Slip of tongue should not be a matter of mockery, criticism and politicization.

[DEV KUMAR KOTHARI]

Slip of the tongue or tongue slip :

A slip of the tongue is a mistake in speaking,  which many of us commit in day to day talk. Usually the mistake can be  trivial, amusing but if it is criticized and politicized, it can be serious. In case of people speaking publicly, if it is politicized, it would be better for the speaker to clarify that it was a slip of tongue and that what he meant was not as felt and criticized by opponents or criticizers.

However, a word used in one sense  or context by speaker can be understood in other sense by listeners. Therefore , one should also consider the circumstances and context in which the word was used.

Sometimes there is only jumbling of words due to tongue slip.

Thus a wrong meaning can be assigned. In such circumstances a clarification should be made by the speaker to set at rest controversy.

 What is slip of the tongue and what are reasons?

 something that you say by accident when you intended to say something else. For example  I called B as A who is elder brother of B - it was just a slip of the tongue.

A a mistake in speaking, usually trivial, sometimes amusing. Also called lapsus linguae or tongue slip.

Studies of tongue slips have revealed "a great deal about the neuropsychological processes that underlie speech."

Many slips of the tongue are  simply the result of a sound being carried over from one word to the next, or a sound used in one word in anticipation of its occurrence in the next word, sometimes due to  reversal of words by way of slip. Sometimes due the interchange of word or mistake in selection of words.

Age of speaker: Age of speaker is also an important factor. At advanced stage, slip of tongue can be more.

Circumstances of speaker: Circumstances of speaker can also be a contributor to slip of tongue. If one is under pressure and is also aged it is likely that slip of tongue will take place.

Length of speech- if the speech is long and is at advanced stage slip of tongue is more likely.

Nature of speech- if the speech is extempore / impromptu speech or it is as a reply to sudden questions, it is likely to have more slip of tongue.   

Criticism should be avoided rather clarification can be requested:

Criticism of speaker should be avoided, rather he can be requested to clarify about his intent and meaning about wrongly spoken word.

Politicization must be avoided:

Considering wrong meaning and politicization of slip of tongue must be avoided. However, opposition parties are in habit of criticizing and politicizing even slip of tongue. We can recall recent case of slip of tongue by US President Donald Trump. It appears that he being 73 years old and under intense mental and physical pressure due to serious conditions in USA and world over,   used word retaliation though he might have intended for other arrangements of drug he requested from India.

People must have considered his request and use of words in proper and total context.

Slip of tongue by Ms. Mamta Banerjee CM of West Bengal. She is 65 years old and is also under lot of pressures due to COVID 19 problems. Her recent slip of tongue are illustrated below:

Mamata Banerjee to extend the lockdown till April 40th? AajTak journo’s slip of tongue pulls at funny chords of netizens

Netizens on social media had fun at the expense of Mamata Banerjee and Aaj Tak after the media house aired a report erroneously claimed that the West Bengal Chief Minister has extended the lockdown in the state till April 40th. Scores of Twitter users could not stop themselves from expressing their amusement over the possibility that the TMC leader may have announced the lockdown extension till a non-existent date. Chitra Tripathi, the journalist anchoring the AajTak show and who claimed that Mamata Banerjee has extended the lockdown till 40th of this month, acknowledged her inadvertent error and said that the death of 40 people from coronavirus in a single day in India yesterday was constantly gnawing at her, because of which she fallaciously said April 40 instead of April 30. However, this confession from Chitra did not stop the netizens from making fun at Mamata Banerjee’s expense.

Since Mamata Banerjee is known for her risible quirks and peculiar idiosyncrasies, netizens continued mocking the West Bengal Chief Minister for declaring lockdown extension till a date which does not exist not only in the month of April but in any month of the entire calendar year.

 VIDEO OF MAMTA BANERJEE  tongue slip:

One video of her was circulated in some groupd in which she spoke: 

“ Kintu ,prevention is cure than ….. betterness … “         

On this people were shown  laughing.

MY COMMENTS

Even if it is true, we must recognize that to err is human nature. Tongue slip , jumbling of words / ulat -palat, is not uncommon . Common man do many such mistakes so not to laugh on leaders.

Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, FM:

We find some cases of her tongue slips also in her speeches. For example , author recalls  that in one speech during conversation with traders she wrongly used words for describing DIN once correctly and once incorrectly. This should be considered by listeners in the context and circumstances instead of raising an issue.

Mistakes in writing:

Many times we find mistakes in written words also. These are like tongue slippages. Sometimes proper word may not be recalled and a wrong word may be used while writing in a hurry. Sometimes, due to auto correction, a wrong word may be replaced by software. If one is using Dictaphone or software to type spoken words, such mistakes can also take place due to mistake in recognition of spoken word and writing it by software.

Such lighter mistakes are common and readers, audience / viewers/ listeners must consider them in context and circumstances instead of criticising.   

Discussions to this article

[KASTURI SETHI]

Sir, You are 100 % correct. Who laughs at others for such trivial matters must be punished. It is crude behaviour. You should send your article to newspaper. You may also email to C.M. West Bengal.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

I agree with the author that a small unintentional mistake should not be exaggerated. It is important to notice the intention of the speaker rather than the words used to express them. A person is not a system programmed to deliver a set of statements. He/she is a human being and mistake is ought to happen. To err is human.

[KASTURI SETHI]

Now-a-days the word, 'carnivorous' is being read as 'coronavirus' . This is called Freudian slip (an unintentional error regarded as revealing subconscious feelings.) It indicates what is actually brewing in our mind.