COMMERCE JARGON

Hokitika Guardian, 25 August 1932, Page 8

COMMERCE JARGON

CRITICISM OP CORRESPONDENCE

STILTED, MEANINGLESS WORDS

CHRISTCHURCH, August 23,

Strong criticism of the stilted, formal, and meaningless, language used by business men in their letters was made

yesterday by A*x Jißius Hogben, ' of Auckland, who was the guest of the ■ Christchurch Business Men’s Club at luncheon. In the course of hi address on ‘‘Business English as She is Wrote,” Mr Hogben urged 'his hearers* , to aimSiat, simplicity, clarity, definitej nas, and brevity in their correspond-

• ence. . ....... , <■ Air .Hogben said that lie . had recent;ly received from a large wholesale linn a letter that provided an excellent example of the use of business, jargon. It commenced:... 1 ‘The favour of yoqr letter of February 20th date ! with' reference to the above estate ,to ■ hand. ■ ’ ‘‘l,kqew that that sen(fence as soon as I read it, because of •of fulj stop at the end,” said Mr ; ben. -The use of such jargon, he said, i was the great- weakness of nearly*, ail i buinesa men’s communications, and. the same applied to some extent to their, advertisements. ‘'‘Jargon” might be -defined Sa'.words or phrasers that OriginAlly had some meaning, but which they had since Jostj and which were repeated parrot-like because they came easijly to the mind. .. . ‘‘l .do, not know anything worse than legal jargon,?’ he said, ‘‘.hut there, are /some phrases that have been .given a, judicial meaning that must .be used. A great deal of it, however, is unnecies'sary awl i* due to the writer -either having insufficient education or to his' being too; lazy to 6 express himself properly.” The set legal, phrases offered an easier ;,way of expressing ideas than in plain English, : ;>‘vMr Hogben dealt with a number o formal expressions -of • which -.constant fuse was made in business. corfespon- • cffence. ‘‘Your favour of even date to ,hand: and contents duly noted,”, was •an opening that was frequently •used. : but which a little thought would show haci Yno i meaning-'whatever. It. may., enre have: been “a favour* L.t© wpite a Ltter,. he.said, but-,that was..certaiptyj ,n'ot tvue Ao-day. Further, it was not at all surprising that the contents of a letter should he Hduly .noted*”. as ..they, were generally .written with that very ; purpose * in view. There was only one expression worse Ttlian■ f‘with ( to,’ l» and .that -W3s “re..” ”Busines?i men think that it is a legal word” .said Mr Jlogbeu. “At one time it pmy have been Latin.” (LaughterV. .“The man who. writes- ; ‘We .beg to sitfite’ certainly has no in tention of putting himself in the position of • a beggar. What he really i means is 'This #s.; what; we lia*e got to ,say,. and‘he d^n?nod, T to you.’ . , i “Nest the most valuable' :asset of a busjnes man is personality,’' ? said Mr Hogpen,. . “Make , you 1 letters.personal. Writeyas.ybnHeel,-- mnd-as you speak—only. use better English. .(Laughter.) It, is advisable to know ;the contents of the letter you are answering, and don’t write until yon ..know jwhatt-Siftviv want, to .say and the (order in which/ you want to say it.” |Mr Hogben sgicl that simplicity was i one of the • mpstimportant requireiiiients. “Purple passages” were not as leffective as simple language “The (most 1 effectivesales letter i® that iwhich id simplest, clearest, most derfiriite and briefest,” said Mr Hogben. ;“It will also save lone; many an unpleasant jolt to read through the let-. 1 ters that one has written or dictated; “It is necessary to have education /for good letter-*writing, ,! : said Mr Hog/•ben. “By education I do not -mean what we got atl school, hut by good reading. It may not have occurred to a,.-number of people that someiof the ; greatest entertainment may be found in the plots of Shapespeare. The great fountain-head of English literature, top—l mean the. Bible—is available to : ievery, man. Lord Cromer . said L that ithe greatest prose passage in the English language was in the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, That is in the Old Testament,” he explained amid laughter. Mr Hogben caused further' amuse* ment by advising his., hearers, /at the conclusion, to look up the reference to the word’' “didacticism” in “Trivia” -in- Saturday's Press. “The definition .given there . will be the criticism you >may level at me. You may then con,'isole yourselves with; the thought that .you need not the slightest notice'of anything I, have said.” :../]Mr Hogben, who brought the good wishes) of the Auckland Oreditmen’s Club, was given a hearty vote of thanks for his l address.