Sometimes I get feedback from my audience asking “do we really need to dumb down? Will our vocabulary become poorer as a result of plain English?”
My response is to reflect on our purpose for writing. No one is telling a creative writer of a wonderful novel to write simply. Good quality creative writers and journalists already master their craft. Long may they continue with their rich language that enriches ours.
My particular audience are experts in different fields or in administration, using English as a vehicle of communication in the workplace. They need to communicate a clear, simple message to an international audience whose English level may be limited.
Here is a quote from the UK government writing guidance:
“Government experts often say that because they’re writing technical or complex content for a specialist audience, they do not need to use plain English. This is wrong.
Research shows that higher literacy people prefer plain English because it allows them to understand the information as quickly as possible.
For example, research into use of specialist legal language in legal documents found:
- 80% of people preferred sentences written in clear English – and the more complex the issue, the greater that preference (for example, 97% preferred ‘among other things’ over the Latin ‘inter alia’)
- the more educated the person and the more specialist their knowledge, the greater their preference for plain English
People understand complex specialist language, but do not want to read it if there’s an alternative. This is because people with the highest literacy levels and the greatest expertise tend to have the most to read.”
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In your leisure time, do read literature and quality newspapers to enrich your vocabulary and language.
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Author: Carol Waites
Presentation/editing by Christina O’Shaughnessy
https://worldwidewriting.org/
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Carol Waites (PhD)
Email: carolswritingtips@gmail.com
For more writing tips, consult my website:
https://carolswritingtips.com/writingtips/
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Carol’s memoir of her times at the United Nations, Behind the Flags, is available on Amazon and lulu.com
ISBN 9783952632703 Behind the Flags Amazon
9783952632710 Behind the Flags Black and White Version Amazon (Australia and Japan)
9783952632727 Behind the Flags lulu.com