Literary Discourse: 'Collage' and 'College': Grammar and Usage

Introduction
Words of similar spelling such “Collage” and “College” are sources of confusion in usage, especially in writing. It is for this reason that we, today, examine the two words within the context of grammar and usage. The discourse is to help bring users’ attention to the sources of confusion and to minimize the tendency of misapplication.

Learning Outcomes
After working through this discourse, fellow learners and readers are expected to gain an improved understanding of:

• The differences between “Collage” and “College”
• The proper usage of “Collage” and “College.”

Discussion
The words “collage and “College” are similar in spelling but different in pronunciation and meaning. Phonetically, Oxford Dictionary of English, (2015) presents “collage” as /ˈkÉ'lÉ'ːÊ'/ or /kəˈlÉ'ːÊ'/. There are line breaks between “col” and “lage”. “Collage” means a collection of various things. Examples:

• The book of Logic authored by Timtooni is a COLLAGE of aphorisms.
• Plagiarism is nothing but a COLLAGE of stolen ideas.
• Kataali loves a COLLAGE of poems on Dagbon Tradition.
• Suhudoo entertains his friends on facebook with a COLLAGE of critical analyses on politics and governance.

Grammatically, “collage” is a noun, and in Etymology (origins of words), it emerged in the early 20^th Century from French.

Another noun derived from “collage” is “collagist.” This noun refers to the person or device that does the collection.

Contrarily, “college” refers to an institution of learning. Depending on the purpose of establishment, a college could be a school of university status, a school of specialized programs, and a school of non-tertiary education. Examples:

• Azinpaga is a professor at the COLLEGE of Medicine.
• The Registrar of Liberal Arts COLLEGE at Batangyili is known for tact and diplomacy.
• Divela is an engineering student of Imperial COLLEGE.
• Zolikugli teaches at Gbewa COLLEGE.

The phonetic presentation of “college”, according to Oxford Dictionary of English is: /ˈkÉ'lɪdÊ'/. Similarly, there are line breaks between “col” and “lege.” In terms of Word Class, “college” is a noun. Morphologically, Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary lists the following derivatives of “college”: collegial or collegiate [adjective], collegially [adverb], collegiality [noun], collegian [noun]. Collegian refers to a person – a student or a fresh graduate of a college. Examples:

• Tiyumtaba is a COLLEGIAN, specializing in Cyber Journalism.
• Tungteeya is a COLLEGIAN; she has just graduated from Nursing Training College.

NOTE : It is instructive to state that “Collage” and “College” have other semantic properties (meanings) that have not been covered in this discourse.

Conclusion
Dear reader, the words under review may appear simple, but in usage – particularly in writing – they could be very confusing. Because both of them are standard in English vocabulary, a computer spelling-check software may not help prevent the contextual misapplication of any of them. Indeed, the two words must constitute a source of vigilance for editors and proofreaders. But generally, the solution is awareness and extra-care!!!

By Abubakar Mohammed Marzuq Azindoo, Acting Registrar, Hudaibiya College, Accra

Email: [email protected] Tel: 0244755402