Frequently asked questions

'FAQs'? That's jargon isn't it?

Answer: Quite possibly. But you are the reader - did you understand what it meant? If you didn't, then we apologise.

Although you may be new to plain English, we have no business assuming that you're new to the internet. And 'FAQs' is a very common expression on the net. Our other reason for calling the link 'FAQs' is that 'frequently asked questions' wouldn't fit.

Ok, now we've got that one out of the way, let's get on with the FAQs . . .

Question: Isn't there a danger that 'plain English' will result in the English language being 'dumbed down', and that it will be poorer as a result?

Answer: English (like most languages) is used in lots of different ways. How we use a language at any particular time depends partly on our intended audience and our motives for communicating with it. For example: you would not use the same style of language to write a birthday message as you would if you were writing a report.

If you were writing a novel, you would use descriptive language to paint a picture of a scene or character for your readers. You would use shorter, more direct words and sentences in the action scenes. You would make the dialogue 'fit' whichever character was talking at the time.

In each of these situations you would be aiming for a different effect: to make the child feel loved, or make it laugh; to make your boss see your point of view, or give your boss information you had been asked for; to excite your readers, to make them cry or make them laugh . . . and we would not suggest that you wrote poetry in plain English (although you might decide to, if you wanted a gritty, real life effect).

Plain English is the most appropriate writing style to use if you want to pass on clear information to your readers. Your readers will appreciate the clarity of your writing, because you will save them time and they will understand exactly what you are telling them or what you want them to do.

Don't worry about plain English leaving the language poorer. Most business writing we see - with all its long-windedness and pomposity - does nothing to enrich the language. People do not read business letters, emails, memos, reports, leaflets and brochures for entertainment or inspiration! So concentrate on giving a clear message.

Question: My message is complicated, so don't I need to use complicated language to get it across?

Answer: No! Even if the content of a message is complicated, you can still use a clear and straightforward writing style. Keep this distinction between content and style very clear in your mind.

The more complicated your content, the more you need to make sure your writing style is clear and straightforward. Even complex legal documents can be, and have been, written in plain English without losing precision or legal effect.

Question: Surely there must be some documents that cannot be written in plain English?

Answer: If you mean business documents, we cannot think of any. If your intention is to pass on a clear message, use plain English - whatever the message is about.

Question: Getting straight to the point is all very well, but might this seem abrupt or rude? What about our reader's feelings?

Answer: That's a good point. If you go too far, a plain English style could seem blunt, abrupt, or even rude. It's not enough simply to make sure your message is easy to understand. You need to put yourself in your reader's place and ask yourself 'how would I feel if I was the reader?'

So it is important to consider your reader's feelings. Apart from anything else, if you offend your reader they will not respond to your message in the way you want them to. We'd also say 'remember your manners'. Say 'please' if you are asking your reader to do something.

Question: Can't you spell 'organization'? You spell it 'organisation' all through your site?

Answer: It's not a case of right and wrong. We're a UK company, and this is just one of the differences between US and UK spellings. (You'll notice we didn't write 'thru' in the question.) In the UK, the more usual spelling is the 's' one - that is 'organisation'. The 'z' spelling does have a foothold and is becoming more widespread. (UK-published novels and other books use the 'z' spelling, because of the huge US market. Magazines on the other hand tend to use the 's' spelling.) In 'US' English, of course, the 'z' spelling is the standard one. But there are a number of words that end in 'ise' even in the US.

As we are a UK company, we use the UK spelling. It does cause some people to think that we can't spell. However, if we switched to the US spelling we would probably offend many UK 'purists'.

There is an excellent discussion of this topic - and a list of words that end in 'ise' wherever you are - on Michael Quinion's World Wide Words site. The page will open in a new window, so if your browser thinks this is a 'pop-up' you may have to press the 'Shift' key at the same time as you click on the link.

© The Word Centre 2010