Past newsletters 2003

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Plain English update 28 March 2003

From next week, guarantees for goods sold in England must be written in plain English. The change, which turns a European Community directive into British law, takes effect from 31 March. If guarantees are not written in 'plain intelligible language', the Director General of Fair Trading can apply for a court injunction to force a change.

The new rule comes in 'The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002' which say:

'The guarantor shall ensure that the guarantee sets out in plain intelligible language the contents of the guarantee and the essential particulars necessary for making claims under the guarantee, notably the duration and territorial scope of the guarantee as well as the name and address of the guarantor.'

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined a firm £100,000 for misleading advertising. DBS Financial Management had sent out 4.5 million brochures with national newspapers in June 2001. The FSA's objections to the brochure included:

• the phrase '100% capital security over five years' (this only applied on the fifth anniversary of the investment rather than at all points during the five years);
• the front cover stating 'all at no initial charge' (there was an initial charge of 6%); and
• using growth rates of 14.4% and 22.2% for projections (these are arguably extremely optimistic, and far higher than the FSA allows).

DBS also failed to follow FSA orders to improve their process for checking adverts before publication.

FSA managing director Carol Sergeant said 'This is the FSA's first fine for misleading advertising. We require financial advertisements to be 'clear, fair and not misleading.' The direct offer advertisement for 'Protected ISAs' that was approved by DBS did not come close to meeting this standard.'

After the FSA began its investigation, DBS contacted all 455 people who took up the product in response to the advert and offered a full refund.

Judges and lawyers in Ohio will be encouraged to use plain English when giving instructions to jurors as part of a legal experiment. The scheme will involve around 8000 trials. Judge Joseph Clark, chairman of the Ohio Supreme Court task force on jury service, said the scheme could help avoid misinterpretation by jurors. He gave the example of 'proximate cause', which jurors could confuse with approximate, rather than it's legal meaning of 'the single action that set off a chain of events'.

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Plain English update 20 March 2003

Guardian reader Gareth Richard wrote to the newspaper's Education section this week to condemn management-speak in schools and colleges. He said 'In my staff room days, I had a wonderful little stamp marked 'bull****' which I used to annotate the more incomprehensible educational gobbledygook. Things are 'delivered', not ideas; water 'cascades', not training. The sooner educationalists use accessible and understandable terms, the more sensible their pronouncements will become. Parroting meaningless but long and woody words is the sign of a third-rate mind.'

We've often mentioned that one of the most common areas of complaint from our supporters is parking notices. There is some good news, as the Parking Appeals Service has now launched a website (www.parking-appeals.gov.uk) that deals with every aspect of parking regulations. There is even a history of parking rules for the particularly dedicated. We doubt this will bring an end to disputes over ambiguous parking restrictions, but the site itself is refreshingly clear.

One of our supporters, Eddie Hall, has sent us a link to his page of management euphemisms (www.annanded.co.uk/html/manager_speak.html). It's just the thing for those of you who have reached a state of pure cynicism by Friday afternoon!

Last week we asked you to read the following sign:

'Resident Permit
Holders
MON-SAT
8am-10pm

OR

Pay At Meter
Display Ticket
2 Hour Limit
Mon-Sat
8am-6.30pm

and then asked:

'Can a non-resident park in the affected area on a Sunday without having to pay?'

We had 24 responses. All but one said yes, it was safe to park there. Many of those who gave reasons used the logic that the sign lists restrictions so, in the absence of any mention of Sunday, there was no charge for parking on that day.

As you have probably guessed, the man who sent the details to us came to the same conclusion, but the local authority concerned disagreed and fined him. We have passed on the findings and we'll let you know how the case turns out.

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Plain English update 14 March 2003

Staff at a rail station in North Tyneside have taken an unusual approach to bilingualism. Every sign in Wallsend Metro station now appears in both English and Latin as part of a scheme to promote a local museum. Signs point to 'Domus Lana Dignorum' ('the house of those worthy of wool', or Woolworths) and the 'Forum Venalicium' ('slave market', or job centre).

A senior judge in California has won a career achievement award for his work on clear legal information. Ronald M. George, chief justice of the California Supreme Court, earned the honour during a 'Freedom of Information' ceremony organised by local journalists. One of the main reasons for the award was his efforts to make plain English versions of legal forms available on the Web.

Journalists often ask us for our opinions on text messaging language, particularly when used by children. We usually explain that it shouldn't be a major problem as most messages are sent to one specific person, and the sender knows whether or not they will understand a particular piece of 'shorthand'. 'And', we go on, 'most children are bright enough to know not to use it in formal writing.'

That theory took a knock this week when several newspapers reported that a 13- year-old girl had handed in an essay beginning:

'My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kds FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc.'

(Or, in everyday language, My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York, it's a great place.')

Her teacher told the Telegraph: 'I could not believe what I was seeing. The page was riddled with hieroglyphics, many of which I simply could not translate.'

We don't yet know what mark the girl earned for her essay.

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Plain English update 7 March 2003

We have a question for you this week, on behalf of one of our readers. Please read the following notice (set out in the same way as the original.)

Resident Permit
Holders
MON-SAT
8am-10pm

OR

Pay At Meter
Display Ticket
2 Hour Limit
Mon-Sat
8am-6.30pm

The question is: Can a non-resident park in the affected area on a Sunday without having to pay?

We'll pass on the results.

In our piece on consent forms last week, we mentioned that 'The average reading age of Americans is thought to be around 8th grade level (ages 12 and 13).' One reader asked us for further details.

The statistic refers to the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey, a project funded by the US Department of Education. The project tested the literacy skills of the survey group and compared them to a series of five 'levels' of literacy (each involving particular capabilities). The results suggested that between 46% and 50% of Americans were only capable of levels one or two. The skills of level two were those expected of an 8th grade school student.

Last year several judges debated whether using Latin terms concerning sexual behaviour was still appropriate in the 21st century.

It appears that times change. A new website containing transcripts of 260 years worth of trials at the Old Bailey contains the following from March 1726.

'...two of them held me while the Prisoner, - Laud bless me, - what shall I say now, - must I speak plain, - plain English? - and before all these Gentlemen? - I vow I am quite a-sham'd, - I dont know how to speak such a Word, - but if I must, I must, - they held me while the Prisoner ravish'd me.'

Those of you who read the Financial Times will be aware of a weekly column about the fictional employee Martin Lukes, whose antics follow every known stereotype about modern business. This week Martin's new boss e-mailed his colleagues to explain his new role. Those of you that can decipher management-speak will realise why he is about to become very unpopular...

'[Martin]'s first task here will be executing the rollout of a new exit management programme which will help us reach a headcount commensurate with our bottom line earning projected path.'

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