5 Errors in Noun-Verb Agreement

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As shown in the examples below, when writers craft sentences with more than one noun or pronoun in the subject, they sometimes misidentify the key noun or pronoun and assign the wrong verb form to it. Discussion and revision in each sentence describes and solves the problem.

1. “Five days are too short for a vacation.”

The singular form of the verb “to be,” rather than the plural form, is appropriate here because of the context—the writer is referring to a collective unit of time consisting of five days, not to five units of time consisting of a day each: “Five days is too short for a vacation.”

2. Which of the following statements best describe your situation?

The verb in this sentence refers not to statementsbut to one of several statements—represented by the pronoun which—each of which is, in turn, being contemplated on its own, so the verb form should be singular: “Which of the following statements best describes your situation?”

3. Each of the top five priorities identified this year are technology related. 

Just as in the previous example, the first word in this sentence is a place-holder representing one priority. The five priorities are being considered in isolation, one at a time, so a singular verb is appropriate: “Each of the top five priorities identified this year is technology related.”

4. We believe that a diversity among people and perspectives create high-performing organizations.

Diversity, not the combination of “people and perspectives,” is the operative noun here, so the verb form should be singular: “We believe that a diversity among people and perspectives creates high-performing organizations.”

5. A combination of these factors, along with a number of wider digital transformation and economic trends, have focused attention on regulatory technology as a topic.

Combination, not factors, is the noun that the helping verb is associated with (and the parenthetical phrase located between factors and the verb is irrelevant to the verb form): “A combination of these factors, along with a number of wider digital transformation and economic trends, has focused attention on regulatory technology as a topic.”

Some people may disagree, arguing thatcombination, like descriptive words such as couple,majority, and variety, calls for notional agreement (or notional concord), in which plural nouns that modifying phrases that include collective nouns are associated with, rather than the collective nouns themselves, are considered the “target” of the verb. However, usage strongly favors singular concord, in which the verb concords, or agrees, with the collective noun (the “notion”).

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5 Types of Unnecessary Hyphenation

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The sentences below, each followed by a discussion and a revision, illustrate various ways in which a hyphen is used extraneously.

1. He adds that cities should be forced to follow a federally-defined law pertaining to what kinds of benefits restaurants should be required to provide to their employees.

Because adverbial phrases such as “federally defined” (where the adverb federally modifies the adjective defined, which in turn modifies a noun) so closely resemble adjectival phrases such as “little known” (where the adjectives little and knowncombine to modify a noun), and phrases in the latter category are usually hyphenated before a noun, adverbial phrases are also often (incorrectly) hyphenated.

Here, as in the case of all adverbial phrases ending in -ly, “federally defined” is not hyphenated: “He adds that cities should be forced to follow a federally defined law pertaining to what kinds of benefits restaurants should be required to provide to their employees.” (However, flat adverbs—those lacking the -ly ending—are hyphenated to an adjective when the adverbial phrase precedes a noun, such as “high ranking.”

2. Most of them are small- and medium-sized cities many people may never have heard of.

Small is followed by a hyphen here as if it constitutes a case of suspended hyphenation, where a repetition (in this case) of sized is implied, but the two elements modifying cities are not “small sized” and “medium sized,” but rather small and “medium sized,” so the hyphen after small is erroneous: “Most of them are small and medium-sized cities many people may never have heard of.”

3. The film was among the highest-grossing that year.

A phrasal adjective is generally not hyphenated when it follows the noun it modifies: “The film was among the highest grossing that year.” (Alternatively, retain the hyphen but insert a synonym for the noun after the phrasal adjective, as in “The film was among the highest-grossing releases that year.”)

4. The developers proposed to phase-in that part of the project over the course of several years.

“Phase in” consists of a verb and a preposition, which have no need of a hyphen to signal their interrelationship: “The developers proposed to phase in that part of the project over the course of several years.” (This error likely exists as a result of a confusion of the phrase with its use as an adjectival phrase, where a hyphen is valid, and as the nounphase-in, similar to built-in.)

5. Jones is a past-president of the organization.

In this sentence, past is an adjective modifyingpresident, and as such, it should not be attached to the word it modifies: “Jones is a past president of the organization.”

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PENERJEMAHAN NAMA TOKOH KARYA SASTRA ANAK KE DALAM BAHASA INDONESIA

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oleh/by:
Singgih Daru Kuncara

 Abstract
This paper discusses translation of personal name in children’s literature. The uniqueness of translating for children is that the translator is concerned with the target readers. The object of this paper is character’s name in Walt Disney stories. Techniques in translating names are pure borrowing, naturalized borrowing, literal translation, and adaptation. Adaptation technique should be minimized because it tends to violate the author’s intention to give a meaningful name to a certain character name. Reducing adaptation technique also helps the children to respect and know about other cultures.

 Keywords: name, translation, children, culture
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Kritik Moral dalam Sastra Lisan Daerah Kalimantan Timur

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SINGGIH DARU KUNCARA, NITA MAYA VALIANTIEN, SETYA ARIANI

 Abstrak
Pelestarian terhadap jenis karya sastra terutama sastra lisan yang hampir memudar dalam masyarakat perlu terus dilakukan salah satunya adalah dengan penelitian kajian sastra lisan. Melalui pendekatan pustaka dan pengambilan data di lapangan dengan cara wawancara, penelitian kualitatif ini dilakukan dengan tujuan mengkaji kritik moral yang terdapat dalam sastra lisan daerah Kalimantan Timur terutama yang berasal dari suku Dayak, Kutai dan Banjar. Data diperoleh melalui penuturan para narasumber dalam bahasa asli kemudian diterjemahkan dalam Bahasa Indonesia.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa setiap sastra lisan yang dikaji mengandung berbagai nilai moral terutama yang terlihat dalam hubungan manusia dengan dirinya sendiri, hubungan manusia dengan sesama manusia dan hubungan manusia dengan Tuhan Yang Maha Esa yang tercermin dalam berbagai aspek-aspek kehidupan seperti keluarga, alam dan sosil. Kandungan nilai-nilai moral di dalam karya sastra lisan dapat memotivasi masyarakat ke arah kehidupan yang lebih baik sebab masyarakat dapat memetik pelajaran positif sebagai tauladan dalam kehidupan melalui tokoh-tokoh yang diperlihatkan di dalam cerita. Kejujuran, kehati-hatian dalam bertutur kata dan bertindak, tanggung jawab, kreativitas, dan kebijaksanaan dalam pengambilan keputusan merupakan bagian dari nilai moral yang mewakili hubungan manusia dengan dirinya di dalam karya sastra lisan yang dikaji. Menjaga hubungan baik antar sesama umat manusia juga dapat dilakukan dengan berbagai cara seperti toleransi, saling gotong-royong, apresiasi terhadap hasil karya cipta orang lain, serta saling menghormati antar sesama. Di dalam kehidupan keluarga, pesan moral yang muncul dalam cerita juga mengajarkan tentang kewajiban anak untuk selalu menghormati dan berbakti kepada kedua orang tua. Sebagai perwujudan rasa syukur akan ciptaan Tuhan Yang Maha Esa, manusia wajib meningkatkan kepedulian terhadap alam semesta dengan menjaga kelestarian lingkungan alam, mematuhi larangan untuk tidak melakukan perburuan secara berlebihan, dan selalu memanjatkan doa dan hanya percaya akan pertolongan sang Khalik. Menjauhi sikap iri atau dengki atas keberhasilan orang lain juga merupakan pesan moral lain yang dapat dipetik dalam hubungan antara manusia dengan Tuhan Yang Maha Esa.
Kata kunci : kritik moral, sastra lisan

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CULTURAL TERMS TRANSLATION IN HIRATA’S LASKAR PELANGI AND THE IMPACT ON THE TRANSLATION QUALITY

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by: Singgih Daru Kuncara

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the translation of cultural terms in English version of of the Hirata’s Laskar Pelangi. This paper investigates also the translation quality of those cultural terms. The data, in this study, are the terms of culture that exist in the novel. The finding of the cultural term is divided into five categories. It consists of ecology, material, social, organization, customs, ideas, motion and habits. Overall, translation cultural terms lead to reduce the level of acceptability and readability of the translation quality.

Keywords: translation, cultural terms, laskar pelangi, rainbow troops

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 3 Sentences That Cause Confusion

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In each of the following sentences, a word or phrase is an obstacle to comprehension. The discussion and revision that follows each example suggests a path to clarity.

1. Technology companies have a very different mind-set to traditional financial institutions.

Comparisons structured as one is in this sentence should employ from rather than to, and note the insertion of the phrase “that of the” to indicate that the comparison is between mind-sets and not the entities that have the mind-sets: “Technology companies have a very different mind-set from that of traditional financial institutions.”

2. The agency found that contrary to its claims, World Wide Wickets failed to employ reasonable and appropriate measures to protect data.

This sentence has an unclear antecedent: The pronoun its appears to refer to “the agency,” because no other entity has yet been identified, but it is a reference to the company subsequently mentioned. For clarity, use a specific proper noun (for example, “World Wide Wickets”) or a specific common noun (for example, “(the) company”) first, then a pronoun (or, in this case, use a proper noun on first reference and a common noun on second reference, bypassing the need for a pronoun at all): “The agency found that contrary to the claims of World Wide Wickets, the company failed to employ reasonable and appropriate measures to protect data.”

3. Jones faces criticism of others who oppose his policy positions, as does opponent John Smith and many others.

This sentence is ambiguous—it could mean that Smith and many others face the same criticism as Jones, or the phrase “as does” could apply not to the verb faces but to the verb oppose. (In this case, the latter option applies.) To eliminate possible confusion, chose a clearer word or phrase in place of the nebulous “as does”: “Jones faces criticism of others who oppose his policy positions, including opponent John Smith and many others.”
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5 Types of Errors in Parallel Construction of Sentences

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There are numerous ways to inadvertently derail a sentence by failing to provide consistent structure to parallel elements. The following sentences illustrate various types of pitfalls and how they can be avoided.

1. These audits are performed on both an ongoing basis or as part of due diligence.

Both is appropriate (but not required) when a second choice is mentioned in addition but not when the reference is in opposition, as here: “These audits are performed on an ongoing basis or as part of due diligence.”

2. The snakes will be safe from human interference, will have ideal places to hibernate, and plenty of mice and chipmunks to eat.

Each of the three phrases in this sentence requires a verb at the head of the phrase: “The snakes will be safe from human interference, will have ideal places to hibernate, and will have plenty of mice and chipmunks to eat.”

3. Other exhibits include rare movies about San Francisco, a primer on nineteenth-century architecture as well as the twentieth-century history of the city’s gay and lesbian community.

“As well as” is not simply an equivalent substitute for and; it is appropriate only when adding a subordinate clause to a main clause. Also, because the first two items do not constitute a list, they must be connected with a conjunction rather than separated by punctuation: “Other exhibits include rare movies about San Francisco and a primer on nineteenth-century architecture, as well as the twentieth-century history of the city’s gay and lesbian community.”

4. His latest controversial product didn’t receive much backlash as expected, but hundreds of orders.

The counterpoint in this sentence must, to be parallel, consist of an independent clause, complete with a subject and a verb: “His latest controversial product didn’t receive much backlash as expected, but it did result in hundreds of orders.”

5. They must either win Tuesday night or Saturday night to return to the finals.

The conjunction either should precede the verb: “They must win either Tuesday night or Saturday night to return to the finals.” (An exception is if each choice in this sentence is preceded by its own verb, as in “They must either win Tuesday night or prevail Saturday night to return to the finals.”)

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25 Words Coined by Twentieth-Century Author

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This post lists a number of words that were introduced to the English lexicon by novelists and other writers during the twentieth century.

1. beep: Scientist and novelist Arthur C. Clarke came up with this onomatopoeic word for a small, high-pitched signal.

2. blurb: Humorist Gelet Burgess coined this term for a short piece of promotional copy.

3. catch-22: Novelist Joseph Heller named his best-known novel after his term for the concept of a lose-lose predicament.

4. cojones: Novelist Ernest Hemingway borrowed the Spanish word meaning “testicles” to refer to courage.

5. cyberspace: Novelist William Gibson combined the extant prefix cyber with space to describe an online environment.

6. debunk: Novelist William E. Woodward created this word to describe the concept of disproving fraudulent claims.

7. doublethink: Novelist George Orwell named the concept of having contradictory simultaneous ideas.

8. dreamscape: Poet Sylvia Plath came up with this word for a dreamlike scene.

9. factoid: Novelist Norman Mailer coined this term for an invented fact or a false claim that becomes accepted as fact; by extension, it has also come to refer to a trivial fact.

10. groupthink: Writer William H. Whyte coined this word, which refers to self-deceiving conformity, on the model of doublethink.

11. litterbug: Writer Alice Rush McKeon came up with this term for people who carelessly drop litter.

12. meme: Scientist Richard Dawkins coined this term for behaviors, ideas, or styles passed between people; it is now widely associated with images from popular culture that express a concept.

13. microcomputer: Scientist and novelist Isaac Asimov attached a prefix meaning “very small” to computer to create a word for a portable computing device.

14. nerd: Writer Dr. Seuss gave no definition for this nonsense word he coined and did not associate it with any of his illustrations, but it came to refer to a socially inept person, especially one with advanced academic or intellectual skills but poor social skills.

15. nymphet: Novelist Vladimir Nabokov came up with this word for a sexually precocious pubescent girl; by extension, it came to apply to an attractive young woman.

16. piehole: Novelist Stephen King introduced this slang for the mouth, with the connotation that someone associated with the word (as when told, “Shut your piehole”) should use one’s mouth only for eating because the thoughts the person voices with it are not worthwhile for anyone to hear.

17. quark: Scientist Murray Gell-Mann, inspired by writer James Joyce’s use of the word in its existing sense of “a fermented dairy product resembling cottage cheese,” adopted the spelling of that word for a term he had coined that referred to a type of subatomic particle.

18. robot: The brother of Czech writer Karel Čapek suggested that he use robota, Czech for “forced labor,” as a name for machines that resemble and perform tasks normally carried out by humans; it was translated into English as robot, and Isaac Asimov came up with the noun robotics to refer to the science behind such machines, as well as the adjective robotic.

19. scaredy-cat: Satirist Dorothy Parker came up with this slang word for a timid person.

20. superman: Playwright George Bernard Shaw translated philosopher Friedrich Nietzche’s term Übermensch for the title of his play Man and Superman; the word also applies generically to a person with extraordinary abilities as well as to the superhero of that name.

21. tightwad: Humorist George Ade used this term in a colloquial retelling of fairy tales.

22. tween: Philologist and novelist J. R. R. Tolkien coined this word to describe hobbit adolescence, alluding to the span of life known as the twenties (hobbits came of age in their early thirties), but it later arose independently as a truncation of between to refer to the transitional years between childhood and adolescence.

23. unputdownable: Mystery writer Raymond Chandler came up with this word for a compelling read.

24. whodunit: Book critic Donald Gordon described a mystery novel with this word.

25. workaholic: Psychologist Wayne E. Oates coined this term on the model of alcoholic; although it was not the first -aholic coinage, its popularity inspired many similar constructions.

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