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TO THE EDITOR
Mistakes in HSC English textbook
There is many a question about the appropriateness of the methodology used in writing the textbook prescribed by the National Curriculum & Textbook Board (NCTB) for classes 11 & 12. It's not been possible to carry out the objectives of the book due to the lack of an empirical approach to the problem of language teaching and learning. The book contains some mistakes, perhaps due to carelessness.
A. In Unit 4, Lesson, Section B of the textbook there is a topic on Origami. But in the text it is misspelt as Oregami. Reference: The Little Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English (Seventh Edition, Sixth Impression) and Oxford Talking Dictionary (available on multimedia CD).
B. In Unit 14, Lesson 1, Section C of the textbook there is a sentence ... education was one of the most important social phenomenon... But according to grammarians we have to use a plural noun after one of the…
For this reason here the noun should have been spelt as phenomena (phenomena, originally derived from Greek, is the plural form of phenomenon). Reference: Michael Swan's Practical English Usage, Section 501(4), Second Edition, 3rd Impression, and Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English by A S Hornby (4th edition, 10th impression).
C. In Unit 5, Lesson 4, Section B there is a grammatical instruction as ' We use '-ing' with a verb when it is used after think, like, love, prefer. But in contrary to this instruction, the second paragraph of Unit 4, Lesson 1, Section C starts as 'The Japanese love to take part in sports in their free time.'
Actually the instruction is partially correct. Grammarians say that after like, love, prefer and some other verbs we can use verbs either taking infinitive or gerund (-ing form) without any change of meaning. Reference: A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet's A Practical English Grammar, section 266 (4th edition, 10th impression), and John Eastwood's Oxford Practice Grammar, section 63(A), second edition.
There is no clear obligation of using infinitive or gerund after think. But as per the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English we certainly can use infinitive after think such as Who would have thought to see you here?
I urge the authorities concerned to take the initiative to correct these inadvertent mistakes and incongruities in the next impression/edition.
Md. Munibur Rahman
Lecturer in English
Jessore Govt. Mohila College, Jessore.
Dipali's suicide
Dipali, a tiny poor girl of Kishoreganj, committed suicide as she could not bear the pangs of hunger. It is really a matter of great regret that though the country is near self-sufficient in food production it cannot afford to provide food for all its people. Not only this, the government has increased the number of VGF cards in the north-
ern districts. But what purpose will it serve if girls like Dipali have to commit suicide? And the increase in food production will ever remain pointless if thousands of people have to starve in the northern region. Who are getting the VGF cards? And why are the poor families deprived of the rice supply that they need so desperately? After Dipali committed suicide, some businessmen and NGOs approached the family with help, but the government is silent and has claimed that the family has received VGF cards. There are thousands of families who are left without any food supply to sustain life.
They are not getting VGF cards as they have no link to the ward commissioner or ward member or they are suspected of not having voted for the ruling party. Who will save these vulnerable families?
The NGOs are not capable of handling the food shortage in such vast areas. So the government has to play the crucial role here. Taslim Hasan Dept of. Finance
University of Dhaka
Weekly holiday
Declaring two days weekly holiday is a good decision taken by the government for a country like Bangladesh, which is spending an enormous amount of foreign exchange for buying petrol and other related things in order to keep the country running. Moreover, the Dhaka city will get some respite from the poisonous gas and other related substances that it is swallowing everyday, especially from vehicles and urban based industries.
As for the economy, I believe the labourers will be greatly benefited as they will make some extra money by working on Saturdays as overtime.
Humayun Hyder
Zigatola, Dhaka
Drive against unscrupulous business
The recent drive against adulterated food businesses has earned appreciation of all. We know there has always been adulteration of food-- but
nobody could believe it has gone to the extent where it's simply poisoning us with a whole list of carcinogens. This was only possible due to lack of regulation and enforcement.
We have to be cautious about critical products, which have a direct impact on health like pharmaceuticals and other healthcare products, cosmetics etc. Particularly when it comes to medicines-- the dosage accuracy and stability of the end product are very critical for their pharmacological action. There must be strong surveillance on such products and occasional investigation into manufacturing floors of the pharmaceutical and healthcare products should be done by recognised bodies comprising international and in-house experts. We don't know what we are taking to cure our diseases. We just complain that these medicines don't work. Besides cheap and adulterated imported products from India, there are many small local companies who use substandard raw materials in their formulations. Such products not only cause ineffective therapy, they can result in lethal toxicities.
Do we know what our daily care products like soaps, detergents, toothpastes, lotions etc really contain? These are the high volume products with good margins and potential for adulteration is also high due to the wide range of chemicals used in these. We doubt whether BSTI has the strength in terms of expertise or technical facilities to keep these essential products off the hands of unscrupulous businesses. Why not take help from WHO or FDA or any such organisation that can independently look into the situation in our country. This will surely help create public awareness and check adulteration.
Shawkat Haider
Toyama, Japan
Bangla Academy's dictionary
It appears very surprising to the
students that the popular Bengali to English dictionary published by Bangla Academy is out of market. Students would like to know the exact reason behind the non-availability of this dictionary.
A bookseller at Nilkhet said that more than 30 lakh copies of the dictionary have been given to UNICEF or other organisations. If it is so then, what about our students? Why the authorities do not reprint it for the sake of the general students? At the moment, students are missing a standard lexicon which cannot be replaced by other dictionaries.
We know the Bangla Academy is producing useless books most of the times, except the dictionaries. So, to uphold the image of our Language Movement and pay respect to our Language Martyrs, it is the authorities' responsibility and noble duty to make everybody feel proud through publishing more thought provoking and core books and dictionaries on a regular basis.
Haris, JU