Friday ISSUE NO: 17435 JAMADA ALAWWAL 2, 1439 AH FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018
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FREE Established 1961 Friday ISSUE NO: 17435 JAMADA ALAWWAL 2, 1439 AH FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018 MP Hayef threatens defense 52 killed in Kazakhstan Emirates throws Airbus A380 a 9 minister over women service 11 bus fire 37 lifeline with jumbo $16bn deal Kuwait jumps 15 spots in latest FIFA ranking PAGE 47 2 Friday Local Friday, January 19, 2018 Violation of foreign Kuwait’s favorite grammar mistake workers’ rights streets. In this sentence, cars is plural, not possessive. Scribbler’s Notebook There are other uses for apostrophes and places where you shouldn’t use one at all. But the main problem By Jamie Etheridge here seems to be with adding them to plurals, so let’s stick with that. Local Spotlight [email protected] Here’s another simple example: Correct: How many CEOs are billionaires? hen a native English-speaker comes to Incorrect: How many CEO’s are billionaires? By Muna Al-Fuzai Kuwait for the first time, there are many Don’t get me wrong. The misuse of apostrophes is a Wunusual things that will catch their eye. Shisha global phenomena. There’s even a society in the UK for [email protected] smoking, for instance, or the tradition of the diwaniya. the ‘protection of the apostrophe’ and guerrilla grammar- But as a writer, one of the first things I noticed was the ians who stealthy correct billboards all across the UK an you imagine working in an arduous job in Kuwait unique and distinctly local misuse of English words and (the home of English!) painting over apostrophes in signs such as construction, for example, under the hot sun grammar. and hoardings. Cin the summer or in the cold in winter, and not get Take, for instance, the penchant for saloons vs salons. I’m no grammar police and I frequently misspell words your salary for months? You are forced to perform the work In the US, a salon is somewhere you get your hair cut or throw a comma where it shouldn’t be. But the apostro- with the same efficiency without demanding your rights! or nails painted. phe misuse can be devastating. Did she mean students or Foreign workers in private companies in Kuwait are fac- A saloon is a place in the Wild West that sold beer and student’s? ing recurring problems. Not all companies are alike, but the whiskey, and they often also had gambling and prosti- Another thing I’ve noticed is that people tend to throw repetition of such issues means that there is no final solution tutes. Imagine my first impression upon arriving to in the apostrophe whenever they have proper nouns or and the government is not serious in putting an end to these Kuwait and finding ‘saloons’ on every street corner! things they think - but aren’t sure - may be capitalized. problems, however small or limited. The failure to receive the The misspelling makes sense, however, if you under- Capitalization is another area of great confusion. agreed salary and other necessities is something that is stand basic Arabic. The word ‘salon’ would likely include Arabic doesn’t have capitals and so those whose first lan- offensive to all of us. I know that it may mean nothing to a ‘waw’ and thus could easily be transliterated with an guage is Arabic are often confused or unsure about wealthy officials, but it means a lot to poor and hardworking additional, albeit incorrect, O. which English words are capitalized and why. workers who are away from their families, waiting for their Another oft-used quirk of English grammar found in Suffice it to say, that is a full discussion in itself. In the meager salaries without a response. Kuwait is the misuse of the apostrophe. meantime, I would love to get to the root of the apostro- The issue is not limited to a company or certain num- It’s very commonly - though wrongly - applied at the phe case. Why do so many people in Kuwait use it wrong ber of workers, and affects the reputation of the country end of a plural. You see it in official government commu- and use it wrongly in exactly the same way? and reflects a shameful image of violation of human niques, in press statements, in emails, in letters to the I’m guessing that somewhere in history, a non-native rights. I believe that the fulfillment of salary contracts and editor, in the newspapers and online. English teacher learned the incorrect way and has labor rights are basic human rights, which must be moni- Apostrophes are used to indicate possession, not through the generations passed that mistake down to tored by various government bodies, because the prac- plurality. other English teachers, who in turn passed it on to their tices of some companies destroy the work of the state For instance, Kuwait’s weather is hot during winters students. and civil society institutions. and hotter during summers. Notice the apostrophe S at No doubt, children in school are still being taught the We are a country that relies on foreign workers for infra- the end of Kuwait’s? This is possession. Meaning that the incorrect usage of the apostrophe and once taught at the structure and public services such as construction, cleaning weather ‘belongs’ to Kuwait. fundamental level, it’s almost impossible to unlearn. and others. We must think about the rights of these poor Note: There is no apostrophe at the end of winters or people, which is indeed required under all moral and human- summers. These are instances of plurals, not possessives. What do you think? Do you know how to correctly use itarian principles. If we want to commission large develop- According to Strunk & White’s famous Elements of Style, an apostrophe? And what are the most common ment projects, we will undoubtedly need additional labor, so apostrophes are never used to indicate plurals. So one grammar/spelling/language mistakes you see in Kuwait? we must review the mechanisms of preserving their rights should never write: There are too many car’s on the Send us an email to [email protected]. and ensuring stability in the country, fight marginal employ- ment and combat iqama traders and law manipulators. It is necessary to move quickly and take appropriate measures to address the problems of workers of all kinds to protect their rights, because labor strikes distort the reputation of the country and undermine its status, Why homework is hated although Kuwait has a distinguished history in issuing labor legislation and establishing trade unions for more students have to meet the deadlines. Although schools have than five decades. IN MY VIEW tried to solve this problem by setting homework schedules, The Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) has been there has been little effect. monitoring the problems of workers who have been com- By Unaisa Qidwai Matt Miller is a senior trainer and consultant with Red plaining of not receiving their salaries for up to 10 months, Education with over 20 years of experience in the industry. as well as not having their passports. Because of this, they [email protected] Last year, at the TeachTechPlay conference in April, he was have been violating the residency law and have accrued debating this very topic. On a visit to Ivanhoe Grammar fines because the company didn’t renew their residencies or omework is compulsory. But why do people hate home- School, he said that he was “horrified” by the amount of paid their salaries. Paying these workers their dues may end work? Why do they call it a waste of time? Mostly, homework he saw dished out. “I can’t think of very many jobs the problem, but it won’t be long until a similar issue arises. homework is based on the work students learn in class, where I would put in a full eight-hour day, come home, and I wonder if the company finally pays those workers, will H so that teachers can determine whether the students have then be expected to do four and five more hours of work. In a they still be fined for violating the residency law? I think this understood the lesson or not. However, teachers nowadays lot of jobs, that’s going to lead to burnout; that’s going to lead issue needs a mutual decision by the ministry of social give homework because they have to, not because it is need- to unhealthy lifestyles ... but that’s what we’re asking our kids affairs and labor and the ministry of interior to exempt these ed. Pupils and teachers both find homework to be a chore. to do.” workers from the fines, because it was out of their control. Teachers have to assess the homework, and it may even take Umair is a young boy aged 11. “Although I am in grade 6, I The government must take strict measures against compa- up to half an hour to correct just one student’s book. get a lot of homework. Every few days, I get projects to com- nies that violate local and international laws relating to People - old or young - want to do what they like all the plete, even for subjects that require only reading. The load of workers’ rights, especially since Kuwait has ratified seven of time - whether it is spending time with family, reading a book, homework is way too much. I barely get time for extracurricu- the eight fundamental conventions in accordance with ILO going out with friends, watching a movie or any other activity. lar activities. Isn’t the time we spend in school enough? Do we standards that guarantee the rights of workers.