Government Gobbledygook

During my first few months in a traditional government office, I had difficulty in stringing words into sentences…the government way. I realized that people in government speak and write differently from that of the people in the private sector. There seems to be a difference in the application of the elements of style.  

Believe it or not, this has made my first few days in government service a little less enjoyable. I needed to adjust, against my will, my writing style to fit in the system, if only to avoid conflict and misunderstanding. It was quite difficult because at that time I was already used to my KISS writing style.

I'm glad there is now an initiative to improve the system of written communication in government agencies through Senate Bill 1859 filed by Sen. Miriam Santiago. The bill, if passed into law, will somehow standardize the writing style of government employees and, in effect, avoid or lessen any conflict between superiors and subordinates who have different ways of speaking their minds in printed words.      

As reported, Senate Bill 1859, otherwise known as the Plain Language Act, seeks to improve the effectiveness and accountability of government agencies to the public by promoting clear communications that the public can understand and use.

According to Sen. Santiago, “in using plain language, we will be able to communicate information to a broader range of recipients in terms of educational capacity. We will be able to reach out to more people inside and outside the government.” The senator is right, and I support her in pushing for reforms in the government communication system which is so “governmentalese” – by government, for government.     

So what is a plain language, by the way? Let us check a definition from an online dictionary: “plain language is clear, direct and honest expression in speech and writing. Plain writing is free from jargon and rarely used words and terms, and comes straight to the point being addressed.”

An English professor explains that plain English is “clear, straightforward expression, using only as many words as are necessary. It is language that avoids obscurity, inflated vocabulary and convoluted sentence construction. It is not baby talk, nor is it a simplified version of the English language.”

Back to the Plain Language Act, I notice that is a little bit similar to the U.S. Plain Writing Act of 2010 which took effect in October 2010, requiring federal agencies to write new publications, forms and publicly distributed documents in a “clear, concise and well-organize manner” and banning the use of confusing words and sentences in government documents such as the words shall, precluded, heretofore, in accordance with and herein. 

I have not read the full version of the law, but from its description, I can say how much the U.S government puts greater value on the power of written communication. In a document from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, officials argue that implementing the plain writing law will:

• improve public understanding of government communications;
• save money and increase efficiency;
• reduce the need for the public to seek clarification from agency staff;
• improve public understanding of agency requirements and thereby assist the public in complying with them;
• reduce resources spent on enforcement;
• improve public understanding of agency forms and applications and thereby assist the public in completing them; and
• reduce the number of errors that are made and thus the amount of time and effort that the agency and the public need to devote to correcting those errors.

With these benefits, I cannot find any valid reason not to enact the bill. Passing the bill into law will somehow emphasize the importance of establishing "a system of transparency, public participation and collaboration" in government.