Common Craft Blog
British Councils Ban Jargon
By leelefever on March 19, 2009 - 8:52am
This BBC article explains that Local Government Associations (LGAs) have banned the used of cliches and jargon in a effort to communicate more clearly with the public. Complete list of banned jargon.
A few quotes from LGA chairman Margaret Eaton:
"The public sector must not hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases. ... Why do we have to have 'coterminous, stakeholder engagement' when we could just 'talk to people' instead?"
"If a council fails to explain what it does in plain English then
local people will fail to understand its relevance to them or why they
should bother to turn out and vote.
We, of course, love to see this kind of change in communication, especially at the governmental level.
May be bad for business ;-)
Such a move could put some companies, such as this one in Ottawa, out of business:
http://www.prosebusters.com/
Hear, Hear!
About time too! For far too long LGA's have been bamboozling us into believing that they give a damn about explaining how to get access to the innumerable services funded by us taxpayers' money.
Dave Logan,
i like the idea, but some of
i like the idea, but some of the words on the list are just good vocabulary...not necessarily jargon.
It depends...
Some of these terms certainly sound familiar and are frequently being used in the fields of public participation, dialogue or civic engagement. The LGA website contains the complete list including suggested replacements.
It's good to use language people can easily understand. However, I'm not quite sure if simply replacing these terms will always be helpful (there are subtle but important differences in meaning between "stakeholders" and "other organisations"). Maybe a glossary of key terms should sometimes be considered as well.
I think that everyone you'll ask
will come up with a different list of words to ban.
Recommended only, and some words are fine...
I agree with most of the list (some phrases in particular are horribly over-used here in the UK), but there are also some words that are quite okay and possibly shouldn't be featured on the list.
For example: What's wrong with the word 'compact' or 'challenge'? Both are very ordinary and understandable words!
If this list was enforced (in the UK) then it would carry a bit more substance, instead the list is just a recommendation at most. Banning buzzwords/phrases is a good step to take though.
I like the idea also but I think it's not a good thing to do...
I totally Agree with KVC there are some words that are good vocabulary and indeed very useful to us. Also some of the words are used for business transactions. The Government should think twice about this.
what's good about jargon?
Jargon can be handy or it can be horrible. When I was a whitewater raft guide, we had all kinds of words that meant something in our context, but were not understandable to outsiders. In fact, they had a kind of precision which you couldn't get otherwise. For example a "hole" was a kind of recirculating water feature which could trap your raft. For those of us within the biz, this jargon was very useful.
Where jargon is not useful is when you try to communicate outside your field. Since governments are supposed to communicate with all citizens, it makes a lot of sense for them to use plain English in those communications.
Hmm... I don't know. Some of
Hmm... I don't know. Some of it is certainly "jargon", but the meaning is there - do we really need to dumb things down for people? Maybe we should just all go read a book and expand our language skills.
Regards,
Kelly from Acai Burn Blog
Plain Talk
Well you should be happy to know that dating back quite a few years the Washington State government mandated Plain Talk. Pretty much all documents that are consumed by the public go through a plain talk review. Some are more effective than others. The issue is that you still have to get the legal meaning correct and there are some lawyers that can twist the meaning of a plain talked sentence to mean something else.
Learn more here: http://www.accountability.wa.gov/plaintalk/
Having gone through the training I do see the value in it, although I also believe we have a very long way to go.
Hooray!
That's great news. And it's very true.
I have no patience with jargon and guff - in fact I write an e-zine about that very topic (more on my blog).
Huzza for plain English and talking normally.
Now, if someone could make MP's answer the question they've been asked, not the one they've prepared an answer for...
M
A very sad day for the politicians
After all, those who are paying attention know that politicians love sounding more intelligent than those they exercise power over. It makes them feel... well... kinda... intellectually superior.
A very sad day for the politicians indeed.
This is good to hear.
This is good to hear. Nothing wrong with keeping the English language English.
Clearly...
...they are thinking outside of the box to come up with a novel paradigm capable of yielding meaningful dialogue with the populace. :)
This is rediculous. And
This is rediculous. And Politicians wonder why nobody trusts them anymore? Aren't there more important issues going on right now to adress?
Not all are jargon..
Yes, 'coterminous, stakeholder engagement' can be gibberish but not 'value-added' or 'proactive'. Actually, not all those in the list are completely unintelligible or meaningless talk. I don't think the populace are that dumb.
Did the right thing
Hi Lee
I made a comment on this post earlier - but can't see it. Maybe there was problem with my connection and was never posted.
Anyway, I am really in agreement with the LGA guys as most companies hide their policies behind those jargon. The language they use in agreements and the TOS they attach is seldom understood by normal public like me and we just follow our legal experts in those matters.
I also think, very few people, even if they understand have little patience to go through all these long lines. It leaves scope for keeping escaping route for....................... Its good that someone has taken initiative to make things in plain English. :)
Sorry John - I have spam issues
You might have been mistakenly caught up in my spam cleansing before. This site gets hammered by people who write nice content, but then drop a spam link into the message and it takes me a lot of time to work through it all to find the real comments. The message below is not directed at you...
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Good Practice
Hey, I'm all for it. If it doesn't make for clear conversation, don't use it.
easy to understand
A thumbs up from my side for a tlak that is well understood even by the common man. To involve every citizen the lesser the political jargon the better.
Go for real talk
Nice move from the Council Leaders, sometimes it can lost trust hearing those old version of "word of promises" in public speech.
Jargon was invented by the
Jargon was invented by the lawyers as a means to keep continuous work and also helps the government bureaucrats sound smart and intelligent.
Jargon is actually such a relative word. Politicians and public figures take refuge in it to avoid getting sued.
Let's have plain English
Sometimes words do need to be specific and precise in their meanings but often those in power seem to think they should use obscure words to sound more important.
I think they set a bad example for our kids since they make it seem like you have to be able to talk in this way to explain things yet, as you show in your videos, even complicated subjects can be explained in simple English that everybody can understand.
I'm delighted they are changing their ways.
Jargon
I understand that web sites and information on the internet or computer is all in a language that most of us don't understand. It is like any other profession that uses a language that only members in that profession can understand. I wish it would be in a language that was more coherent for everyone to use on a daily basis.
Nikki
http:marketyourdreams.wordpress.com
"The public sector must not
"The public sector must not hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases. ... Why do we have to have 'coterminous, stakeholder engagement' when we could just 'talk to people' instead?" Well change in communication, it is what it is.
Jargon
I paid a bunch of money in school to learn it. I was taught its better to be safe than sorry when interacting with clients and hence use of some words is absolutely essential in certain areas.
Why else would a smooth talker and orator like president Obama use the teleprompter for all his speaches? Its just CYA.
Its required text
Its not jargon ,if it is being in official documents. these documents could be used later to bite back.
Better than running a loose mouth is to give a measured response. Of course, I'm looking at it from the eyes of a public official.
I'm absolutely in love with
I'm absolutely in love with the human language,and a big proponent of free speech.However,using language to hide one's agenda is just downright wrong.So I for one am glad to see this happen.Top shelf decision.
This doesnt surprise me at all
This is just typical of the uk. I am not sure how many other countries would be so precious about it.
I love living here but it does get me down at times.
re
I noticed that quite a few of these terms are frequently used by practitioners in the fields of public particpation, dialogue and civic engagement.
It’s good to use language that’s easy for people to understand. However, I’m not quite sure that simply replacing these terms would always be helpful. There are subtle but important differences in meaning between “stakeholders” and “other organisations,” and sometimes it is important that normal people understand these complexities). Maybe a glossary of key terms is more advisable in these cases.
Whether or not you subscribe to all entries on the list of banned terms, it’s certainly a good reminder to be mindful of the language we use.
Jargon vs Good Grammar
There can be a fine line between effective communication using "common language" and plain bad grammar. I'm all for using whatever form of communication is most effective.