Notes / 3 Talking Points on pgs. 49-115

Problems with Language:
Definitions:
Jargon-technical language specific to a profession
Gobbledygook –mindless gibberish; using ten words in the place of one
Legalese-overreliance on legal terminology

Talking Points:
1. Gobbledygook

Legal Talk
- Gobbledygook is present in the government, law, universities, and sometimes even among the literati (intellectuals or authors).
- Words such as hereinafters and whereases are useless and unclear.

Academic Talk
- Professors at time forget their audience and complicate easy ideas.
- Sciences sometimes cannot avoid difficult terminology. However, the audience always needs to be thought of when speaking. Doctors talk to doctors differently then they address patients’ families.

Reduce Gobble
- Clarity, brevity, simplicity, and humanity are appreciated.
- The Federal Security Agency is cutting out the gobble.
- Don’t use a ten word phrase when a three word phase will suffice. For example, use the word consider instead of “give consideration to.”
-Write to people not to aliens. Show consideration for your audience (woman with two small children whose husband lost his memory).
-Funny anecdote about the plumber with HCl.

My thoughts: Don’t try to sound important, just get your point across. The best documents are those that can be understood, without understanding the entire purpose is lost.

2. Writing in Your Job

- Memos, business letters, emails, post-its should all be clear and precise. Simple statements do not imply simplemindedness. They do not make you look less intelligent. Often the most intelligent people are the ones who can convert technical language into simple statements for the common public.
- School Principals and their letters to the parents
- Vanity is on the line in corporate America. But if you write ornate and fuzzy that is how you will be perceived.
- Authors tell us to remember that “I” is the most interesting element in the story.
- In order to explain something you have to go to the source.
- Executives should do their own writing because that is what makes them unique and their words are their most powerful tools.

My thoughts: Try to be straight to the point. Not everyone thinks alike. Even if it seems clear to you, it may not seem clear to the reader.

3. The Plain English Revolution

- Key is for understanding by ordinary citizens.
- The goal is to make functional documents function. It is to make sure that consumers can understand lease, tax form, etc. It is not to stop jargon between lawyers or accountants, etc.
- Use personal language.
- When certain terms cannot be taken out, add explanations and examples to help the reader understand your point.
-Don’t get carried away with plain language rules. If rules become too obtrusive, then once again understanding will be lost. This occurrence would defeat the purpose of the Plain English Revolution.

My thoughts: Cut out unnecessary words. However, make sure that your goal is to help the reader understand and not to make your document as short as possible.

Other notes from the chapter:

A Critic of Plain Language:
- Plain Language does not mean that you have to write like novelists and entertain. Hemingway was only used as an example because his writing was simple and to the point.
- The public should not understand every legal document. Not all legal ideas are abstract, because that would defeat the purpose of laws.

A Guide to Non-Sexist Language:
-Remember to ask yourself if you could say the same thing about the opposite sex or about yourself.
-Avoid gender specific terms (ex. Postman).

International Communication and Language:
- English is becoming a global language. However, the people who speak English as a first language should still make an effort to learn at least one foreign language.
- Remember to consider different countries’ cultures when doing business internationally.
- Be respectful to their traditions and try to not get offended by their cultural characteristics.