The Letter of the Law
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Plain English The magazine of Plain English Campaign - Issue 59 (August 2004) The letter of the law Last issue we told you about plans to tighten the laws on credit advertising. ”Every credit Not only have the Department of Trade and Industry now outlawed advertisement or hire gobbledygook in adverts for credit and hire agreements, advertisement shall: but they did it in a refreshingly clear fashion (see right). The change is part of a series of regulations aimed at tightening (1) use plain and up the credit laws, including the following measures. intelligible language; • All firms must use the same method of calculating the Annual Percentage Rate (APR), allowing a true and fair comparison. (2) be easily legible (or, • The APR must now be the most prominent financial in the case of any information in an advert. • Any products or services other than the loan itself information given (such as payment protection plans) must have a separate orally, clearly signature box. This will stop people signing up to these extra services without audible) and realising they are 'bundled' with the loan. Our founder-director Chrissie Maher said the battle wasn’t over. “We’d like to see the credit (3) specify the name of agreements themselves be clear and fair, as well as the adverts. the advertiser.” But this is a tremendous first step.” European Union American English 25th anniversary In this Neil Kinnock warns A reader’s personal Chrissie Maher recalls officials to keep it clear article explains why he the day Plain English and concise — or face “will never be a regular Campaign became issue chaos. guy”. official. Page 2 Page 5 Pages 6-7 2 Issue 59 Europe Keep it clear and concise, Europe’s translators plead European Union (EU) writers are on the lookout Waffle a threat to for wasted words as part of a scheme to cope with the the EU’s future addition of eight new Ireland’s minister for languages. Europe has warned that a Neil Kinnock, the European lack of plain English could commissioner responsible for seriously damage the administration, has ordered European Union (EU). writers to keep documents brief and to the point, to reduce the Speaking at a conference to workload for translators. discuss communication in Europe, Dick Roche said: “If According to spokesman Eric citizens are not better informed Mamer, “We want, under normal suggestion that a meeting was about, and engaged in, the EU, circumstances, our political progressing at the pace of a the future of the union itself documents to be 15 pages long, hedgehog was once translated could be threatened.” but obviously if a document has as, “This meeting is slow, According to Mr Roche, the EU to be longer, it will have to be ponderous and full of pricks.” longer. This is a sort of target, needs to: After the expansion of the not a legal constraint... but then introduce plain language and European Union this year, the • again, everybody wants officials anti-jargon measures; to be short and to the point, so number of official languages it’s an objective you cannot say used by politicians and civil • simplify and improve forms; no to.” servants originally rose to 20. • set up an agency to audit This took the number of At the moment, the average forms (which, for example, potential combinations of would identify any document is 32 pages long. The languages to 190. In practice, backlog of documents to duplicated or otherwise the translators use a relay unnecessary forms); translate is 60,000 pages and, system to cover all possibilities. without this crackdown, the A speech in English may be dealt • simplify legal texts; and backlog could rise to around with first by a translator who develop a code of 300,000 pages within three • speaks English and German, and administrative practice. years after the number of official then passed on by a second languages rose from 11 to 19. translator who speaks German patent valid across the EU. We have often written about our and Swedish. The expansion led Some countries have called for admiration and sympathy for the to a particularly memorable the proposed system to use just translators working for the quote in the Guardian: English, while others have various organisations in the EU. “If you know anybody who can argued that English, German and Documents produced by a translate from Maltese to French is the best compromise. political and administrative Finnish,” said [translation] head And Spain says each patent system are often far from clear, Karl-Johann Loennroth, “please should be written in all the and trying to convey the same let us know.” official languages. meaning in another language is Our spokesman John Lister told surely a challenge. In fact the The plea was unsuccessful, and Maltese was suspended as an the BBC World Service that now European Commission’s was a particularly important translators have their own official language for three years because of a lack of translators. time for such measures. “EU informal campaign, ‘Fight the translators estimate they will Fog’, which urges writers and Following the expansion, reports work on around two million speakers to be as clear as said some legislation may be pages this year. Documents possible in the original language delayed for up to six months need to be clear in the original and avoid using too many similes while a translation backlog is language to allow the and metaphors. cleared. translators to work to their full We don’t know how true the Language difficulties have also potential and give every EU story is, but apparently a led to the collapse of plans to citizen the clear information they German commissioner’s allow inventors to get a single deserve.” News Issue 59 3 Tax and benefit MPs get three minute chaos hampers warning MPs may need to brush up clarity efforts on their plain English skills. Following a report by the House of Commons procedure We’ve often noted the way committee, the Government has that attempts to clarify agreed to try a scheme to allow government forms are more people to speak during a debate. This will involve lengthy hampered by the sheer debates having a half-hour or complexity of the tax and hour-long period during which benefits system. speeches will be restricted to as Further proof comes from a little as three minutes. recent report by Parliament’s At an average speaking speed, Public Accounts Committee this will only allow around 500 to which revealed that mistakes 600 words — though this is still are made in processing about enough to read the Gettysburg 20% of benefit claims. The cost Address twice! of these problems (including genuine mistakes and fraud) is somewhere between three and It’s that seven billion pounds a year. The report also says that the error rate for one benefit, man again Disability Living Allowance, is Edward Leigh MP We couldn’t resist bringing almost 50%. You may remember you these words from a that five years ago the Government admitted that six previous returns to identify Prime Minister’s Question billion pounds a year was not people suitable for the Time where John Prescott being claimed by people who shortened form. stood in for Tony Blair. were legally entitled to the And it seems the Inland Revenue Mr. Peter Luff: What are the benefit. has another reason to promote Government planning to do to Edward Leigh, chair of the plain English. They’ve found a help the Plain English Campaign committee, said that there was new problem with tax-avoidance celebrate its 25th anniversary only one real solution: “Unless schemes (unlike tax-evasion this year? What will the Deputy someone gets a grip and schemes, these are legal ways Prime Minister do personally to simplifies the system, nothing of reducing tax bills): tax help it wage its war on will improve.” advisors are baffling them with gobbledygook? complicated language and legal The Deputy Prime Minister: The There is some good news, jargon. though. Self-assessment tax Honourable Gentleman, from forms will, for most users, be A spokesman said “A small time to time, may get his getting shorter. Rather than number of promoters will, we grammar right, but his thinking giving everybody the full expect, expend time and money on politics and his common 12-page form (which contains in trying to disguise the scheme sense are often missing. And to questions irrelevant to most under layers of detail — so that we can add the sketch users), the Inland Revenue will promoters will be expected to writers as well. But I will not be send a simplified four-page form comply by providing a plain addressing the conference. to people with simpler tax English description of the (Fortunately, we aren’t planning affairs. Tax officials will look at scheme.” to hold a conference!) Builders have been warned to take care The advice, described as “common sense aimed at using slang when they have colleagues keeping workers safe”, gives particular emphasis from overseas. to avoiding irony, and explaining common safety warnings. A building consultant quoted in the The Construction and Industry Training Board Scotsman newspaper said, “At the moment, if you issued the guidance after finding that up to 20% shout ‘Duck!’ on a building site in London, half of of builders in the UK speak English as a second the workers would throw themselves to the floor language. and the other half would look up at the sky.” 4Issue 59 News Finance watchdog One name — adds bite to bark one problem The railway system has always had its own curious use of English: customers We have previously the advert must include have to “alight” or “detrain reported that the Financial details going back as far as the unit”.