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Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Covington: Plain English please!
By Gary Covington
Looking In
"It is the dimensions of governance which define responsiveness to the needs of the population. The diversity in the functions undertaken by local government show an increasing complexity in the local public sector over the last decades."
THAT paragraph, followed by a dozen or so others written in the same style, appeared last week in one of the local daily newspapers. The author may have had some interesting information to pass on but who knows--the average reader will have glanced at that first paragraph, winced, and then moved onto something more digestible.
It's been written in jargon. Fine in the right place, as a form of communication between experts in the same field, but surely it has no place in a daily tabloid.
The same paragraph, recast in plain English, is more palatable...
"Over the last few decades, forced to tackle an ever-increasing and diverse program of social duties, the face of local government has changed enormously."
The reader will immediately ask "What changes?" and read on.
Jargon is not new. Professionals, medical people and lawyers, have been using it since time began to baffle the common folk with science or strings of hereinafters and whomsoevers. What is alarming is that the malaise is spreading, especially to government spokesmen or consultants who deal with social issues.
Why is something of a mystery. In theory a spokesman with a message to get across is a great communicator; able to get through to the masses, explain things simply and clearly and not fire of salvoes of jargon that whiz uncomprehended over the target's head.
Some observe that jargon is used to create clubs of exclusivity. Outsiders not allowed in. Jargon only spoken here. Or that it's a device, a smokescreen of words, to poleaxe the audience into thinking that the writer or speaker really knows his stuff.
More likely is that the use of jargon is an unthinking reflex. The writer perceives that a serious social issue deserves a suitably heavyweight style. He or she slips automatically into jargon mode.
Again, fine for learned journals aimed at one's peers but hardly the stuff of the daily press.
Finally, should the author of the opening paragraph recognize their words but disagree with my translation do speak up. In plain English please.
(March 2, 2005 issue)
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