Plain Language Around the World

 

A consumer -driven movement spreads worldwide

 

Plain language spread worldwide as a consumer driven movement. It was developed to fulfill the demand of the consumer. Earlier documents were written in traditional legal language, i.e. it was more technical and difficult to understand for the clients. It was not user friendly. It was full of jargons, archaic words Traditional legal language caused various problems on the part of the consumers/clients. Most of the clients failed to understand the contract and/or terms and conditions. So, people criticized traditional language for being ineffective and inefficient. Such condition demanded the emergence of plain language which is easy to understand, use and read.

According to Michele M Asprey (2011, p. 64) “Plain language began in the 1970s as a part of the consumer movement, when various corporations were promoted to explore the benefits of language in their consumer documents. …….. It was a time of increasing interest by linguists and others in the process of communication. But even so, plain language soon entered the mainstream of business and the law, quickly gaining legitimacy as lawyers and clients began to understand its advantages.”

 

United States: Plain language began in 1970 as part of the consumer movement, when various corporation were prompted to explore the benefits of plain language in their consumer documents. Plain language soon entered the mainstream of business and the law quickly gaining legitimacy as lawyers and clients began to understand its advantages.

The document that marks the coming of age of plain language in the United State is the plain language consumer loan note launched on 1 January 1975 by First National City Bank.

In 1973, Citibank made the decision to move to plain language because it had become worried by the large number of suits against consumers it had to run to collect its debts. In 1975 the Magnuson-moss Consumer product Warranty Act (The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act  is a United States federal law. Enacted in 1975, the federal statute governs warranties on consumer products) was passed by Congress. It stated that warranties must be written in "simple and readily understood language".

 

The US plain language laws

In 1969, President Nixon had ordered that daily government journal, the Federal Register be written in language which is readily understandable by the layman. In 1978 President Carter issued an order that regulation should be as simple and clear as possible. He followed this up in 1979 with an order that government forms should be as short as possible and should elicit information in simple straightforward fashion.

While there had been earlier efforts within the US government, the current and most successful effort to spread the use of plain language started in the mid-1990s in several agencies. In 1995, a group of federal employees began meeting to try to spread the use of plain language. This group remains at the center of the US movement. On June 1, 1998, President Clinton issued an executive memo requiring agencies to write in plain language. This was sent to the heads of executive departments and agencies, directing them to:

·         By October 1, 1988, use plain lg in all new documents, other than regulations, that explain how to obtain a benefit or service or how to comply with a requirement you administer or enforce.

·         By Jan 1, 1999, use plain lg in all proposed and final rulemaking documents published in the Federal Register, unless you proposed the rule before that date.

 

      US Securities and Exchange Commission: A great leap forward for plain language came              in January 1998 when the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced new rules calling for plain language in prospectuses. 

 

In 2004, an interagency task force working on behalf of the Office of Management and Budget called for federal websites to be written in plain language. Most recently, President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act of 2010, requiring agencies to write in plain language. The Act requires federal (national) government to write all new publications, forms and other public documents in a "clear, concise, well-organized" manner that follows plain language writing standards. In the United States (US), a Plain Regulations Act (2012) is being discussed. If this bill is made into law, it will streamline government regulations and save small businesses time and money.

 

Australia: Insurance Companies were among the first corporation to move to plain language. NRMA insurance introduced its "Plain English car insurance policy in September 1976 and "Plain English" versions of all the other NRMA insurance policies. In Australia, plain language has become a commercial success. Demand for clear language has increased, and law firms that provide plain-language legal products are finding success. Two leading sources of plain language legal expertise are Cleardocs and Plainlanguage.org.

 

EU: The European Commission has created a guide Adobe Acrobat Reader writing clearly in several languages. The European Commission has launched a new Clear Writing campaign to encourage staff to write more clearly and make all types of documents, in all languages, shorter and simpler. The campaign aims to improve the EU’s image, legal accuracy and make it more efficient, particularly as documents need to be produced in 23 official languages. It has produced a guide for staff on writing clearly and even a campaign song, which you can see performed on YouTube.

 

Portugal: Portugal's government has announced a new program, SIMPLEGIS, with the goal of simplifying its legal system and make it clearer, allowing people and businesses have more certainty, security, and clarity in the rules that apply to them.

 

Canada: The insurance and banking industries were at the forefront of the move to plain language in Canada as well. In 1979 the Bank of Nova Scotia worked with lawyer Robert Dick to redesign and rewrite its loan forms. In 1976, the Canadian Legislative Drafting Conventions had been produced and section by the Uniform Law Conference of Canada. These conventions adopted many of the principles of plain language drafting.

The Canadian government refers specifically to plain language in its 2012 communications policy, saying "To ensure clarity and consistency of information, plain language and proper grammar must be used in all communication with the public."

 

Finland: In Finland, there have been very positive developments in plain English in 2011. The new Finish Government have promised to promote plain English in legislation, administration and communication with their citizens.

 

Mexico: In Mexico, the government’s Citizens’ Language project aims to make government regulations more understandable to citizens. The project is designed to make it easier for citizens and public servants to complete their business easily, securely and quickly.

 

New Zealand: New Zealand Law Commission (established in 1985) has a brief to "propose ways of making legislation as understandable and accessible as practicable and ensuring that it is kept under review in a systematic way.

 

Ireland: The Irish Law Reform Commission called for plain language in legislation in its report Statutory Drafting and Interpretation: Plain Language and Law, published in December 2000.

 

South Africa: In 1995, as the South African government began to dismantle the legal legacy of Apartheid, it decided to reflect the transformation to a democratic state in the language of its legislation. It also wanted to improve the people's access to justice, encourage participation in new democratic system and demystify government. The government called on international plain language experts to help it kick start its plain language work. Plain language experts helped to draft the Labour Relations Act 1995 and the Constitution of 1996. Since then, plain language principles have been applied in a variety of Bills, through drafters have not always been as successful as they may have wished.

(Note: - for detail, see the book)