SIMPLICITY IN EXPRESSION

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21205, 30 August 1940, Page 6

SIMPLICITY IN EXPRESSION

In the midst of the turmoil of war the British Prime Minister, Mr Winston Churchill, has found time to appeal to the Civil Service to economise in words. His aim is to simplify official communications by the use of “short, expressive phrases” instead of the masses of verbiage which often cloud official reports and despatches. The advice of this master of English words may be heeded far beyond the ranks of the British Civil Service. Mr Churchill has, by the forceful and yet economical use of English, contributed more than most men to English letters. What is more important at the moment, he has by his inimitable choice of words informed and inspired the British race to such an extent that he has forged a powerful weapon of defence and offence.

All cannot hone to aspire to the heights of Mr Churchill, but everyone can take his advice and in a general way simplify modes of expression. It must be admitted that in recent years there has been a marked improvement in the quality and the effectiveness of the language used in official, business and private correspondence. Occasionally examples are found of official reports which are models of brevity and directness, but still too frequently the reverse is the case. If Mr Churchill’s appeal speeds the process of improvement, public and private life will have cause for gratitude. Mr Churchill’s wide experience, training and personal brilliance have perhaps made him unusually critical of the ineptitude of lesser mortals. It is not given to everyone to express a thought in words as forcibly and picturesquely as does Mr Churchill. He knows that, and only wishes for the effort to be made, with the certainty that “official jargon” will to some extent be reduced to plain terms bg conscious effort. Mr Churchill is not alone in his advocacy of simple and direct language instead of circumlocution. Mr A. P. Herbert and other notable Englishmen have long been spreading their influence among the millions of men and women whose work it is to commit facts or fiction to writing. The result has been a steady improvement in the quality of the vast mass of literature and correspondence that every day comes before the notice of British people. Most people are keenly conscious of their shortcomings in their daily business or private correspondence, and that acts as an additional spur towards the achievement of a better standard. Acceptance of Mr Churchill’s advice may not win the war but it will at least assist in making official life more tolerable and private life more pleasant. And that in spite of the fact that it would be impossible to fire a cannonball down any New Zealand street without striking one or more men who write with amazing fluency.