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Gobbledygook, jargon, bureaucratese and legalese – people rail against them all. Can anything be said objectively about these ‘symptoms’ of a ‘diseased’ and ‘degenerate’ English? Is there, indeed a case for surgery?
Guides to ‘good usage’ have been part of the tradition of ‘standard English’ since the 17th century. Such works have been a commercial success and are as abundant today as in the past. What characterizes the tradition of these ‘bibles of usage’?
‘Language isn't used only for communication; it's also used as an instrument of political and social power.’ If this is so, is something that was common 150 years ago in the social power-plays of England repeating itself in black Africa?
Today it is difficult to find a truly atrocious British government form being issued to the public. OUT are the acres of grey small print, the 60-word sentences, the endless use of that bureaucratic knee jerk, the passive verb. IN are forms that look good, read well, and even save money through their greater efficiency.