Bad language

BRITAIN: Thirty years ago, Chrissie Maher started the Plain English Campaign. The aim of the group is to reduce the amount of financial and bureaucratic jargon. Maher says the need is now greater than ever.

As one example, Maher points to Britain’s property-market crash, saying “confusing and pompous” language included in loan contracts made it difficult for borrowers to really understand the financial risk. “Families are losing their homes because of jargon-filled credit agreements,” she told The Wall Street Journal. “Language has been misused and has contributed to the economic disaster.“

"Language has been misused and has contributed to the economic disaster," says Chrissie Maher of the Plain English Campaign.

Over the years, Maher has written to banks, insurance companies, Heathrow Airport, members of parliament and to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, among others, on the need for documents to be written clearly and simply. She says phrases such as “account facility limit”, “sector-specific benchmarking”, “authentic answerability” and “amorphous challenges” only confuse readers. Every year, the Plain English Campaign awards a Golden Bull for the worst examples of jargon.

The Plain English Campaign offers free guides on financial, legal and pension terms on its website. Maher also runs a training service to help businesses to avoid jargon and nonsensical word creations in their communication and on their websites.