Editorial
Verbal
linguistics is not an Olympic sport
On Plain Language
The
Gettysburg address is less than 300 words long. That's
as long as a Letter to the Editor in The Monument
Newspaper. Yet the two-minute speech Abraham Lincoln
delivered at Gettysburg in 1863 stands as a masterpiece
of the English language.
Why? The words he used were simple, stirring, and
every word in it could be understood by all.
As
I sit at meeting after meeting at the School Board,
Gray Council, and New Gloucester Selectmen, and other
meetings, I listen to words for hours on end. I had
become used to hearing jargon, speeches, long-winded
replies to simple questions. I hadn't thought much
about it…until…
I was at a NG Selectmen meeting. A Community Day volunteer
proposed a canoeing activity. The Manager said that
wasn't going to be possible because the Town was not
insured for sponsoring water activities. The volunteer
asked, "So we aren't going to be able to do it?"
The Manager smiled, but said, "No."
How refreshing! A real answer! My mind contrasted
the beauty and clarity of the "No" with
the convoluted answers I usually hear, and I realized
how I have been lax in expecting language that tells
instead of language that evades.
I recently bought William Zinsser's newest edition
of "On Writing Well," a book most high school
or college students have read at one time or another.
He said that good writers use shorter words, clear
language, and plain speech.
On page 23 he writes about ways that language is used
to confuse, to distance the speaker from responsibility,
and to mislead. For example, how many times do you
hear an official say, "I" anymore? Zinsser
says that "A generation ago our leaders told
us where they stood and what they believed. Today
they perform strenuous verbal feats to escape that
fate."
Zinsser cites his favorite linguistic dodge as uttered
by "Elliott Richardson, who held four Cabinet
posts throughout the 1970s." At one point, Richardson
answered a question about Affirmative Action thus:
"And yet, on balance, affirmative action has,
I think, been a qualified success." Zinsser sums
it up: "A 13-word sentence with five hedging
words."
Similarly, I heard the following at Tuesday's Gray
Council meeting from Vice-Chair Lynn Olson: "I
must admit, I am rather neutral on the subject."
Ten words that say nothing.
Listen to the language that our government officials
are using; the Department of Transportation representatives,
Councilors, Selectmen, Managers, candidates, and incumbents.
Request clarity and precision from them.
Besides avoiding "I," officials use passive
tense when there should be more directness. Example,
"This matter shall be referred to staff."
By whom? To whom? What person? The passive tense is
used too often as a way to avoid responsibility or
commitment to an action. If the matter is not referred
to staff, who is accountable for the failure?
The most famous passive-voice denial of accountability
is President Richard Nixon's "Mistakes were made."
Compare that with what Robert E. Lee said to returning
soldiers after the disastrous Pickett's Charge the
third day after Gettysburg: "All this has been
my fault."
Readers, constituents, community members, demand from
your candidates, Legislators, Councilors, and Managers
simple language with plain answers.
By the way, what happened when the Community Day volunteer
heard "no" to his request? He shrugged,
smiled, and said, "OK. We'll think up something
else."
Officials, tell us the truth in plain language. We
can handle it.
(PS:
Upon the NG Manager's further research, it turns out
that NG can sponsor a water activity as long
as certain protocols are followed, happily enough.)
