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Home > For Free > Articles > issue5vol6
Your Language Needs YOU!
By David Brewster November 2006
They're flowing thick and fast now. Here in my home state we're a few days away from an election and the commitments, outcomes, values and enhancements are multiplying like rabbits in spring. Words like these thrive in the lush fields of politics and corporate life. Problem is, they are also starting to hop into uncharted territory.
Many of you will be familiar with the seemingly fruitless campaigns against the brain-numbing language of the genus politici and genus corporati. We've had Don Watson's book, Death Sentence, various dictionaries of 'weasel words' and the formation of various 'plain language' foundations.
Yet these overused words and their progeny of phrases continue to abound. Their populations tend to surge during elections and annual meeting seasons. But they have no trouble sustaining themselves in the off-season, quietly breeding in the relative privacy of parliamentary offices and corporate meeting rooms.
To some extent this is understandable. Perhaps the war on double-speak and cliché is destined to be lost. Perhaps the fertility of these environments is too great given the frequent need for those inside them to either hide the facts or hide their complete lack of knowledge of the facts.
There is another front we can fight on, however. There is a slow migration of this turgid language into areas where there is nothing to hide and therefore no need for it.
Let me give you an example. A couple of weeks ago, I was pottering around my front garden when I looked up as a truck drove by. I recognised the logo of our local council at once. But what nearly made me swallow my secateurs were the words on the side of the truck: "Enhancing our Living Assets".
My first reaction was to laugh. Then, when I turned my attention back to the roses, I started to ask myself: "Why?". Why would the council bureaucrats impose such a ridiculous moniker on our hard working gardeners? Surely they have nothing to hide?
Do they believe that dressing our green thumbs up in this linguistic suit and tie will raise their esteem in the community? Or are they trying to prove that when it comes to spin, they can match it with their federal counterparts? Perhaps it's an obscure way of trying to suggest a measure of corporate-like fiscal responsibility?
The sad thing is I doubt anyone really thought about it. These words - the rodents of our tongue - are skulking into everyday language to such an extent that they are often neither noticed nor questioned.
It's a good example of how readily complexity can propagate if it isn't fenced in by diligent minds. Which brings me to you. I know that my readers have the most diligent minds there are to fight a battle like this. It's time you put yours to work. Time to break out the language traps and stop this plague before it takes hold.
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