The Plain English Movement

More about Plain English Services India The Plain English Movement

Believe it or not, the Plain English Movement began as far back as the 1940s in the UK. It gained momentum with Martin Cutts, who co-founded the Plain English Campaign in 1979 and is one of the experts on the subject. Some claim the roots of the movement go much further back in history – to Chaucer and Shakespeare, who defended the use of "simple" English.

Way back in 1976, the US government's Paperwork Reduction Act introduced the idea of using plain English in all government writing. The aim was to rid official communication of bureaucratese and officialese, which make documents overly formal and obscure. The Plain Writing Act of 2010 took this a step further and made writing in plain language a federal requirement.

The governments of Australia and Canada adopted similar laws on plain language to simplify official writing by removing all complex and unclear terminology.

In India, Jyoti Sanyal began the battle for clear English and had some success in creating awareness about the value of plain English during his lifetime. Read an interview with Jyoti Sanyal.

To read more on the history of Plain English and what it's all about, click here

If you are interested in converting your documents into plain English, read about ‘Plain English Services India’ from Chillibreeze

To reach our team of dedicated plain English editors email us at editors@chillibreeze.com

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