VOA慢速英语2021--简化你的语言听起来更聪明

Simplify Your Language to Sound Smarter

It has happened to all of us.

We open an instruction book for a new machine or read a publication and find their language is more complex than it needs to be. The result is often difficulty in understanding.

Business leaders say that clear communication helps to keep customers happy. So they advise workers to use simple language when writing or speaking to the public.

Policymakers may write laws with complex language, but they try to speak so their messages are clear.

In today's Everyday Grammar, we will talk about ways to simplify your language when speaking or writing in English.

Use fewer words to say the same thing

Kathy and Ross Petras are language experts who wrote the book You're Saying it Wrong. They said business leaders are concerned that workers often use unnecessary words and expressions in communication.

For example, they would say "at this point in time" or "at the present time" instead of using "now" to say the same thing.

Sometimes, workers would use extra words with the same meaning such as "end result," "combine together" and "past history."

Let us take a look at these extra words.

A result is at the end of something, so do we need to add "end?" Combine means to mix or bring together. There is no need for another "together." And if history is always in the past, do we need to say it is in the past again?

Plain language law

You may wonder why some writers and speakers use such difficult language.

Some want to use such language to sound more legal or official. Others may think longer sentences and more difficult words make them sound well-educated and intelligent.

In the 1990s, a group of United States government employees gathered to work on a common problem: people could not find or understand the information they needed in government documents.

The group created guidelines² that were included in a new law, The Plain Writing Act of 2010. The law requires government agencies to train staff to use plain, or simple, language in their writing. The changes have made it easier to understand government rules and services.

Address one person, not a group

One of the guidelines is to directly speak to the reader. This helps avoid using difficult nouns to describe people or pronoun choices such as "he or she" or "his or her." A government rule once said:

The applicant⁴ must provide his or her mailing address and his or her identification⁵ number.

Under the plain writing guidelines, the rule became:

You must provide your mailing address and identification number

Former Vice³ President Al Gore⁶ gave another example in a 1998 speech. The rule was:

We are providing the following information about an insurance payment you indicated you have not received or which is otherwise missing.

Under the guideline¹, it became:

We received the missing check form you sent us.

That was much easier to understand, Gore said.

Gore added that some of the main points in the guidelines include: "short is better than long; active is better than passive; everyday terms are better than technical terms, and -- you can use pronouns like "we" and "you;" in fact, you should."

VOA Learning English

Since 1959, VOA Learning English writers have used plain language to provide news and information to English learners worldwide. We try to change from the passive verb form to active. We also write with fewer details while keeping the same message. For example, when

Californians were asked to voluntarily reduce their energy use from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday.

in Learning English, the sentence became:

Officials in California asked people to save electricity for a few hours on Thursday.

When possible, we limit ourselves to the 1500 words in the Word Book. When we must use a word that is not in the book, we explain the word or give you its meaning at the end of the story.

Over the past year, we have often written about how students and teachers continue education at home. We used simple words to replace less common ones. Sentences about "remote learning" or "virtual⁷ instruction" became "teaching by computer" or "learning on the internet."

Tools for keeping your language simple

When you are writing on the computer in English, there are several tools you can use to check for extra words and complex sentences. Microsoft Word and Google Docs offer grammar checking and spell checking.

The great American writer Ernest Hemingway was known for his use of simple language. There is even a software program named after Hemingway that suggests simpler ways to express yourself.

Words in This Story

customer – n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

guideline – n. a rule or instruction that

a rule or instruction that that shows or tells how something should be done — usually plural⁸

remote – adj. far away

virtual – adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

1 guideline   

n.指导原则，指导方针，准则

参考例句：

• They see the law only as a general guideline.他们视法律为一般的准则。
• This is probably the most important interaction design guideline.这基本上是最重要的交互设计指导准则。

2 guidelines   

n.指导方针，准则

参考例句：

• The government has drawn up guidelines on the treatment of the mentally ill. 政府制订了对待精神病人的指导方针。
• Planners seem a little uncomfortable with the current government guidelines. 规划师似乎不太接受现行的政府指道方针。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

5 identification   

n.视为同一，证明同一，确认

参考例句：

• He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
• We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。

6 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

7 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

8 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。