Plain Language by Roslyn Petelin

Plain language, still called 'plain English' in the United Kingdom, has been the

focus of extensive discussion, research, and legislation since the 1960s in the

USA, the UK, Canada, and Australia. More recently, the plain language

movement has been taken up in Europe where France, Italy, Germany, Denmark,

the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden have adopted plain language. Other

countries such as Mexico have adopted it, as well as New Zealand, Singapore,

Hong Kong, and South Africa. The key principle of plain language is that the

intended reader can use the document for its intended purpose. The key aims of

plain language are that the reader can understand and use the document. The

researcher Garner regrets that the set phrases 'plain language' and 'plain

English' contain the word 'plain', because he thinks that it suggests the idea of

'drab and ugly'. However, the term has no serious competitor, so advocates of

plain language need to continually explain what they mean by it. Another

researcher, Balmford, argues that the term 'plain language' is inaccurate

because it places too much emphasis on words and sentences. He says that

plain language involves elements of the whole document: content, language,

structure, and design. No plain-language proponent would argue with his

statement.