Council leaders have compiled a banned list of the 200 worst uses of jargon, with "predictors of beaconicity" and "taxonomy" among the worst horrors.
The Local Government Association says such words and phrases must be avoided for staff to "communicate effectively".
Cliches such as "level playing field" and inscrutable terms like "re-baselining" have been prohibited.
LGA chairman Margaret Eaton said: "The public sector must not hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases. Why do we have to have 'coterminous, stakeholder engagement' when we could just 'talk to people' instead?"
Hoorah! It looks like one of my greatest irritants may finally be tackled...
I have always been a great advocate of clear, plain English - it was my job for many years to try and translate this moronic "management-speak" into a form of words that real people could understand. Not necessarily the "conversational tone" we all adopt here in the blogosphere [itself a jargon term, but quite a cute one], but articles and information that the intended audience might actually read, and in doing so absorb any essential information or messages contained within.
It seems simple really, but somehow the assembled petty minds of the bureaucrats and "consultants" of this world have managed again and again to miss this very important point, and I sometimes despair at the incomprehensible nonsense they produce. More power to the LGA!
Read more on the BBC
The full list of banned words and phrases
The World of Stanley Unwin
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a message - I value your comments!
[NB Bear with me if there is a delay - thanks to spammers I might need to approve comments]