Plain English (also referred to as layman's terms or plain language) is a generic term for communication in English that emphasizes clarity, brevity, and the avoidance of technical language—particularly in relation to official government or business communication.
The goal is to write in a way that is easily understood by the target audience: clear and straightforward, appropriate to their reading skills and knowledge, free of wordiness, cliché, and needless jargon. It often involves using native Anglo-Saxon, or Germanic, words instead of those derived from Latin and Greek (see linguistic purism in English).
Etymology
The term derives from the 16th-century idiom, "in plain English", meaning "in clear, straightforward language".
History
United Kingdom
In 1946, writer George Orwell wrote an impassioned essay, "Politics and the English Language", criticising what he saw as the dangers of "ugly and inaccurate" contemporary written English– particularly in politics where pacification can be used to mean "...defenceless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets...". Two years later Sir Ernest Gowers, a distinguished civil servant, was asked by HM Treasury to provide a guide to officials on avoiding pompous and over-elaborate writing. He wrote, "writing is an instrument for conveying ideas from one mind to another; the writer's job is to make his reader apprehend his meaning readily and precisely."
In layman’s terms, typing on this keyboard feels much more like a full-sized mechanical keyboard than other low-profile boards ... adjustable actuation are complicated and fiddly, to use a technical term.
Memphis is home to one of the largest transformer manufacturing sites in the country — and, no, this isn't Michael Bay's version of transformers ... In layman's terms, those large transformers help maintain the electric grid across the country.
So it used to be that it would just be what, in diplomatic terms, is called a demarche, but, you know, which in layman’s terms is just like basically a screed against, you know, “You have done these terrible, evil things.
All tongue in cheek, of course, but in layman's terms, it pretty much explains how he makes money for investors from the investment fund he runs – Rathbone Ethical Bond... 'In return, they pay us interest each year until their bonds mature ... He adds ... .
All tongue in cheek, of course, but in layman's terms, it pretty much explains how he makes money for investors from the investment fund he runs – Rathbone Ethical Bond... 'In return, they pay us interest each year until their bonds mature ... He adds ... ....
Navy. That will end Saturday. Costarelli is making the trip to Landover, Maryland, to take in the quasquicentennial game of the longstanding series. In layman’s terms, the matchup’s 125th anniversary ... Costarelli’s father, Peter Sr., fought as a U.S ... Navy.
The Nashville Predators are easily the most disappointing team so far this season ... Why? ... Let’s unpack them.Finishing woes ... In layman’s terms, that means that the team as a whole has scored almost 23 goals less than they should have ... So, they can’t score.
Curious what AMC’s share agreement with Goldman Sachs means for investors? Here’s a breakdown of the recent filing in layman’s terms ... Under the terms of this agreement, AMC can issue ...
Traditional No. 2 Pencil. (Kennon Cummings for WSN) ... You’re that friend who constantly quotes movies in conversations, expecting everyone to recognize the most niche scenes, but at least you’ll make sure to use layman’s terms so we can keep up ...Laptop ... .
To put it in layman’s terms ... Is there a hierarchy in terms of airports? That is to say, nobody starts out at Newark or Hartsfield, but you might start at, I don’t know, a smaller airport, ...
The late Luis Tiant will be among them ... It will also be long overdue ... He also averaged 5.2 WAR per season over his seven-year peak from 1972-78, which in layman’s terms means he consistently pitched at an All-Star level for a large chunk of the 1970s.
TOUTS BANNED ... A new head of procurement will soon be appointed - in layman’s terms, this is the person responsible for buying goods and services from external sources - and they will report to SimonCapper, the club’s chief financial officer ... .
“We’ll be putting them [the missions] into layman’s terms,” said one source last week ... “Morgan knows our best chance of holding off a populist surge, and winning Keir a second term, is delivering noticeable change to voters,” an ally said.
In layman's terms, despite not being TDs, Mr Donnelly and Ms Martin will remain in their positions until government formation talks have concluded and a new Minister for Health and Minister for ...
The tax and spending settings of the government are starting to wreak havoc on the economy and the news is about to get worse ... In layman's terms, that means the average Aussie is becoming poorer and our standard of living is decreasing ... Jim Chalmers. .
