"Be short, be simple, be human."
Sir Ernest Gowers, "The Complete Plain Words", third edition, 1986.
I will be doing a bit of research on the Plain English Campaign and sharing my thoughts in my blog with you.
Here is what I have found out so far:
The Plain English Campaign is an organisation based in the UK which was established in 1979 to fight against gobbledygook, jargon and misleading public information. Their aim is that everyone has access to clear and concise information.
The campaign officially began after founder Chrissie Maher publicly shredded hundreds of official documents in Parliament Square, in London. The campaign funds itself through its commercial services, which include editing and training.
They even offer In-house courses as well as on-line courses and you can get a "Plain English Diploma".
They have 12,000 members in 80 countries around the world!
Let's have a look at this advice from George Orwell:
1- Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2- Never use a long word when a short one will do.
3- If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4- Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5- Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6-Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
George Orwell, "Politics and the English language", in Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell, vol. 4 ed. S. Orwell and I Angus (London: Secker & Warburg, 1968).
"Lawyers have two common failings. One is that they do not write well and the other is that they think they do." Carl Felsenfeld, "The Plain English Movement in the United States". Canadian Business Law Journal, vol. 6, 1981-82.
If you would like to read more about the Plain English Campaign, please visit their website. They even have an online magazine:
http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/plain-english-magazine.html
What are your views on the Plain English Campaign?
It is said that businessess use legalese to confuse their clients. A lay person might not understand, for example, the Terms and Conditions of a new credit card or how the interest rate can change. This could lead to serious problems. Do you think this is just part of the process? Do they do it on purpose so that the buyer doesn't know what they're getting themselves into?
The Plain English Campaign goes further and actually thinks that when the language of corporations and governments confuses citizens, it “takes away our democratic rights,” Chrissie Maher believes "language has been misused and has contributed to the economic disaster.”
I found this interesting article on this subject. If you want to read more about it, please follow this link:
Read more: http://business.time.com/2009/10/06/the-plain-english-campaign-waging-war-against-gobbledygook/#ixzz2B4wLQCd1
Needless is to say that I, personally, find this subject very interesting.
You'll be suprised to know that we are not only talking about legal forms and burocratic writings. I was amazed to find the following abstract on their website:
"Debenhams has provided customers with a ‘plain English’ coffee menu, replacing potentially confusing terms such as ‘Cappuccino’ and ‘Caffe lattte’ with ‘frothy coffee’ and ‘really really milky coffee’.
So, rather than ordering something that sounds exotic but which you’re not entirely sure about, you can now get precisely what you want in no uncertain terms.
The move will surely go down well with the 70% of coffee customers who have suggested that they have experienced ‘coffee confusion’. Rather than mull over buying a ‘mocha’, customers can now be certain that what they’re getting is ‘chocolate flavoured coffee’.
And do you know what size ‘tall’ (small) or ‘venti’ (extra large) is? This is no longer an issue at Debenhams: it’s now a simple case of ‘mug’ or ‘cup’.
Chrissie Maher, Founder Director of Plain English Campaign, is delighted at the move. ”Whether it’s coffee, tea or chocolate, it needs to be in plain English so the customers can make an informed choice. If they can read the menu clearly, they are more likely to try something new – and who knows – they may come back for more.“
What are your thoughts?
So, rather than ordering something that sounds exotic but which you’re not entirely sure about, you can now get precisely what you want in no uncertain terms.
The move will surely go down well with the 70% of coffee customers who have suggested that they have experienced ‘coffee confusion’. Rather than mull over buying a ‘mocha’, customers can now be certain that what they’re getting is ‘chocolate flavoured coffee’.
And do you know what size ‘tall’ (small) or ‘venti’ (extra large) is? This is no longer an issue at Debenhams: it’s now a simple case of ‘mug’ or ‘cup’.
Chrissie Maher, Founder Director of Plain English Campaign, is delighted at the move. ”Whether it’s coffee, tea or chocolate, it needs to be in plain English so the customers can make an informed choice. If they can read the menu clearly, they are more likely to try something new – and who knows – they may come back for more.“
What are your thoughts?
