Plain English

[pne]

A while ago, I saw an English insurance policy (I think it was) and was struck by how clear the language seemed to me, compared to what I’m used to in German.

I don’t remember the details, but the language style was along the lines of (if it had been for a mortgage), “If you do not pay your instalments on time, you are at risk of losing your house.” (Which in German could be, “Wenn Sie Ihre Raten nicht rechtzeitig bezahlen, könnte es sein, dass Sie Ihr Haus verlieren / …, laufen Sie Gefahr, Ihr Haus zu verlieren.”)

Whereas I think a German policy would tend to use language along the lines of “Verspätete Rückzahlung Ihres Darlehens kann den Verlust Ihrer Immobilie zur Folge haben” (“Tardy loan repayment can have as a consequence the loss of your real estate”), heavy on noun phrases and legal language.

The English seemed quite a bit clearer, and I wonder whether the slight loss of precision by use of normal language rather than legal terms was such a price to pay for making things more understandable to the layman who is asked to sign.

Comments

[sollers]

In recent decades there has been a very specific tendency in England and Wales (don't know about Scotland) to make documents as clear and easily intelligible as possible. I feel it's gone a bit too far in legal terminology ("witness statement" has a potential for misunderstanding that "affidavit" didn't have) but it has generally been a very good thing.

[pne]

It does seem like a good thing to me, too.

[ewx]

Modern UK law is usually written in fairly clear language too though it can sometimes be very long which reduces readability in a practical way. It's a useful recognition that it's not just lawyers who have to deal with this stuff.