Go to home page - diocesan shield

The Anglican Church in Tasmania                                                             Search

a healthy church...transformingLIFE

Tasmanian Anglican

March 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 


Death Sentence - The Decay of Public Language by Don Watson. A Knopf Book, Published by Random House, Australia, 2003
Hardback 198 pp. RRP $29.95

 

Book review
Death Sentence - The Decay of Public Language

reviewed by Philip Blake

 

 

This is not a book about capital punishment alone, but about lower case punishment as well! As the sub-title reveals, it is about the decay and misuse of public language.

Don Watson carefully analyses the travesty of the English language frequently found in official documents and mission statements. Many of his examples would be funny, were they not so unintelligible, unimaginative and stilted. Watson is critical of all misuse of the English language. His main criticisms are levelled at government, academic and company communications, but all institutional declarations, including those made in the name of the Christian Church can display such decay.

As the author continues to make his points, those of us who are old enough to be familiar with the 'Yes Minister' and 'Yes Prime Minister' series will find flashbacks to Sir Humphrey Appleby. Jim Hacker once said to Sir Humphrey, Yet again I begged him to express himself in plain English. This request always surprised him, as he is always under the extraordinary impression that he has done so.'

Anathema

I will include just one example given by Don Watson of a missive from the Victorian Government,

'These reviews will be important inputs to future government action, including our assessment of the need to take action to increase baseload. However, that is not to say that in the meantime we are going to just sit on our hands.'

There are certain words which are anathema to Don Watson. 'Hopefully' he writes, 'is the most recent secularisation of God: it has replaced, "God willing" and may be counted as more evidence for the theory that language profits from a deity.'

Marijuana and sociology

It is not only words, but inflections that trouble the author. Referring to the evolution of the 'rising inflection' where every statement becomes a question, he writes, 'There is a theory that the tendency developed among baby-boomers when they lost God and took to marijuana and sociology.'

The book concludes with a Glossary where such words in common use as Commitment, Enhance, Key, Core, Strategic, Prioritise, Outcome, Empower, Impact, Fora, Scenario etc. are explained and placed in proper context. This is a stimulating and intriguing book and 'hopefully' it will keep us from using cliches and buzzwords in what we compose for the good of others, and help us to be critical of official statements.