Latin Abbreviations

[astrologica]

The Government is intending to ban the use of Latin abbreviations on its websites in order to avoid confusing people who do not speak English. Whatever next!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/23/government-bans-latin-abbreviations-on-its-websites-to-av...

[cee-dee]

If they learned to spell properly and to speak English properly I could see the sense in cracking down on clarity.

[fallen-archie]

Why? Latin has been used for donkey's years and everyone born here has been exposed to it, so why must we yet again dumb down to suit those who refuse to integrate. 

[cee-dee]

I wasn't agreeing with doing away with Latin abbreviations, I was saying that those with poor spelling and English should make some effort to do better, ie, those who write things for the government websites and if they did that, they could crack down on clarity to make things crystal clear as to what is meant, ie, do away with gobbledygook. Then YES, as you say, make those who can't won't learn English properly make a full effort to integrate.

[joe_bloggs*]

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@astrologica wrote:

The Government is intending to ban the use of Latin abbreviations on its websites in order to avoid confusing people who do not speak English. Whatever next!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/23/government-bans-latin-abbreviations-on-its-websites-to-av...

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"She added that programs that read the content for visually impaired people also mispronounced Latin abbreviations"

Helping visually impaired people! Whatever next?

[evoman3957]

Ignorance is the order of the day, a bit like the redistribution of wealth.......as it's an impossible task to make everybody as intelligent as the most intelligent; we'll just make everybody as stupid as the next FOOL.

[astrologica]

Visually impaired people can't help being visually impaired. People who live here and can't read or speak English can soon change that if they want to. Classes are free.....all it takes is getting off their backsides and attending. Simples.

[joe_bloggs*]

Do you not think its a good move by the government which will help visually impaired people ? or should they not do it as it may help those foreigners coming over hear and stealing all our latin words 

CASTIGAT RIDENDO MORES

[fallen-archie]

Hannibal ad portas.

I am quite sure we will find a way to assist those with sight deficiency and that they will do much to help themselves. What a shame you choose to draw a comparison where there isn't one.

[jd.linklater]

What a great idea, write things in full instead of using abbreviations.

etcetera

id est

exempli gratia

I'm sure this will be much easier to understand.

[joe_bloggs*]

Lets be honest now,astro's post was about winding people up against those who don't speak English,going by some comments on here and in the daily mail seems to be doing the trick!

Another title could have been: Government want to  improve accessibility to their web services,but then that wouldn't have involved those foreigners and got certain people wound up would it?

As John Turnbull from 

Inside GOV.UK says:

We're improving the site for users of screen readers without making it worse for anyone else. That's got to be good, hasn't it?

[fallen-archie]

Allow me to Cherry pick a paragraph from Astros link where a government spokesman said;

The Government Digital Service (GDS) said the move was designed to promote “plain English”.

This despite the fact that commerce has been destroying the English Language for 40+ years with corporate bull designed to confuse, cloud the truth and give an impression of being somehow from a higher plain. I wonder therefore why they allow and participate in the fraudulent use of English yet feel that a few Latin abbreviations will make a profound difference to people. All it does is continue the trend of dumbing down everything we read, write and do. Should we also remove all Latin reference used in the Law or medicine just because it is not plain English. 

The world is going mad like, innit, hundred percent, deffo!

[astrologica]

Actually....when I wrote the original post, I wasn't intending to wind anyone up. I was merely posting a link to an article about the Government and it's attitude to the English language. I love the English language.......complete with all it's Latin abbreviations and it's idiosyncrasies and difficulties. As one poster replied, (was it Archie?) , there is a continuing drive to dumb down in this country, and it is a crying shame. But at the same time, I do believe that anyone who resides in Britain should learn and speak the language. Not much to ask really.

[astrologica]

Oh.....and I don't read the Daily Mail!

[joe_bloggs*]

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@astrologica wrote:
Oh.....and I don't read the Daily Mail!

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Course you don't 

I think all these immigrants should learn latin,didn't do Boris any harm

[chrisuk1958]

learn it then?

[al**bear]

I blame Brexit

[theelench]

I seem to remember some years ago there was discussion of banning all Latin in official publications as it was elitist.   The R4 Today programme brought in an academic to put the anti side of the argument and he pointed out that, one way or another, about seventy percent of English words are derived from Latin.  The idea died after that and I hope it does again.

What is the difference between a Latin abbreviation and some obscure English ones, everyone uses them whether they know they are Latin or not.  They are part of the every day usage.

[celticthebhoys585]

Was that the brexit in C.E. 2016 or C.E. 2017, or C.E (never gonnae happen) Al? Well, whatever it is,it won't be this side of A.D. 2016  LOL.

[upthecreekyetagain]

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@theelench wrote:

I seem to remember some years ago there was discussion of banning all Latin in official publications as it was elitist.   The R4 Today programme brought in an academic to put the anti side of the argument and he pointed out that, one way or another, about seventy percent of English words are derived from Latin.  The idea died after that and I hope it does again.

What is the difference between a Latin abbreviation and some obscure English ones, everyone uses them whether they know they are Latin or not.  They are part of the every day usage.

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There is no difference and that is the whole point of this exercise.

If I'm reading a book then I have no problem in opening a dictionary to discover the meaning of some obscure word or phrase, that is just one way of expanding my vocabulary.

What I don't expect is to open a government website and have to go through the same exercise!

It is setting the bar too high to expect all those with English as a second language to include Latin abbreviations in their vocabulary as a priority.  When was the last time you used e.g., i.e., etc., et al. and so on in everyday conversation?  It just isn't normal to do so.