The Haia give ...

Odessa Dawn · Oct 28, 2012

The Haia give special emphasis on proficiency of the workers in foreign languages because a considerable number of the Haj pilgrims do not understand Arabic.

More: Women Haia members to enforce mixing ban | ArabNews

Then we have

What makes this incident different is the young woman’s knowledge of her rights and what the Haia is permitted to do and what not to do.

More: Saudi Women & Religious Police – Reading Between the Lines | Welcome to Haya's House

Then we have

Chief says Haia is in need of female staff

He also told the newspaper that the Haia was in need of female personnel, and hoped hiring would begin soon.

More:Chief says Haia is in need of female staff | ArabNews

Shouldn't be The Haia gives...?

emsr2d2 · Oct 28, 2012

You'll find very little consistency in English when choosing whether to use the singular or plural form of verbs after these kinds of nouns. You'll see the same issue with "team", "police", "staff" etc. The author of that piece should have chosen one and stuck with it, but it's not all that surprising.

TheParser · Oct 28, 2012

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello,

I believe that you 100% correct.

1. "Professor" Google told me that "HAIA" means (in English): The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice." The key word, then, is "commission."

2. Here in the States, "commission" is usually considered a singular word. (Unless, you wanted to emphasize the different

members of the commission.)

a. We might say, "The Commission on Good English has made a decision regarding the use of the subjunctive." But we might

say, "The Commission on Good English hate one another." (That is, the commission members hate ....)

3. Not only should it be "The Haia gives," but did you notice that the commission was referred to as "the Haia" three times but without the "the" in "Chief says Haia is in need of female staff." I am guessing that is newspaper headline talk for:

"The Chief says that The Haia is in need of female staff."

4. One other point: I think that Americans would be more comfortable with HAIA, not Haia. E.g., Americans refer to

NATO, while -- I believe -- some English varieties refer to Nato. Also: AIDS versus Aids.

James

emsr2d2 · Oct 28, 2012

TheParser said:
***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello,

I believe that you 100% correct.

1. "Professor" Google told me that "HAIA" means (in English): The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice." The key word, then, is "commission."

2. Here in the States, "commission" is usually considered a singular word. (Unless, you wanted to emphasize the different

members of the commission.)

a. We might say, "The Commission on Good English has made a decision regarding the use of the subjunctive." But we might

say, "The Commission on Good English hate one another." (That is, the commission members hate ....)

3. Not only should it be "The Haia gives," but did you notice that the commission was referred to as "the Haia" three times but without the "the" in "Chief says Haia is in need of female staff." I am guessing that is newspaper headline talk for:

"The Chief says that The Haia is in need of female staff."

4. One other point: I think that Americans would be more comfortable with HAIA, not Haia. E.g., Americans refer to

NATO, while -- I believe -- some English varieties refer to Nato. Also: AIDS versus Aids.

James

I would mark "Aids" as incorrect in any piece of writing. It should always be AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

TheParser · Oct 28, 2012

emsr2d2 said:
I would mark "Aids" as incorrect in any piece of writing. It should always be AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Excellent advice.

Hopefully, the Guardian (one of your leading and most literate newspapers) will take your advice.

James

Chicken Sandwich · Oct 28, 2012

emsr2d2 said:
I would mark "Aids" as incorrect in any piece of writing. It should always be AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

I agree with you, but oddly enough the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English doesn't...

AIDS - Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online

emsr2d2 · Oct 28, 2012

I'm very surprised by the Guardian and the dictionary entry. I don't know why. It seems to me that consistency in English is not a priority.

bhaisahab · Oct 28, 2012

emsr2d2 said:
I'm very surprised by the Guardian and the dictionary entry. I don't know why. It seems to me that consistency in English is not a priority.

As well as being the most honest and intelligent of newspapers, "The Grauniad" used to be famous for mipsrints. (Sadly there are far fewer these days)

5jj · Oct 28, 2012

bhaisahab said:
"The Grauniad" used to be famous for mipsrints. (Sadly there are far fewer these days)

:lol:

emsr2d2 · Oct 28, 2012

bhaisahab said:
As well as being the most honest and intelligent of newspapers, "The Grauniad" used to be famous for mipsrints. (Sadly there are far fewer these days)

I still call it The Grauniad! Mind you, I've never read it. The back page of the Daily Telegraph was full of errors 30 years ago. I have no idea about it now.

bhaisahab · Oct 29, 2012

emsr2d2 said:
I still call it The Grauniad! Mind you, I've never read it. The back page of the Daily Telegraph was full of errors 30 years ago. I have no idea about it now.

You've never read The Grauniad!:shock: I'm a subscriber, I read it every day. Mind you, I never read the Daily Telegraph.

emsr2d2 · Oct 29, 2012

bhaisahab said:
You've never read The Grauniad!:shock: I'm a subscriber, I read it every day. Mind you, I never read the Daily Telegraph.

My father and I used to do the Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword together every day when I was a child so when I grew up I started to buy the paper, turn straight to the back page, do the crossword and then leave the paper somewhere for someone else to read. I eventually realised that was a terrible waste of paper and money so now I just do the cryptic crossword online and don't buy a newspaper at all.

5jj · Oct 29, 2012

emsr2d2 said:
My father and I used to do the Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword together every day when I was a child so when I grew up I started to buy the paper, turn straight to the back page, do the crossword and then leave the paper somewhere for someone else to read. I eventually realised that was a terrible waste of paper and money so now I just do the cryptic crossword online and don't buy a newspaper at all.

That's a relief. I thought we had a Telegraph reader in our midst. ;-)

emsr2d2 · Oct 29, 2012

5jj said:
That's a relief. I thought we had a Telegraph reader in our midst. ;-)

An ex one, I guess. My dad still reads it, much to my stepmother's horror as she is a dyed-in-the-wool Grauniad girl.

The Haia give ...

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