Speak Plain English man!

[TurboSmoke]

btw, this is not designed for offence...just a laugh...

now i am not the greatest exponent of the english language...but check these dudes....


Rumsfeld, renowned for his uncompromising tough talking, received the prize for the most baffling comment by a public figure.


"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know," Rumsfeld told a press briefing.


"We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."


John Lister, spokesman for the campaign which strives to have public information delivered in clear, straightforward English, said: "We think we know what he means. But we don't know if we really know."


Rumsfeld, whose boss U.S. President George W. Bush is often singled out by language critics for his sometimes unusual use of English, took the booby prize ahead of a bizarre effort from actor-turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.


"I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman," was the odd statement from the new California Governor.




http://uk.news.yahoo.com/031201/80/efbou.html

 

[Duke]

Actually, I have to say, that statement from Rumsfeld was perfectly clear. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I truthfully didn't have the slightest problem understanding it on the first casual readthrough.

 

[TurboSmoke]

yeah...i got the jist of what he meant also...

he could have worded it a bit better IMO.

there is a group called the plain english campain that champions the cause of the correct use of english and fights against individuals and companies that try to blind the layman with science, technology, politics or law-speak....

Don got the award for this year...

 

[regulate]

i think don should write the presidents speeches like that, then bush might be interesting.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Originally posted by TurboSmoke
yeah...i got the jist of what he meant also...

he could have worded it a bit better IMO.

there is a group called the plain english campain that champions the cause of the correct use of english and fights against individuals and companies that try to blind the layman with science, technology, politics or law-speak....

Don got the award for this year...

I read that this morning on the way into work, and like Duke, didn't have a problem understanding it. I was told when I was 14 that I didn't know enough to know what I didn't know, and that gave me some grief, but I figured it out pretty quickly.

Personally, I think that the Plain English Campaign does a significant amount of damage to the language, because they advocate the simplification of language down to the lowest common denominator. They project the image of denigrating those who can select the correct word for the context from a larger lexicon.

 

[Danoff]

Agreed. I think it's funny, almost Dr. Sues like, but I got it the first time I read it.

 

[Famine]

Originally posted by GilesGuthrie
They project the image of denigrating those who can select the correct word for the context from a larger lexicon.

Umm... They seem to make fun of people who can use a dictionary?

 

[Flerbizky]

Originally posted by GilesGuthrie
because they advocate the simplification of language down to the lowest common denominator.

word !

 

[ledhed]

Rumsfelds a funny dude. Ashcroft's the anti Christ

 

[milefile]

Although I hear he is falling out of favor in the Administration.

 

[ledhed]

I'd like it better if it was off a cliff.

 

[TurboSmoke]

Originally posted by milefile
Although I hear he is falling out of favoUr in the Administration.

oh really...?

i would love to hear more about that....(not)

GG...the state of the English language provision in the UK education system is a flaming joke...

according to radio scotland and professor of english at strathclude uni, kids are encouraged to express themselves through the freedom of words and if they get the grammar wrong or spelling wrong then its not important.....

this freedom of words includes the abstract spelling of the word 'tough' as 'tuff', the word 'thought' as 'thot' and so on...in this new society the simple misspelling of words is seen as creative...

we are all forced to listen to and read guff like 'plz' 'thx' 'r u' etc...i dont see what damage the plain english campain can do to the new text generation...

when a word is entered into a dictionary, it is in there for several reasons but the main reason is that it is recognised by the majority of the public and IS IN COMMON USAGE. we all know what 'plz' means and soon this crap wil be in there....older words like old Scots will be lost forever....its progression apparently..

i really dont see the significant amount of damage the PEC does to modern english usage...all they're trying to do is to make people understood to the lowest common denominator, i.e. you dont have to have a degree to be able to understand what these arses are saying....

sometimes i think its deliberate....Bush tries to use big words to prove his intellegence but fails embarrasingly...

who knows, perhaps one day his own words like, capitalistism, The United States of Englandshire (i.e. London) and negotionablisation will be in the websters dictionary...(they may already be)

 

[millencolin]

i was confused about what he said. i started to read it then when i found it was kind of repeating itself over and over again, i gave up

 

[Silverzone]

tell that to Famine.

 

[Silverzone]

I don't understand

 

[Famine]

Originally posted by Silverzone
tell that to Famine.

Tell what to me?

I notice you still can't spell "coalition".