Friday, December 17, 2004
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Friday, October 01, 2004
Callum McCarthy, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority, Britain's financial watchdog, has warned that consumer education and clearer documents are needed to make financial competition work. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, he said:
"In Britain, 23 per cent of adults, if presented with the Yellow Pages directory and asked to give from it the name of a plumber, cannot do so; over 20 per cent cannot do simple percentages ie are unlikely to understand either of my last two statements. Yet as a country we are moving a number of the most important financial decisions for health provision, for education, for pensions from institutions to the individual, even when many individuals are poorly equipped to take those decisions. Nor is the position a good one in terms of relevant and comprehensible information being given to customers by providers of financial services: too often the product, already complex, is made still more complex by a specialised and difficult to understand
vocabulary I suspect that not many here this evening will admit to understanding what a reversionary bonus is.
"We are requiring firms to provide basic information in standard form (to make comparison of competing products easier), and requiring fuller and clearer disclosure (of life products, for example). So we expect progress towards clearer, relevant information."
"In Britain, 23 per cent of adults, if presented with the Yellow Pages directory and asked to give from it the name of a plumber, cannot do so; over 20 per cent cannot do simple percentages ie are unlikely to understand either of my last two statements. Yet as a country we are moving a number of the most important financial decisions for health provision, for education, for pensions from institutions to the individual, even when many individuals are poorly equipped to take those decisions. Nor is the position a good one in terms of relevant and comprehensible information being given to customers by providers of financial services: too often the product, already complex, is made still more complex by a specialised and difficult to understand
vocabulary I suspect that not many here this evening will admit to understanding what a reversionary bonus is.
"We are requiring firms to provide basic information in standard form (to make comparison of competing products easier), and requiring fuller and clearer disclosure (of life products, for example). So we expect progress towards clearer, relevant information."
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Monday, July 26, 2004
Monday, June 28, 2004
Tough translations
A few weeks ago we reported on a survey by the firm Today Translations (www.todaytranslations.com) revealing the ten legal expressions which were most difficult to translate. This week they produced two similar lists covering general words in English and other languages.
The most difficult non-English word to translate is apparently ilunga, a word from Tshiluba, a language spoken by the Bantu tribe of the southeastern Congo. It means 'a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time; to tolerate it a second time; but never a third time.'
The most difficult word for translating from English is reported as plenipotentiary: 'a special ambassador or envoy, invested with full powers'.
And ironically for us gobbledygook came second in the list. We were quite surprised to see this, as we have seen equivalents in at least four languages, including French (charabia), German (kauderwelsh), Dutch (onzin) and Italian (gergo incomprensible). We'd love to hear any translations of the word into other languages.
A few weeks ago we reported on a survey by the firm Today Translations (www.todaytranslations.com) revealing the ten legal expressions which were most difficult to translate. This week they produced two similar lists covering general words in English and other languages.
The most difficult non-English word to translate is apparently ilunga, a word from Tshiluba, a language spoken by the Bantu tribe of the southeastern Congo. It means 'a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time; to tolerate it a second time; but never a third time.'
The most difficult word for translating from English is reported as plenipotentiary: 'a special ambassador or envoy, invested with full powers'.
And ironically for us gobbledygook came second in the list. We were quite surprised to see this, as we have seen equivalents in at least four languages, including French (charabia), German (kauderwelsh), Dutch (onzin) and Italian (gergo incomprensible). We'd love to hear any translations of the word into other languages.
Sunday, June 20, 2004
We all know far too well how to write everyday English, but few of us know how to write elegant English — English that is expressed with music as well as meaning, style as well as substance. The point of this feature is not to suggest that people should try to emulate these examples of elegant English but to show that the language can be written with grace and polish — qualities that much contemporary writing is bereft of and could benefit from.
We are accustomed to think of ourselves as an emancipated people; we say we are democratic, liberty-loving, free of prejudice and hatred. This is the melting pot, the seal of a great human experiment. Beautiful words, full of noble, idealistic sentiment. Actually we are a vulgar, pushing mob whose passions are easily mobilized by demagogues, newspaper men, religious quacks, agitators and such like. To call this a society of free peoples is blasphemous. What have we to offer the world beside the superabundant loot which we recklessly plunder from the earth under the maniacal delusion that this insane activity represents progress and enlightenment? The land of opportunity has become the land of senseless sweat and struggle. The goal of all of our striving has long been forgotten. We no longer wish to succor the oppressed and homeless; there is no room in this great, empty land for those who, like our forefathers before us, now seek a place of refuge. Millions of men and women are, or were until very recently, on relief, condemned like guinea pigs to a life of forced idleness. The world meanwhile looks to us with a desperation such as it has never known before. Where is the democratic spirit? Where are the leaders? — Henry Miller, Good News! God Is Love!
http://www.vocabula.com/index.asp
We are accustomed to think of ourselves as an emancipated people; we say we are democratic, liberty-loving, free of prejudice and hatred. This is the melting pot, the seal of a great human experiment. Beautiful words, full of noble, idealistic sentiment. Actually we are a vulgar, pushing mob whose passions are easily mobilized by demagogues, newspaper men, religious quacks, agitators and such like. To call this a society of free peoples is blasphemous. What have we to offer the world beside the superabundant loot which we recklessly plunder from the earth under the maniacal delusion that this insane activity represents progress and enlightenment? The land of opportunity has become the land of senseless sweat and struggle. The goal of all of our striving has long been forgotten. We no longer wish to succor the oppressed and homeless; there is no room in this great, empty land for those who, like our forefathers before us, now seek a place of refuge. Millions of men and women are, or were until very recently, on relief, condemned like guinea pigs to a life of forced idleness. The world meanwhile looks to us with a desperation such as it has never known before. Where is the democratic spirit? Where are the leaders? — Henry Miller, Good News! God Is Love!
http://www.vocabula.com/index.asp
Monday, June 14, 2004
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Home Page:
"Capsal Hi-Impact Communication Presenters of Business Writing and Communication Skills in Plain Language"
"Capsal Hi-Impact Communication Presenters of Business Writing and Communication Skills in Plain Language"
Friday, June 11, 2004
Rules for writing good
1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
16. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
17. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
18. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
19. The passive voice is to be ignored.
20. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
21. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
22. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
23. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas.
24. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
25. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
26. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
27. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
28. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
29. Who needs rhetorical questions?
30. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
16. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
17. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
18. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
19. The passive voice is to be ignored.
20. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
21. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
22. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
23. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas.
24. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
25. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
26. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
27. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
28. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
29. Who needs rhetorical questions?
30. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Friday, March 26, 2004
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Plain English Campaign: Press office: Our latest press release: "At the end of the day... we're fed up with clichés"
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | 'With all due respect, it's not exactly rocket science'
As the Plain English Campaign publishes a list of the language's most annoying phrases, Mark Oliver wonders what might have happened had one of history's great orators used them. So imagine that you are huddling in an air raid shelter, listening to the wireless as Winston Churchill begins to speak
As the Plain English Campaign publishes a list of the language's most annoying phrases, Mark Oliver wonders what might have happened had one of history's great orators used them. So imagine that you are huddling in an air raid shelter, listening to the wireless as Winston Churchill begins to speak
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