Tracking an Odd Construction in the Media

Tracking an Odd Construction in the Media Tracking an Odd Construction in the Media Tracking an Odd Construction in the Media By Maeve Maddox The following usage struck me as odd when I read it in the roundup column that appears on the front page of my daily paper: Rumsfeld says that George W. Bush was wrong to try to create democracy onto Iraq. I assumed that â€Å"create democracy onto Iraq† was simply an unfortunate stylistic lapse on the part of a local harried reporter. It can’t be easy to fit an entire news item into one coherent sentence of fewer than 50 words, especially under a tight deadline. But then I did a Google search of â€Å"create democracy onto† and traced the phrase to the article in which it originated: Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, one of the staunchest defenders of the Iraq war, said in an interview with the  Times  of London that his boss, former President George W. Bush, was wrong to try to create  democracy onto Iraq.- David Knowles, Bloomberg One might attempt to create a democracy in Iraq or even for Iraq, but â€Å"to create a democracy onto Iraq† is not idiomatic English. To rule out the possibility that Rumsfeld was responsible for the odd wording, I tracked down his original comment in the Times: The idea that we could fashion a democracy in Iraq seemed to me unrealistic. Rumsfeld was not the culprit. The word that he did use, fashion (â€Å"to give shape to†) is an appropriate choice in the context of altering an existing system. Create is from Latin creare, â€Å"to procreate or to give birth.† One meaning of the verb create is â€Å"to bring into being, to cause to exist,† especially with the sense of â€Å"to produce something where nothing was before.† Some synonyms for create in the sense of produce or make: generate fabricate fashion build construct design devise originate frame develop shape form forge Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Use â€Å"That,† â€Å"Which,† and â€Å"Who†The Writing ProcessOne Scissor?