Errors & Omissions: When does a tricky issue become problematic?

Language changes, old maps and the name of the Almighty in this week's Independent

This is from an editorial about teachers, published on Wednesday: “The fact remains that recruiting good staff is becoming increasingly problematic in some areas, especially in London, where the cost of living is reaching dizzying heights.”

Time was when “problematic” meant constituting a problem, or an area of doubt. The fate of the princes in the Tower, for instance, might be seen as problematic. More recently the word has come to be used to mean fraught with problems. Why not? We are more often in need of a word with that meaning. The problem, so to speak, is that the former meaning of “problematic” is now not covered.

And the really odd bit is that at the same time as the adjective “problematic” has been conquering new territory, the noun “problem” has been ceding that same territory to a different word. Even as recruiting teachers becomes “problematic” because of the high cost of living in London, that high cost of living turns from a “problem” into an “issue”. It’s all a bit of a problem, really.

µ On Wednesday, a news story reported on possible privatisations: “Among possible targets are Channel 4, the Met Office, Ordinance Survey and even the Royal Mint.” That should be “Ordnance”. Both “ordinance” and “ordnance” are derived from the French ordonnance, meaning arrangement, order or warrant. The English “ordinance” has the same meaning as the French original.

“Ordnance”, on the other hand, has become purely military. It signifies the artillery, transport and other support services of the Army, which come under the Master-General of the Ordnance, a post held by a senior general. The first Master of the Ordnance was appointed by Henry V in 1414.

The Ordnance Survey maps are so called because they originated in the military mapping of Britain which began in the 18th century under the aegis of the Board of Ordnance.

µ “If this is how banking and finance is run, god help us,” opined a Voices piece on Tuesday.

Two points arise. First, shouldn’t that be “are”, not “is”, given that banking and finance are two things, albeit overlapping in what they do? I have seen it argued that where the two nouns linked like this are uncountables the singular verb is appropriate, but I am unconvinced. Second, “God” is the name of a person, and needs an initial capital letter. One gets the feeling that “god help us” is being seen as a generalised expression of alarm, a bit like “good grief!”, divorced from the meaning of the words, which is a pity. It has become a cliché.

Of course, the question of whether God exists or not should not affect the need for an initial capital. Oliver Twist doesn’t exist, but we still cap up his name. And in any case, in invoking divine aid the writer is acting the part of a person who believes in God, and should act it consistently, with full costume and make-up, including the capital G.