Sunday, November 01, 2009
A government by the people and for the people should also be understood by the people, which is why a movement is underway to get federal employees to start communicating differently. For too long federal agencies have used jargon in written communications that makes it difficult for ordinary people to comprehend. This habit has only helped alienate citizens from their government and weaken “the effectiveness of democracy” and deny people their rights, says Annetta Cheek, chairman of the Center for Plain Language.
A few offices in Washington are dedicated to using simple phrasing and words in their communications. Citizenship and Immigration Services, within the Department of Homeland Security, is known for its easy to understand website. And PlainLanguage.gov strives to educate all federal workers to tone down the jargon.
PlainLanguage.gov offers suggestions for simplifying specific words and phrases, such as replacing “prioritize” with “rank,” “effect modifications” with “make changes,” and “in the event of” with “if.” PlainLanguage.gov also discourages the use of words that don’t actually exist in dictionaries, such as “impactful” and “trilemma.”
If agencies don’t voluntarily go this new route, they may soon have no choice. Congressman Bruce Braley (D-IA) is sponsoring legislation requiring all federal offices to use plain language when communicating with people.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Time for a Plain-Language Revolution (by Joe Davidson, Washington Post)
Replacing Government-Speak with Clear Words (by David Wallechinsky, AllGov)
Made-up Words (by Nick Wright, PlainLanguage.gov)
Simple Words and Phrases (PlainLanguage.gov)
Comments