English is breathtakingly rich in vocabulary; by the same token, the lexical depth and semantic breadth result in confusing the usages of many English words. In consequence, the substantial majority of Nigeria’s Anglophones deploy some of these words arbitrarily. These misrepresentations, oftentimes, are due to the similarities in the articulation of such words. On that score, this treatise will expatiate upon the appropriate applications of some of these words, with a view to helping us exercise caution in our lexical choices.
Many Nigerians, especially those who mistake /f/ for /v/, tend to use the words, ‘visible’ and ‘feasible’, interchangeably. While the former means that which can be seen, the latter borders on something that is possible or achievable. Illustratively, the two words can be contrasted in the following sentence: That it is not visible does not mean it is not feasible. Similar to these words are ‘invisible’ and ‘invincible’. Invisible is the opposite of visible, and it means what cannot be seen. Invincible means too powerful to be defeated or overcome. Therefore, even though our God is invisible, with Him, we are invincible. Along the same lines, we have junction/juncture and section/session. A place where things, particularly roads, come together is a ‘junction’, while a particular point in time is a ‘juncture’. Further to that, a section, on the one hand, is one of the parts that something is divided into. On the other hand, a session is a formal meeting or a series of meetings of any institution. Their usages are depicted below for correctness’ sake:
I stood at that junction for hours on end (standard).
We have to part company at this juncture of the relationship (standard).
At this juncture, we have to decide before getting to the next junction (standard).
The session will last for five hours (standard).
We spent three hours of the session to amend just a section of the 1999 Constitution (standard).
Determining when to ‘seize’ and when to ‘cease’ poses another lexical challenge for numerous Anglophones in Nigeria. To take something quickly and keep or hold it, or to leverage (not ‘leverage on’!) an opportunity, chance, initiative and so forth, is to ‘seize’ it; while to stop something is to ‘cease’ it. We, therefore, can seize this opportune moment to discuss how to cease fire in the West. Also, the readership should be in the know that ‘illicit’ and ‘elicit’ are homophones; that is, they embody the same pronunciation. Nevertheless, while illicit, an adjective, is synonymous with illegal, elicit is a verb which means to get or produce something, especially information or a reaction. For example, you can try to elicit information from a gang as regards their illicit deeds.
Other words that are inappropriately used interchangeably are ‘cite’, ‘sight’ and ‘site’. For one, ‘cite’ (a verb) means to mention an example or to quote something. Next, to ‘site’ something means to build or position something in a specific location. Again, to ‘sight’ something means to suddenly see something. These distinctions are evidenced hereunder:
Our teacher sited copious examples of adjectives (non-standard).
Our teacher cited copious examples of adjectives (standard).
My habitation is cited in the UK (non-standard).
My habitation is sited in the UK (standard).
Sarah sighted the dog running for dear life (standard).
Meanwhile, it should be etched on your minds that ‘site’ (a place) and ‘sight’ (the ability to see) can likewise function as nouns. On top of that, the onus is on you to always use compliment/compliments/complement with clockwork precision. Let us consider their nominal status. While a ‘compliment’ refers to a comment that registers approval or praise, ‘compliments’ (a plural noun) emphasise polite words, regards or good wishes. Besides, the Oxford English Dictionary defines a ‘complement’ as something that contributes extra features to something else in such a way as to improve or emphasise its quality. On the strength of these justifications, we have:
Compliment of the season, Paul (non-standard).
Compliments (good wishes) of the season, Paul (standard).
Give my compliments (regards) to your family when you return to the Gambia (standard).
I acknowledged Thompson’s compliment (comment) on my fashion sense with a grin (standard).
Butter is a perfect compliment to bread (non-standard).
Butter is a perfect complement to bread (standard).
As a sequel to the above-mentioned, you should make mental note of the reality that compliment and complement could function as verbs, too. By the way, you should note that while an ‘incident’ pertains to an unpleasant occurrence, which can be a one-off development, an ‘incidence’ borders on the regularity or frequency of an incident. Thus:
Felicia gave a comprehensive account of last night’s incidence (non-standard).
Felicia gave a comprehensive account of last night’s incident (standard).
The incidence (the frequency) of kidnapping has assumed disturbing dimensions (standard).
Last but not least, consider these expressions:
John bears an uncanny semblance to Peter (non-standard).
John bears an uncanny resemblance to Peter (standard).
The rationale behind the foregoing appraisal is that ‘resemblance’ is used when people look alike. ‘Semblance’, by comparison, reflects a situation or condition that is similar to what is expected, but not exactly as hoped for. Hence, one could say:
After two months’ unrest, the community has returned to some semblance of normalcy (standard).
To round off, users of the language can avoid the pitfall of misrepresenting confusing words by consulting reputable dictionaries for clarification.
