In Plain English, Winnie the Pooh’s the One to Emulate

Britain’s army of civil servants got new marching orders today: Use plain English.

Citing such authorities as Confucius and Winnie the Pooh, a Cabinet Office pamphlet appeals to the bureaucrats to be clear and concise in talking to the public and to each other.

Britain’s 500,000-member civil service has never been known for using one word when three would do, as the pamphlet notes in citing this 18th-Century note from the Commissioners of Excise to the Supervisor of Pontefract, a borough of London:

“I am ordered to acquaint you that if you hereafter continue that affected and schoolboy way of writing, and to murder the language in such a manner, you will be discharged for a fool.”

The introduction to the pamphlet is by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who likes to be thought of as the enemy of verbose bureaucrats.

Among the tips in the pamphlet: Use shorter words, short sentences and active verbs. “Remember,” says the pamphlet, “readers are in a hurry to get to the point. They don’t want to be stuck in a verbal traffic jam.”