Originally Posted by
tucumseh
MoD issues a book 'MoD Acronyms and Abbreviations - Definitions for terms and acronyms used throughout MoD documentation'. Over 21,000 of them in the 2014 version!
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...-abbreviations
Shortly before I retired I was gobsmacked to learn of an MoD office, in Oxfordshire I think, which you can call up and ask for the formal MoD definition of any word or phrase. Think of the fun you could have...
Can't say I am surprised by that gem, Tuc!
I haven't been able to find an up to date online version of JSP 101 Defence Writing Guide (apparently the latest version was published in 2019?), but the UK Ministry of Defence Writers’ Handbook, Sept 2020 Edition, includes the following in it's opening pages:
"You should aim to write in a way that will be easily understood by your intended audience. Use clear and straightforward language – avoid unnecessarily long words, gobbledegook and jargon."
"Our publications need to capture all relevant information, whilst being concise with short, simple messages that can be read and understood quickly. Research has also shown that if you write using the plain English principles, your reader is more likely to retain the information for longer."
Additionally, the document quotes writer and philosopher John Ruskin (1819-1900):
"Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words or he will certainly misunderstand them.”
What a shame the senior officers have so much trouble applying official advice to their own trite, padded-out, meaningless, claptrap! Having served over 22 years in military aviation, I saw plenty of this written nonsense, and it increased during the last 5 to 8 years of my service time.
However, it is one relatively
plain phrase that sticks in my mind, trotted out yearly in various forms by Very Senior Officers, along the lines of "The RAF faces increasing challenges in the coming year". I knew that just meant we were going to be doing more work, in various sh1teholes of the world, with less resources than last year. 🙄
But then we all know that so many non-military organisations are also replete with departments and/or people whose very existence, and fancy job titles, seem to be dependent on producing reams of gobbledygook and assorted effluent. Give a numpty bluntie a word processor, and their output will dwarf
Encyclopædia Britannica, but tell you very little, if anything. My current airline employer is a good example of this.