CROOK COMMUNICATION

Korero (AEWS), Volume 3, Issue 4, 26 March 1945, Page 15

CROOK COMMUNICATION

In the November, 1944, and January, 1945. issues of Kovevo there are two articles, possibly written by the same person, which have caused me considerable trouble in endeavouring to find just what is meant by the writer.

The first article is entitled “ Thames,” and in it the writer has begun twenty-two sentences with the conjunctions “ but,’/

“ and,” or “ or.” I have always thought that it was incorrect to commence a sentence in such a manner, since a conjunction joins thoughts together. However, since Karev 0 is issued by an Educational Service, I presume that this is now correct. There are eighteen groups of words which ■commence with a capital letter for the first word and have a full stop at the end of the last word, but I cannot find a verb amongst them.

I also find forty-two apostrophes have been used as contractions such as “ it’s,” we’ll,” and “ don’t.” Are these contractions now accepted in prose ?

I wonder if “ . . . they’ll . fine you £25 as QUICK in Thames as anywhere ” should not be “as QUICKLY in Thames.”

Is there any meaning in the following : “ Soon hurrying, calmer, slower, more carefully on its way,” or was it put in for effect ? Has metal a “ yellow value ” ?

The whole article has been written in a most jerky manner which leaves me with mental hiccoughs. But don’t worry. Water in a glass. Drink it slowly. It’ll fix it.

Article number two is entitled “ Fishing Boat ‘ Rex.’ ” This article is written in a similar manner, with frequent use of apostrophes as contractions and groups of words without verbs.

However, I read that the crew of the fishing boat “ Rex ” “ gathered mussels and roasted crabs.” I presume that these roasted crabs were roasted and left there by Captain Cook’s men in 1777.

“ The fishing boat ‘ Rex ’ was looking for fish ; not fishing, but looking.” What a clever boat. Will you please excuse a cheap pun ? Perhaps she was PROWling. The next sentence informs me that she was “ looking for four days,” so the fishing was a blind after all.

Later I read, “ And ten minutes later we were eating blue cod for our lunch ; blue cod cooked in olive oil, with wedges of bread and huge pots of tea.” Surely this is a new way to cook blue cod. Is the bread and tea put in with the olive oil, and when is the fish put in ? It reads like an Aunt Daisy recipe. Yes !

“ They told us, with cups of tea and cigarettes . . .’’is this a new sign

language ?

I give it up. I cannot understand it. Can you ?

I have heard of English as she is spoke, but this must be English as she is wrote, or is it just cheap American journalism ?■—-

Grammar.