfection of one's English was important. This issue had us moving in lazy circles. Ironically, a couple of weeks after hitting Whatsapp for the wrong reasons, Sailesi was in the back pages of the papers for the right ones. He had been signed by some Zambian team and he was to be getting a lot of money with some good signing fee in his pocket. People got on the offensive and started picking on "broke English speakers". Language vs Money. This was one interesting turn of events and debates. Really got us mixed up.
The most important observation I have made is that people have lost their original appreciation for the beauty and importance of communication. The whole player interview saga demonstrates it all. I am pretty sure that the man of the match knew that he could only go so far with the interview because of limitations of language. I am not sure as to how possible this is but I think in such cases it is important to rope in a translator or something of the sort to avoid the whole issue of switching languages mid-interview. There are a lot of things I could have commented on around the interview, but I will go on to comment on another comment. When the marksman finally landed on a lucrative Zambia contract people began their mockery on broke English speakers. To that sect (perhaps understandably), whatever language one speaks or converses in doesn’t matter so long as one has fat pockets and accounts. That is what I would call faulty reasoning for the simple reason that I enjoy communicating, be it through speaking or text. I believe that communication is there to be fully utilized but above that, to be enjoyed.
There once erupted a debate as to whether we should be using vernacular languages in our August house. This was brought about when some people observed that the only words some UDF members of parliament would utter were the “chitsiru iwe” or “khala chete” slurs thrown at members who had the courage to stand up and express themselves in the Queen’s language (not without some broken construction, of course; sizimalephera). In other words, members were failing to speak out on issues of national development because they did not have the courage and competence to contribute to the business of the house for some minutes in the white man’s language. Remembering this saga triggers yet another memory of how some of my friends struggled with Standard 5 in primary school. Prior to getting to the class, we had been forewarned that everything in Standard 5 was taught in English except for Chichewa Language. While I didn’t see a cause for alarm, I noticed that there were a lot of people who were failing to grasp the basic concepts of subjects like Social Studies and Agriculture for the very reason that they were taught in English. I am pretty sure that if we were teaching those in our “not so rich in vocabulary” local languages, things would have been a bit easier. The language thing drives wedges between people and it has the potential to halt learning and development. I am tempted to say its high time we dumped the western languages, but hey…How are we going to communicate with donors (I wanted to say tobacco buyers) if we don’t speak their language? Tilalikirana bwanji opanda chingerezi?
On a lighter note, there is something interesting about interpersonal communication with regard to the topic of discussion. Most of the people in my circle happen to be bilingual. Amachita ka chingerezi kosakaniza ndi Chichewa in every sentence whether they are texting or speaking. There are some (not unlike me) who have trouble giving formal talks in local languages and prefer the white man’s tongue for the same. This begets trouble, especially in settings where people do not understand izi za azunguzi. People have been labeled as pompous because of something that is part of them. Solution? Know your audience and rehearse these things.
More often than not we fall into the temptation of thinking that everyone understands chingerezi and can fluently communicate in the same so long as they have a “Whatsapp-enabled” gadget which is far from the point. As a retired officer in the Grammar Police Unit, I used to do a lot of fault finding; telling people whenever they typed wrong spellings and constructions. I stopped for reasons I would rather not elaborate and I think that having to read messages in which rules of language haven’t been honored should be the least of our concerns. What I find depressing is this issue of having to re-explain things just because one has used a language someone did not get. For linguists like the Venomous Hope who have the ability to weave fancy words from their gargantuan vocabulary, I am pretty sure this problem pops up more often than note. Again, know and learn your audience; otherwise this language barrier will drive an unwanted wedge between you and the other human. A potential suitor, probably.
Conclusion?
Communication is vital for co-existence and for development at all levels. Knowing the audience and one’s personal capabilities is key to good communication and as such has to be applied at all times. In as much as other languages may not be important for the basic survival, learning how to fluently communicate in other popular languages may come in handy as it may be a bridge to greatness in many areas of life, be it spirituality, career and social life. Without putting too much focus on language, we also need to pay attention to the way we put our thoughts across. There seems to be a tendency of being unwarrantedly mean among the modern day humans. There are moments that people throw rude words our of nowhere in a normal conversation, lecture or speech. In most cases people hide behind correctional motives, forgetting that it is possible to correct people without stepping onup their toes. Mudzitolere.
Those of you who think English is the best language for your children might as well teach them a Chichewa word or two. Nanga adzikanika kuyankhula ndi agogo awo?
Have a lovely weekend, anthu a Mulungu.
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