Recent attempts by the US government to write its documents in “plain English” show just how important it is to express ideas clearly in words.
US citizens and businesses have long complained that many of the government’s rules are written in overly technical, complicated language.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has particularly been the subject of much criticism and debate.
This agency makes and enforces rules to ensure employee health and safety on the job. The problem is, even after reading the rules several times, employees often don’t know what is expected of them.
Some politicians then began to speak out, saying the agency needed to make its regulations more “user-friendly.” One congressman complained employees needed “an interpreter to explain the OSHA regulations.” Others added while large corporations could pay specialists to help them understand the rules, smaller businesses were left in an almost hopeless situation.
For them, said another congressman, the OSHA regulations “might as well be written in a foreign language.”
For decades, nothing was done. Employees were left reading detailed sentences such as:
“Every exit shall be clearly visible or the route to reach it shall be conspicuously indicated in such a manner that every occupant of every building or structure who is physically and mentally capable will readily know the direction of escape from any point, and each path of escape, in its entirety, shall be so arranged that the way to a place of safety outside is unmistakable.
Not long ago, the American government began a “plain language” program, requiring all government agencies to write their new regulations in understandable language. It also encouraged them to rewrite old rules. A website was created to help government employees write everything from regulations to letters in easier-to-understand English.