Comment 110018

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted March 06, 2015 at 11:57:56

Actually, at least in politics, so-called simple plain language is now used to obscure meaning and confuse the public:

http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2013/02/don’t-be-beguiled-orwell-using-plain-and-clear-language-not-always-moral-virtue

"The art of spin is not (quite) supplanting truth with lies. It aspires to replace awkward complexities with catchy simplicity. Successful spin does not leave the effect of skilful persuasiveness; it creates the impression of unavoidable common sense. Hence the artifice becomes invisible – just as a truly charming person is considered nice rather than “charming”."

"There is a new puritanism about the way we use words, as though someone with a broad vocabulary or the ability to sustain a complex sentence is innately untrustworthy. Out with mandarin obfuscation and donnish paradoxes, in with lists and bullet points. But one method of avoiding awkward truths has been replaced by another. The political class now speaks as it dresses: in matt navy suits and open-necked white shirts. Elaborate adjectives have suffered the same fate as flowery ties. But this is not moral progress, it is just fashion."

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