Oh Language -24

 Oh Language -24                            

As ever Mr.Ashok [Mr.Parthasarathy] had expressed appreciation for episode 23 on the same theme.

But a series of ‘usages’ for clarification has been raised by one of our viewers Dr. R .Rangarajan.

Dr R Rangarajan has thrown a cluster of items for clarification. All of them call for a keen and steadfast clinging on to the context [purpose]. So, let me attempt some explanation with fond hopes of making the idea clear. The statement from Dr. R R reads thus.

Incidentally please comment on the following.

Explicit /Implicit  

Explicit means ‘open’ or clear with nothing hidden. An example “Touching an electric wire can prove fatal”.

Well, implicit can mean different things [contextual]. 1 It may mean TOTAL or COMPLETE as in “In defence services ‘implicit obedience’ is the first required observance.

2. It may also mean ‘not stated but understood’ as in ‘one shows respect to National Anthem’ [To stand up in stiff posture and to salute at the end’] The message is in-built [implicit] in “show respect” to National Anthem.

In front of / In the front of / In front of the

The three ‘forms’ presented above have to be understood for their correctness. I am not conversant with the expression “In the front of”. A detailed scrutiny of the usage reveals that ‘in the front of’ is a valid usage under very specific situations. It points to something within and in the front part of’. Example: The driver sat in the front of the bus [inside the bus and in the front part of the bus]. An eye-opener to me at least, is the usage ‘In the front of’.

‘In front of the ’ generally means  REFERENCE TO POSITION OR Place   as in “I stood in front of the mirror to see if the wound is healing’. Here the two objects are placed one against [in front of] the other.

The expression ‘In front of ‘merely suggests a general scene as in ‘He was humiliated in front of guests on the occasion.  ‘He’ refers to a specific person while ‘guests’ imply persons known /unknown without naming any one. But the happening is sufficiently explained.

I request you to kindly / I kindly request you

I do not know if the Dr. is laying a trap … Still, it is logical to look at each point raised.

I request you to kindly / I kindly request you

Both the versions apparently look alike. But they are not. ‘I request you to kindly’ means that the applicant appeals for kindness or mercy from the authority and the usage is valid.

On the contrary ‘I kindly request you’ is not in order; this is because ‘request’ means a state of polite /humble frame of mind. None can afford to make an ‘unkind or harsh’ request. So, ‘I kindly request you’ is both redundant and unconvincing for native speakers. The usage is ‘accepted’ in parts of East Asia but not in Britain /USA

Now to the day’s posting:

All terms beginning in ‘In’ need not be a negative of something. They could themselves be root words. Some more such items are presented now.

Intact

The term refers to something [a package] being undamaged or undisturbed as in ‘The parcel received to-day is ‘intact’.

Intelligent

The term refers to someone with the ability for quick grasp/ understanding a situation.

Intend

The term refers to some idea or plan as in   “I intend visiting a museum to utilize my time meaningfully”

Intense

The term refers to the degree of seriousness or impact as in “I could do nothing yesterday because of intense head ache.

Intent

The term refers to ‘paying serious attention to’ something as in “He has always been intent of becoming a lecturer as his passion is lecturing”.

Intelligible

The term refers to the ease or simplicity with which a writing or speech is clearly understood by readers or listeners. ‘Intelligible’ does not mean capable of being intelligent. At the same time a person may be intelligent, but s[he] need  not be  intelligible to many. I trust the suggestion is intelligible  

Inversion

The expression refers to change in orientation as in ‘Keep the washed vessels inverted [upside down or bottom up] to drain the water and help them dry faster’.

Inveterate

The term refers to ‘long established’ habit/attitude or similar trends in life and unlikely to change [as in ‘the two political outfits function as inveterate enemies ever].

Inquest

The term refers to the ‘prescribed process or method of ascertaining the cause of death of a person’ Often [in India] it is referred to as ‘post mortem’. However, the term ‘postmortem’ has to be clearly understood and please await a detailed account in the following episode.