Thursday December 7, 2006
Are they redundant?
FADZILAH AMIN answers your questions on English usage.
I HAVE two clarifications to make:
1. We have been reading about AP (Approved Permit) in the papers. Is there a need to use the word “Approved” when “Permit” as quoted from the Oxford Dictionary already means “written order giving permission”?
2. Another redundancy is in the names of some higher institutions of learning, e.g. Tun Hussein Onn College University of Technology, and others which are also called a college as well as a university. “College” in the dictionary is “independent corporation of scholars in university”. Using both “College” and “University” sounds odd.
Your comments, please. – Murugan Nair
An Internet search showed me that the term “approved permit” is used widely in English-speaking countries like Britain, the United States, and Canada. It is not just used to apply to the import of cars, but for other purposes as well. Below are examples.
From the website of Environment Agency UK:
“In England and Wales, the Local Authority issues Part B PPC (pollution prevention and control) permits. You should already have applied for a permit under PPC as you will need an approved permit to operate from April 1st 2004.”
From the City of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) Filming Permit General Conditions:
“It is an offence to film in public space without an approved permit ... The Film Permit Location Sheet ... will become an approved permit when it is returned to the applicant organization dated and signed by the City Manager’s officer.”
It seems to be part of the terminology of government when it deals with business. Although as laymen, we may assume that a permit must have been approved, what I gathered from the Internet is that an “approved permit” differs from an ordinary permit in that it seems to be obtained after an elaborate process of application, review and approval.
Perhaps the word “approved” comes from the need to go through this long process of official approval. In contrast, if we want to get a permit to park a car in a designated place during a ceremony, for example, all we need to do is show our invitation card.
2. The definition of “college” you gave is only one of many. In Malaysia, whose education system is much influenced by the British education system, a “college” is usually taken to mean an institution that offers education at a level higher than that offered at school, but lower (or more professional than academic) than that offered at university. Colleges thus award certificates and diplomas, but not degrees, and are often specialised, e.g. teachers’ training colleges, technical colleges, art colleges, etc., although there are institutions offering education at Sixth Form level that are also called colleges.
Some colleges evolve to become “university colleges” when they are affiliated to universities whose degrees are then given to their students. Some university colleges even give their own degrees, but are considered too small to be called a university. So there is a reason why some institutions in this country are called “university colleges”, like Help University College and Limkokwing University College of Creative Technology.
In the case of Tun Hussein Onn College University of Technology, according to its website, it was first known in 1983 as PLSP, i.e. Pusat Latihan Staf Politeknik (Polytechnic Staff Training Centre) and was administered by University Teknologi Malaysia in collaboration with the Education Ministry.
In 1993, it was upgraded and known as Institut Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn, and in 2000, it became the 15th public university in Malaysia and known as Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn.
I do not know why it is called a “university college” and not a university when it has university status. Perhaps because it is still small.
RSS
