Improper use of English

Some photographs of the earthquake in Nepal were published by a local daily. One of these photographs using the indefinite article 'a' before the words 'powerful earthquake'. The use of 'a' in that sentence, could possibly be justified but 'the' would have been more appropriate, considering the severity of the earthquake that attracted worldwide attention.

It is unfortunate that we see improper uses of articles almost everywhere. This goes to suggest that we do not teach our students proper English to help them improve their knowledge and writing skills in English language. Writing of incorrect English is seen in newspapers, books and magazines and heard in electronic media and public functions frequently. Apart from use of weak language to express serious subjects, we are pained to see grammatical mistakes, some of which are silly, to say the least. In this age of globalization, the need to learn English has become more pressing than ever before and cannot be bypassed under any pretext. These days, when everything starting from education to trade and commerce is becoming more and more global, inter-country interaction is essential at almost every step.   

The government, particularly the Ministry of Education should take up the matter immediately so that our boys and girls can learn English language properly.   

Engr.S.A.Mansoor

Dhaka.

sam@dhakacom.com