NEW MEANING OF WORDS

When first used in English society, “bastard” was a harmless word – which is why one cultural community in South Africa adopted it as an ethnic label. Over time, it evolved to mean something else. Generally, language evolves like that and you may have noticed how some English words are evolving out of semantic shape. Here is a sample:

Superpower: the term was first used during World War II in reference to the formidable military might that the

United States, Britain and the Soviet Union had over rivals Germany and Japan. However, it is now used in reference to the US only. Oddly for a country that has super powers, the US has not won a single war since World War II – just last month it was defeated by a ragtag outfit of Afghan fighters after a 20- year war.

Intelligent: it used to mean having superior brain power but in today’s Botswana, especially on Facebook, it means that someone shares your opinion. We don’t mean to take anything away from the judges who ruled against the Botswana Democratic Party in the 2019 elections petition but without even understanding ( never mind reading) their judgements, opposition supporters pronounced them “intelligent.”

On the other hand, judges that ruled for the BDP - and with very solid reasoning, were said to lack such quality. “Combat- hardened ex- legionnaire”: used non- deceptively, that term means a cold- blooded killer. It has been deceptively used to describe the military career of Guinean coup leader, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who cut his teeth in the French Foreign Legion, an international mercenary outfit of the French army. Western media is using that glowing description to protect the reputation of a western country, not Doumbouya’s. Come to think of it, “combat- hardened ex- legionnaire” sounds like an exotic dish marinated with Moet & Chandon champagne and served by Top 5 Miss Botswana finalists at an Airport Junction restaurant. You can well imagine how the coup leader would have been described by that same media if he had cut his teeth in this dark trade outside the west: the dark- skinned Doumbouya is a Russian- trained, blood- thirsty killer known to rip out the hearts of his victims and eat them raw with grain table salt while they are still beating.

Restoration: it used to mean bring back to original state but as used in reality TV shows ( like “Pimp My Ride” and “Restoration Home”) it actually means building a completely new car or house and counting on the gullibility of viewers to believe that such process is “restoring.”

Coup: forcibly removing an 83- year president from office in a Francophone Africa country – ask ECOWAS. On the other hand, forcibly removing a 93- year old president from office in an Anglophone Africa country is not a coup. Ask SADC.