Plain English wording is intended to be suitable for almost anyone, and it allows for good understanding to help readers know a topic.
The term derives from the 16th-century idiom "in plain English", meaning "in clear, straightforward language"[2] as well as the Latin planus ("flat").
The essay focuses particularly on politics where pacification can be used to mean "...defenceless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets...".
In 1948, HM Treasury asked Sir Ernest Gowers to provide a guide to officials on avoiding pompous and over-elaborate writing.
He wrote, "writing is an instrument for conveying ideas from one mind to another; the writer's job is to make his reader apprehend his meaning readily and precisely.
[8] The National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA)[9][10] promotes plain English training and provision in Ireland.
Since 2005, NALA has supported organisations and government departments to use plain English through its training, style guides and editing work.
[citation needed] In early 2020, NALA developed an A-Z plain English guide to COVID-19 terms, and continues to provide support and advice to those who wish to improve the quality and clarity of their information.
The Paperwork Reduction Act was introduced in 1976,[11] and in 1978 President Carter issued executive orders intended to make government regulations "cost-effective and easy-to-understand by those who were required to comply with them.
Duty of Motorists and Pedestrians Using Public Highway Every person using a public street or highway, whether as a pedestrian or as a driver of a vehicle, has a duty to exercise ordinary care at all times to avoid placing himself or others in danger and to use like care to avoid an accident from which an injury might result.
The word "pedestrian" also includes any person who is operating a self-propelled wheelchair, invalid tricycle, or motorized quadrangle and, by reason of physical disability, is otherwise unable to move about as a pedestrian, as earlier defined.Tiersma points out several confusing terms and formal jargon used in this definition that would be difficult for jury participants to understand.
He highlights "to use like care" as being overly formal and "pedestrian" as being atypically defined including individuals using wheelchairs and "motorized quadrangles".
[23] Using plain language in addition to, or in place of, medical terminology can help patients make informed health decisions.