Plain English.

[Digit]

Marie Clair, spokesman of the Plain English Campaign says that the group supports Councils that are phasing out French and Latin words and phrases. Ad lib, Ad hoc, In lieu, and etc, etc.
Her reasons are that many people don't have English as a first language.
(Some teens don't seem to have it as a second language IMO)
and 'at the same time it is important to remember that the national literacy level is about 12 years old...' her words not mine.
She's wasting her time, as fast as the councils phase this sort of thing out they introduce their own gobbledigook to replace them.
My council favours co-mingled re-cycling, ie, we sort it out as requested, they bung it all back together again!

Roy.

 

[RogerS]

Marie Clair, spokesman of the Plain English Campaign says that the group supports Councils that are phasing out French and Latin words and phrases. Ad lib, Ad hoc, In lieu, and etc, etc.
........

Roy.

Remind me to cancel my support subscription. Gr8 idea...let's all use bloody text speak. Grrrrr! Let's all dumb down.

I'd like to announce the death of 'certainly'. Well used for many many years but now subjugated by For Sure.

 

[Digit]

I read a statement awhile back where the boss said the people got together for net working, I thought that was a discussion group.
Officialdom seems determined to make sure we serfs don't know what they are up to.

Roy.

 

[RogerS]

I read a statement awhile back where the boss said the people got together for net working, I thought that was a discussion group.
Officialdom seems determined to make sure we serfs don't know what they are up to.

Roy.

No..that's 'brain-storming'....oh, sorry, apparently that word has been banned by some as it is offensive to the 'cerebrally challenged'.

 

[Digit]

offensive to the 'cerebrally challenged'.

Meaning those who coined the phrase I take it? :lol:

Roy.

 

[Rich]

When I was alot younger we had street cleaners and road sweepers, they did a great job and everyone was proud of them, nowadays we have environmental highways technicians :shock: and you never see them. :?

 

[Paul Chapman]

Her reasons are that many people don't have English as a first language.

She's probably right. I drove through Thornton Heath (where I used to live) today and saw that they had put up the Christmas lights in the High Street. However, on closer inspection they read "Happy Diwali" :? :?

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Rich]

Her reasons are that many people don't have English as a first language.

She's probably right. I drove through Thornton Heath (where I used to live) today and saw that they had put up the Christmas lights in the High Street. However, on closer inspection they read "Happy Diwali" :? :?

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Now now, Paul, if that had been me saying that there would have been cries of racism from some quarters.

Rich.

 

[BradNaylor]

Now now, Paul, if that had been me saying that there would have been cries of racism from some quarters.

Not if you had said it in the way that Paul said it.

However, I doubt that you would have said it in the way that Paul said it...



What really gets up my nose though, is the insistance of councils on all correspondence being translated into around 42 languages.

If I went to live in another country, I wouldn't expect my rates bill to be in English. I would expect the onus to be on me to learn the local language, or to get it translated myself. I am sure that the majority of foreign residents here share this view.

It is a typical example of the condescending and patronizing attitude many in the middle class trendy-lefty do-gooder public services have towards anyone they consider to be below their own social status.

I think I might actually prefer Rich's attitude.

Cheers
Dan

 

[gatesmr2]

Just a thought going back to the 1970's

Councils and governments always have and at a guess always will try and baffle us with words to make it sound like they are really doing what they say they will.

Yes minister :?:

Still makes me laugh now and as relevant as it was back then, but not sure now i am getting older i should be laughing or now crying as i understand how real it actually is :shock:

Martin [/b]

 

[bugbear]

Marie Clair, spokesman of the Plain English Campaign says that the group supports Councils that are phasing out French and Latin words and phrases. Ad lib, Ad hoc, In lieu, and etc, etc.

If we take the greek and latin (rooted) words out of English, there won't be much left?

BugBear

 

[Smudger]

Correct. You'd lose about a third. Take out the French - another third.

One of the strengths of English is that there are so many available words to express nuances of meaning. See - I've just done it.

This sort of 'plain English' is really another example of dumbing down, not something to be applauded. It is one of the language's greatest strengths that we can make and use new words, borrow them from other languages or from our own past.

But, of course, using language properly requires mental effort.

 

[Digit]

One of the strengths of English is that there are so many available words to express nuances of meaning. See - I've just done it.

That is so very true Dick, correct me gentlemen, and any ladies present, but for example does any other language have so many different words for the same thing.
Such as meat products from Pigs...
For the colour red...
English has got to be the most flexible and descriptive of languages.
(With a little help from Latin, Greek Malay, Chinese, Punjabi etc etc etc.)

Roy.

 

[Cowboy _Builder]

Now now, Paul, if that had been me saying that there would have been cries of racism from some quarters.

Not if you had said it in the way that Paul said it.

However, I doubt that you would have said it in the way that Paul said it...



What really gets up my nose though, is the insistance of councils on all correspondence being translated into around 42 languages.

If I went to live in another country, I wouldn't expect my rates bill to be in English. I would expect the onus to be on me to learn the local language, or to get it translated myself. I am sure that the majority of foreign residents here share this view.

It is a typical example of the condescending and patronizing attitude many in the middle class trendy-lefty do-gooder public services have towards anyone they consider to be below their own social status.

I think I might actually prefer Rich's attitude.

Cheers
Dan

You're right, here in Spain everything is in Spanish all correspondence, even the Spanish who can speak another language often choose not to ,they say it's up to you to understand their language or get a translator at you own cost ,this should be the way in the UK.

 

[jerryc]

Her reasons are that many people don't have English as a first language.

She's probably right. I drove through Thornton Heath (where I used to live) today and saw that they had put up the Christmas lights in the High Street. However, on closer inspection they read "Happy Diwali" :? :?

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Forgive me but having lived in Oz for so long I'm a bit out of touch. Who is this guy Diwali? And why are they asking if he is happy?

So the Poms are really getting into political correctness in a big way. ?Rip out Latin, Greek and French. Pork is straight from the french as are most of the dead meat words. How did English get words like telescope? How are the medicos going to cope.

No problem here. As we clean up English we can bring in Americanese. We will burglarize the language. Up scale to Americanese and forget the present, so confusing English.

As is repeated, ad nauseam, language is a living thing. After Word War One the returning soldiers brought back phrases like San Fairy Ann. Well that's what the froggies (oops politically incorrect of me) used to say.

Just one other thought. The lady's name is Marie Clair. that's a bleeding foreign name. She ought to change it to Mary Clear. Don't want to confuse people with foreign rubbish do we?

Jerry (Ex pat)

 

[Paul Chapman]

Her reasons are that many people don't have English as a first language.

She's probably right. I drove through Thornton Heath (where I used to live) today and saw that they had put up the Christmas lights in the High Street. However, on closer inspection they read "Happy Diwali" :? :?

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Forgive me but having lived in Oz for so long I'm a bit out of touch. Who is this guy Diwali? And why are they asking if he is happy?

He's not - there's probably some bloke on Croydon Council with a sarcastic sense of humour.......

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[andrewm]

What really gets up my nose though, is the insistance of councils on all correspondence being translated into around 42 languages.

Well, it's not exactly difficult to do. You just email your text to the 'translation department' and they email you the translation. Done

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7702913.stm :lol:

 

[Smudger]

I often wonder about the other translated material!