Brian Garner,
in The Elements of Legal Style, answers:
What do we mean by "plain language"? I define it as the idiomatic and
grammatical use of language that most effectively presents ideas to the
reader. By that definition, plain language may be, in some sense, unplain.
Who would call Kant's categorical imperative plain, despite the seeming
simplicity of the words? "Act as if the maxim on which you act were to
become, through your will, a universal law." On the other hand, who would
volunteer to simplify it?
Most of us, when writing, are not framing Dantian thoughts. We should
stick to a plain approach. Our age prefers it... Your readers are the
ones, finally, who matter: You have invited them to attend your words,
you seek their precious time, and you may even expect to be paid for
your efforts. Courtesy requires that you show your readers some grace
and consideration.
The Minister of Multiculturalism
and Citizenship, The Office of the Minister of
Multiculturalism and Citizenship of Canada says, in Plain Language:
Clear and Simple:
Plain language writing is a technique of organizing information
in ways that make sense to the reader. It uses straightforward, concrete,
familiar words. You can use these techniques to adapt what you have
to say to the reading abilities of the people who are likely to read
your document. Using plain language to explain concepts and procedures
involves using examples that relate to your reader's experience...
Plain language writing:
- reaches people who cannot read well
- helps all readers understand information
- avoids misunderstandings and errors
- saves time, because it gets the job done well the first time
Cathy Chapman
Cathy Chapman was Director of the National Literacy Secretariat and
was a key person in the Canadian government's plain language implementation
program. At the Just Language Conference in Vancouver, she offered this
explanation:
Plain language is a technique of organizing information in ways that
make sense to the reader, and thinking about your reader first and foremost
and using language that is appropriate for your audience's reading skills.
The Plain Language Institute
of British Columbia(now defunct)
In its annual report for 1991-1992, the Plain Language Institute
answered this question:
When we first tell people that we promote the use of plain language
in legal documents, most breathe a sigh of relief. They think they will
never again have to wade through Latin, archaic English, or incomprehensible
legal terms. But when you work with the language of law or government,
you quickly realize that the challenge of plain language goes far beyond
vocabu ary. You also have to think about how words are used, sentences
constructed, documents designed, and how people infer meaning from words.
But even well-organized sentences that use commonly understood words
can be presented on the page in a way that makes the message hard to
understand. organizations such as the Communications Research Institute
in Australia and the American Document Design Centre [now the Information
Design Center - ed] have done a great deal of work to understand how
design affects readability. They have helped create a body of knowledge
about almost every aspect of how words appear on paper.
Despite all that we have learned, defining what is "plain" remains
elusive. What is completely understandable to one reader may be beyond
another's comprehension. Mark Vale, a specialist in clear language and
information management, points our that words are merely symbols, and
have no inherent meaning.
Meaning exists in the minds of people. If they wish to communicate
with one another, they must choose symbols which mean similar things
to both writer and reader. But how do we know what meaning a reader
will give to any particular word symbol? Our task is made even more
difficult, and more critical, with the knowledge that more than one
in three Canadian adults have some difficulty reading.
Reading theorists point out that people receive meaning from text
by reading a sentence and inferring the author's meaning from it. The
ability to make the correct inference depends on, and varies with, the
knowledge each reader has of the world in general and the specific concepts
which the writer addressed. Asking "What does my reader know and understand?"
can help the writer choose appropriate words to deliver a message.
The best way to know how readers will interpret words is to ask them.
Plain language means testing documents. Many people fear document testing
is an expensive and time-consuming process. But there are many ways
to test a document that need not be a vacuum for money and time. For
certain critical and widely distributed documents, even expensive tests
are cheaper than the economic, social and personal costs that result
when people are unable to understand the documents important to their
lives.
Plain language is not, as some suggest, "sending Dick and Jane to
court." Nor is it a false art of rendering English down to a small monosyllabic
vocabulary. It is the appropriate and correct use of the full vocabulary
in well-structured sentences, following established rules of grammar.
It is language that is free of jargon and chosen with sensitivity to
the needs and prior knowledge of the intended reader.