Officialese, bureaucratese, [1] [2] or governmentese is language that sounds official. [3] It is the "language of officialdom". [4] Officialese is characterized by a preference for wordy, long sentences; complex words, code words, or buzzwords over simple, traditional ones; vagueness over directness; and passive over active voice [3] [5] (some of those elements may, however, vary between different times and languages [6]). The history of officialese can be traced to the history of officialdom, as far back as the eldest human civilizations and their surviving official writings. [7]
Officialese is meant to impress the listener (or reader) and increase the authority (more than the social status) of the user, making them appear more professional. [3] [4] Ernest Gowers noted that officialese also allows the user to remain vague. [3] It can be used to make oneself understood to insiders while being hard to decipher by those unfamiliar with the jargon and subtexts used. [8] Its use is known to put off members of the general public and reduce their interest in the material presented. [9] Officialese has been criticized as making one's speech or prose "stilted, convoluted, and sometimes even indecipherable"; [3] or simply as the "cancer of language". [2] It is thus more pejoratively classified as one of the types of gobbledygook. [1] [10] Its use can also result in unintended humorous incidents, and has been often satirized. [3]
Several similar concepts to officialese exist, including genteelism, commercialese, academese, and journalese. [3] The existence of officialese has been recognized by a number of organizations, which have made attempts to curtail its use in favour of plain language. [10] [7] [11]
Officialese, bureaucratese, [1] [2] or governmentese is language that sounds official. [3] It is the "language of officialdom". [4] Officialese is characterized by a preference for wordy, long sentences; complex words, code words, or buzzwords over simple, traditional ones; vagueness over directness; and passive over active voice [3] [5] (some of those elements may, however, vary between different times and languages [6]). The history of officialese can be traced to the history of officialdom, as far back as the eldest human civilizations and their surviving official writings. [7]
Officialese is meant to impress the listener (or reader) and increase the authority (more than the social status) of the user, making them appear more professional. [3] [4] Ernest Gowers noted that officialese also allows the user to remain vague. [3] It can be used to make oneself understood to insiders while being hard to decipher by those unfamiliar with the jargon and subtexts used. [8] Its use is known to put off members of the general public and reduce their interest in the material presented. [9] Officialese has been criticized as making one's speech or prose "stilted, convoluted, and sometimes even indecipherable"; [3] or simply as the "cancer of language". [2] It is thus more pejoratively classified as one of the types of gobbledygook. [1] [10] Its use can also result in unintended humorous incidents, and has been often satirized. [3]
Several similar concepts to officialese exist, including genteelism, commercialese, academese, and journalese. [3] The existence of officialese has been recognized by a number of organizations, which have made attempts to curtail its use in favour of plain language. [10] [7] [11]