English Please

The past 24 months in South African politics have been very active and stimulating, I have attended many political gatherings, debates meetings and campaigns. Politicians have been making news and I have attentively listened and engage with their inspiring massages.

These patriotic and driven men and women speak a different language when given a mic and a podium. Literally, a completely different style of grammar, vocab and syntax, not like the English you learnt in school,one of the significant characteristics of a politician/comrade/veteran of the struggle, their words are not like our words. Notice in rallies when politicians speak, there are words that break any kind of cultural or linguistic barrier, when comrades are gathered together the language they speak speaks to them more than it does the audience, because honestly nobody really understands. Comrade vocab beats the politically inclined, this is not academic jargon. This is on the street with the masses political language. “Comrade, your statement is pregnant please deliver” or “Comrade that statement is perpendicular to the policy mandate, that which is stated in clause 62 of the constitution founded by cadres, in last year’s imbizo.” Or “If you listen to the recent newspapers they are saying very loudly that there are factions breaking within the structure”. My point exactly. Not only are such statement ridiculously long and redundant but they make absolutely no sense.

These are the kind of words that have seen through revolutions and political movements and they will keep doing so till somebody raises their hand during a caucus meeting and enquires, “Comrade I have a query to helicopt, will the comrade please filter and refine the fundamental essence that which is captured in your message?”