1.
“Goodluck.”This is probably the most misspelled word in Nigeria today. The
reason is obvious: it’s the first name of Nigeria’s current president, Goodluck
Jonathan. But there is no word like “goodluck”--or, its other variant,badluck--
in the English language; there is only “good luck”--and "bad luck."
Good luck denotes an auspicious state resulting from favorable outcomes, a
stroke of luck, or an unexpected piece of good fortune. That someone would be
named “Good Luck” (which has now been rendered “Goodluck” in error) is itself
evidence of insufficient familiarity with the rules and idiomatic rhythm of the
English language.
2. “Defination.”Th
ere is no letter “a” in the spelling of that word.
Replace the “a” with an “i” to have“definItion
.”Related misspelled words
are“definAtely”
instead of “definitely,”“d
efinAte,” instead of
“definIte,” etc.
3. “Alot.”That is not an English word. The closest resemblance to that word in
the English language is the phrase “a lot.” Since no one writes “alittle,”
“afew,” “abit,” etc, it is indefensible that people write “alot.” But this is a
universal spelling error in the English-speakin
g world; it is not limited
to Nigerians. Other cousins of this spelling error are“Infact”inst
ead of
“in fact” and“inspite”ins
tead of “in spite.”
4. “Loose/
lose.”Many Nigerians use the word “loose” when they actually
mean to write “lose.” Loose is commonly used as an adjective to denote the
state of not being tight (as in: loose clothes). Other popular uses include the
sense of being casual and unrestrained in intimate behavior (as in: loose
women), lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility (as in: “Goodluck
Jonathan’s loose tongue”). Although “loose” can sometimes be used as a verb,
“loosen” is the preferred word to express the sense of making something less
tight or strict. “Lose,” on the hand, is to cease to have, or to fail to win,
or suffer the loss of a person through death, etc. A safe bet is to choose to
err on the side of “lose” when you want to express an action.
5. “Priviledge.”Th
ere is no “d” in the spelling of that word. It’s spelled
“privilege.”
6. “Nonchallant.”I
t’s actually spelled with only one “l.” Unfortunately,
even news reports in Nigerian newspapers habitually spell the word with double
“l.” I wonder if they’ve disabled their spell check.
7. “Grammer.”There
is no “e” in the word. Replace the pesky “e” with an
“a” to have “grammAr.” I’ve read posts on Nigerian Internet discussion forums
and on Facebook railing against “bad grammer”! Well, if you feel sufficiently
concerned about bad grammar to write about it, you’d better damn well know how
to spell grammar! To be fair, this misspelling isn’t exclusively Nigerian, but
its regularity in popular writing in Nigeria qualifies it as a candidate for
this list. The people I have a hard time forgiving are those who attend or
attended secondary schools with “grammar school” as part of their names (such
as my old secondary school, which is called Baptist Grammar School) but spell
“grammar” with an “e.” I see that a lot on Facebook. Such people deserve to be
stripped of the certificates they got from their high schools!
8. “Proffessor.”Th
e name for the highest ranking position for a university
academic (in British usage) and any full-time or part-time member of the
teaching staff of a university (in American usage) is never spelled with double
“f.” It’s correctly spelled “professor.” So if “proffessor” is wrong,“proff”is
equally wrong. The British and Canadian colloquial abbreviation for “professor”
is “prof.”
9. “Pronounciation
.” Although the verb form of this word is “pronounce,”
it changes to “pronunciation”
when it nominalizes, that is, when it
changes into a noun. Note that there is no “o” after the first “n” in the word.
10. “Emanciated.”It
should correctly be spelled “emaciated.” There is no
“n” in the word. This widespread spelling error in Nigerian written English is
the direct result of the way we (mis)pronounce the word. An “n” sound almost
always intrudes on our pronunciation of the word, much like it does in our
pronunciation of “attorney,” so that most Nigerians say “antoni-general
”
of the federation. A related misspelling is“expantiate.”
It should be
“expatiate.” There is no “n” after the first “a.”
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