THREE ESSENTIALS TO PLAIN ENGLISH
The three essentials of the English language are:
Purity, Perspicuity and Precision.
By Purity is signified the use of good English. It
precludes the use of all slang words, vulgar phrases, obsolete terms, foreign
idioms, ambiguous expressions or any ungrammatical language whatsoever. Neither
does it sanction the use of any newly coined word until such word is adopted by
the best writers and speakers.
Perspicuity demands the clearest expression of
thought conveyed in unequivocal language, so that there may be no
misunderstanding whatever of the thought or idea the speaker or writer wishes
to convey. All ambiguous words, words of double meaning and words that might
possibly be construed in a sense different from that intended, are strictly
forbidden. Perspicuity requires a style at once clear and comprehensive and
entirely free from pomp and pedantry and affectation or any straining after
effect.
Precision requires concise and exact expression,
free from redundancy and tautology, a style terse and clear and simple enough
to enable the hearer or reader to comprehend immediately the meaning of the
speaker or writer. It forbids, on the one hand, all long and involved
sentences, and, on the other, those that are too short and abrupt. Its object
is to strike the golden mean in such a way as to rivet the attention of the
hearer or reader on the words uttered or written. |
