Learner Lunacy
Language usage has always been a pet peeve of mine. At least since commencing writing more formally. I once dated someone who made up words as were needed. Even worse was assigning new meanings to existing words that simply sounded fashionable enough to utilise in every sentence without fail.
I have been rallying against – what I am advocating is an incorrect word usage – the term “Learner” instead of “Student”. For what seem to no longer be obvious reasons in terms of the Oxford dictionary, some moron decided that these two words were comfortably interchangeable and thus a “Learner” was a “Kewl” thing.
So first let’s refer to the Oxford dictionary shall we? NOT the “Learners” Oxford Dictionary that I stumbled upon with great horror a few years ago. Mine is from about 1993. YIKES! I’m old!
A “Learner” is someone who learns a skill or information by studying. You learn to drive. You learn to walk. It is a term generally applied to simpler learning tasks.
A “Student” is someone who is studying a subject or, more specifically, at an academic institution.
Yes! They both learn something but while a student learns something a Learner doesn’t study to learn so to speak. Learners don’t go to University but students, however, do. You can learn to study and in doing so you are called a “Student”.
The simple fact is that the word “Learner” implies rather rudimentary absorption of knowledge. A Student spends endless hours studying and learning. It is not just snobbery but it implies some serious dedication of some sort.
When we begin to call “Students” by the term “Learners” we are really calling them stupid, capable of little else but simple instruction or learnt behaviour. Should we not excite them with the knowledge or becoming educated? Encourage them to be studious?
This incorrect use of language was first noticeable about 8-10 years ago. My first recollection of hearing it was on E-TV. It has since become a horrendous institution. It has now degraded to such a point that I heard a presenter on SABC 2 use the term Learnercy. Umm, hello! There is no such bloody word but there is one such “studentship”.
I think it is shocking that there is no one at either of our public broadcasters that has any knowledge of the English language. I do not blame the presenters, presenting in a language that is not their first. I blame those that hire them! I blame the staff that types up such incorrect and shocking drivel for the presenter to read.
This is not about elitism. This about broadcasting someone who has a command of the language they are presenting in. It is for this very reason I would never appear in a public presentation speaking in Afrikaans. My fluency in the language is mediocre at best. It would simply be as ridiculous as those uttering words such as :”learners” and “learnercy” – HOW does one even spell such a non-existent word?
Perhaps the broadcasters should learn something and go back to study.
Links
Very scary what gets put out these days…
