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<h1 itemprop="name">Calgary councillors divided over plain language progress</h1>
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</a>By <a itemprop="url" href="http://metronews.ca/author/helenipike/">Helen Pike</a>
<span itemprop="worksFor" class="">Metro</span>
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<a href="http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/1406806/calgary-councillors-divided-over-plain-language-progress/#"><img itemprop="image" alt="" src="http://i0.wp.com/metronewsca.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/farrell.jpg?crop=0px%2C63px%2C2400px%2C1585px&resize=618%2C408"></a>
<span class="">Metro file photo</span>
Coun. Druh Farrell.
<span itemprop="articleBody"><p>Plain and simple does not a council
make. After three years of trying to change convoluted language to
comprehensible conversation, an audit on the city’s plain language
policy shows there’s still work to be done.</p>
<p>In 2013, council adopted a plain language policy to combat jargon and
acronym-filled reports causing confusion for the public. The policy
included plans to conduct reviews of city materials and council sessions
every two years to report back on any progress.</p>
<p>“I haven’t noticed a difference, really, maybe in written reports but
not in verbal reports,” Coun. Druh Farrell said Wednesday. “I think we
just need better training. This isn’t an option; this is a policy.”</p>
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<p>Farrell added if she gets a confusing email from administration she’s quick to reply with: “Huh?”</p>
<p>The 2015 plain language audit found documents riddled with insider
lingo, unsettling use of the passive voice, unnecessarily complicated
strings of words, and a lack of pronouns like “we” and “you,” which the
report said could offer a warmer tone.</p>
<p>Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart took the opposite stance, however,
saying she thinks the city has struck a happy balance between
professional language and comprehensible communication, but doesn’t wish
to push it too far to one side and dumb down documents.</p>
<p>“Where it’s at right now is fine with me,” she said. “I don’t find the presentations at all difficult to understand.”</p>
<p>The 2015 plain language survey conducted by Ipsos Reid found 88 per
cent of respondents thought the city’s materials were generally easy to
understand.</p>
<p>But 26 per cent of respondents said they did come across convoluted communication from the city.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong>Some examples of confusing wording in city communications:</strong></span></p><strong>
</strong><p><strong></strong>• The use of insider wording: <em>“Records that have been migrated from these ELMS pages will no longer have the associated meeting video available.”</em><br>
• Unnecessarily complex wording: Using <em>“due to the fact that…”</em>, instead of using the simpler, <em>“because.”</em><br>
• The use of verbs turned into nouns: <em>“We held a consultation with stakeholders”</em>, instead of using the simpler, <em>“we consulted stakeholders”.</em><span style="text-decoration:underline"><strong><br>
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