Legalese: (Was Run-on sentences)

[sistermagpie]

> jkoney
> That is not true. You can be precise and explain things just as easily in "plain English" as you can in legalese. You wouldn't have to rewrite Carol's citation explaining each word, but write it so more common words are used in place of the technical terms. This is done all the time. The instructions you receive for your lawnmower/dishwasher/dryer/oven/stero/computer, etc. are written (at least the better ones) using terms that people understand. I have friends who are engineers and I can get them to tell me what something is in plain english. I would think that lawyers would be able to do that also.

Magpie:
Of course, some would say that posts on HP4GU would be a lot easier to understand if they didn't include our own jargon--fandom in general also has specialized language. It may seem more difficult the first time you read it, but it really is easier, imo. Especially if one has come up with a word for something you need a word for in fandom, but never did outside of fandom. Specialized language sometimes gets created artificially (I remember a professor telling us once that film studies, in particular, had a lot of specialized language because it was a new subject and technical language was an attempt to legitimize it) but sometimes is just necessary and easier for the people who use it. So the language develops naturally, like any other dialect.

-m