Plain English
Encyclopedia
Plain English is a generic term for communication styles that emphasise clarity, brevity and the avoidance of technical language – particularly in relation to official government communication, including laws.
The intention is to write in a manner that is easily understood by the target audience: appropriate to their reading skills and knowledge, clear and direct, free of cliché and unnecessary jargon.
wrote an impassioned essay, "Politics and the English Language
", criticising what he saw as the dangers of "ugly and inaccurate" contemporary written English – particularly in politics where pacification can be used to mean "...defenceless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets...".
Two years later Sir Ernest Arthur Gowers
, a distinguished civil servant, was asked by HM Treasury
to provide a guide to officials on avoiding pompous and over-elaborate writing. He wrote:
Gowers' guide was published as a slim paperback Plain Words, a guide to the use of English in 1948, followed by a sequel The ABC of Plain Words in 1951 and, in 1954, a hardback book combining the best of both, The Complete Plain Words – which has never been out of print since.
Gower himself argued that legal English
was a special case, saying that legal drafting:
However, there is a trend toward plainer language in legal documents, and in fact the 1999 "Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts
" regulations mandate "plain and intelligible" language.
An inquiry into the 2005 London bombings
recommended that emergency services should always use plain English. It found that verbosity
can lead to misunderstandings that could cost lives.
was introduced in 1976, and in 1978 President Carter issued Executive Orders intended to make government regulations "cost-effective and easy-to-understand by those who were required to comply with them."
Many agencies now have long-standing policies mandating plain language, and in 2010 this was made a federal requirement with the Plain Writing Act.
In legal writing, the late Professor David Mellinkoff of the UCLA School of Law
is widely credited with singlehandedly launching the plain English movement in American law with the 1963 publication of The Language of the Law. In 1979, Richard Wydick published Plain English for Lawyers.
Plain English writing style is now a legal duty for companies registering securities under the Securities Act of 1933
, due to rules the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted in 1998.
The intention is to write in a manner that is easily understood by the target audience: appropriate to their reading skills and knowledge, clear and direct, free of cliché and unnecessary jargon.
United Kingdom
In 1946, writer George OrwellGeorge Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
wrote an impassioned essay, "Politics and the English Language
Politics and the English Language
"Politics and the English Language" is an essay by George Orwell criticizing "ugly and inaccurate" contemporary written English.Orwell said that political prose was formed "to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." Orwell believed...
", criticising what he saw as the dangers of "ugly and inaccurate" contemporary written English – particularly in politics where pacification can be used to mean "...defenceless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets...".
Two years later Sir Ernest Arthur Gowers
Ernest Gowers
Sir Ernest Arthur Gowers GCB GBE Hon. D.Litt Hon. ARIBA was a British civil servant, now best known for work on style guides for writing the English language.-Life:...
, a distinguished civil servant, was asked by HM Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
to provide a guide to officials on avoiding pompous and over-elaborate writing. He wrote:
- Writing is an instrument for conveying ideas from one mind to another; the writer's job is to make his reader apprehend his meaning readily and precisely.
Gowers' guide was published as a slim paperback Plain Words, a guide to the use of English in 1948, followed by a sequel The ABC of Plain Words in 1951 and, in 1954, a hardback book combining the best of both, The Complete Plain Words – which has never been out of print since.
Gower himself argued that legal English
Legal English
Legal English is the style of English used by lawyers and other legal professionals in the course of their work. It has particular relevance when applied to legal writing and the drafting of written material, including:...
was a special case, saying that legal drafting:
- ...is a science, not an art; it lies in the province of mathematics rather than of literature, and its practice needs long apprenticeship. It is prudently left to a specialised legal branch of the Service. The only concern of the ordinary official is to learn to understand it, to act as interpreter of it to ordinary people, and to be careful not to let his own style of writing be tainted by it...
However, there is a trend toward plainer language in legal documents, and in fact the 1999 "Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts
Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999
The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 is a UK statutory instrument, which implements the EU Unfair Consumer Contract Terms Directive into domestic law.Implemented under the European Communities Act 1972. See also, L95 OJ 29...
" regulations mandate "plain and intelligible" language.
An inquiry into the 2005 London bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
recommended that emergency services should always use plain English. It found that verbosity
Verbosity
Verbosity in language refers to speech or writing which is deemed to use an excess of words. Adjectival forms are verbose, wordy, prolix and garrulous.-History:...
can lead to misunderstandings that could cost lives.
United States
In the US the plain language movement in government communication started in the 1970s. The Paperwork Reduction ActPaperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-511, 94 Stat. 2812 , codified in part at Subchapter I of Chapter 35 of Title 44 of the United States Code, through , is a United States federal law enacted in 1980 that gave authority over the collection of certain information to the Office of...
was introduced in 1976, and in 1978 President Carter issued Executive Orders intended to make government regulations "cost-effective and easy-to-understand by those who were required to comply with them."
Many agencies now have long-standing policies mandating plain language, and in 2010 this was made a federal requirement with the Plain Writing Act.
In legal writing, the late Professor David Mellinkoff of the UCLA School of Law
UCLA School of Law
The UCLA School of Law is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. It has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1950. It joined the Association of American Law Schools in 1952.- History :...
is widely credited with singlehandedly launching the plain English movement in American law with the 1963 publication of The Language of the Law. In 1979, Richard Wydick published Plain English for Lawyers.
Plain English writing style is now a legal duty for companies registering securities under the Securities Act of 1933
Securities Act of 1933
Congress enacted the Securities Act of 1933 , in the aftermath of the stock market crash of 1929 and during the ensuing Great Depression...
, due to rules the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted in 1998.
See also
- Plain English CampaignPlain English CampaignThe Plain English Campaign is a commercial editing and training firm based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1979 by Chrissie Maher, the company positions itself as a leader in plain-language advocacy, working to persuade organisations in the UK and abroad to communicate with the public in plain...
- Simplified EnglishSimplified EnglishSimplified English is the original name of a controlled language historically developed for aerospace industry maintenance manuals. It offers a carefully limited and standardized subset of English. It is now officially known under its trademarked name as Simplified Technical English...
for technical purposes - AnglishAnglishAnglo-Saxon linguistic purism is a kind of English linguistic purism, which favors words of native origin over those of foreign origin. In its mild form, it merely means using existing native words instead of foreign ones...
- Scribes: The American Society of Legal WritersScribes: The American Society of Legal WritersScribes is an organization dedicated to encouraging legal writers and improving legal writing throughout the entire legal community — in court, in the law office, in the publishing house, and in law school. Founded in 1953, Scribes is the oldest organization of its kind...
- List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents in English
- Politics and the English LanguagePolitics and the English Language"Politics and the English Language" is an essay by George Orwell criticizing "ugly and inaccurate" contemporary written English.Orwell said that political prose was formed "to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." Orwell believed...
- Simple English WikipediaSimple English WikipediaThe Simple English Wikipedia is an English edition of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, primarily written in Basic English and Special English. Founded in 2003, the site has the stated aim of providing an encyclopedia for "people with different needs, such as students, children, adults with...
External links
- Plainlanguage.gov
- Plain English Asia
- The Plain Language Association, International
- *Office of Investor Education and Assistance U.S. Securities and Exchange, A Plain English Handbook(pdf)August 1998