Correct option is C
Explanation:
The book The Complete Plain Words was written by Ernest Gowers. It is a well-known style guide for plain English and was originally published in 1954 under the title Plain Words. The book aims to help writers and editors achieve clarity and simplicity in their writing. Gowers emphasizes avoiding unnecessary complexity in language, offering guidance on clear and effective communication, particularly for government and legal writing.
Information Booster:
Ernest Gowers (1880–1966) was an English civil servant, author, and expert on plain English. His most significant contribution to the field of language was his work as a style guide for clear communication, particularly in bureaucratic and governmental writing.
Career and Contribution: Gowers served as a British civil servant in the Ministry of Information during World War II, where he worked to promote plain language in government documents and communication. He was known for his ability to eliminate unnecessary jargon and ambiguity in legal and administrative writing, which significantly enhanced accessibility and understanding.
The Complete Plain Words: Initially published in 1954 as Plain Words, Gowers’ book was written to guide both government officials and the general public in producing clearer, more straightforward written English. The book emphasizes the importance of clarity, brevity, and simplicity, particularly in official correspondence, legal documents, and other forms of professional writing. The book also critiques the use of bureaucratic language that obscures meaning and causes confusion.
Legacy in Language: The Complete Plain Words remains an important reference for anyone interested in improving their writing, especially those working in public administration, law, and publishing. Gowers’ approach to writing has influenced many subsequent writers and editors in the Plain English Movement, which encourages the use of simple and clear language over overly complex or convoluted jargon.
Revised Editions: The book has been updated multiple times since its first publication, with the most notable edition being the 1986 revision by Sir Bruce Fraser and Margaret Marshall, maintaining Gowers' core principles while updating its content to reflect modern writing styles and challenges.
Gowers’ Plain English Movement had a profound impact on how government and corporate documents are written, moving away from pompous, convoluted language to more understandable communication that the average person could easily read and understand. His work remains highly relevant in the field of writing and editing today.
Additional Knowledge:
Samuel Johnson: Samuel Johnson was a British lexicographer, essayist, and poet best known for compiling A Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1755. This monumental work was one of the first comprehensive attempts to standardize English, providing definitions for over 40,000 words.
Daniel Jones: Daniel Jones was a British linguist who contributed significantly to phonetics. His most important work includes contributions to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and he authored The Pronunciation of English.
Michael Everson: Michael Everson is a linguist and Unicode expert who has worked extensively in the fields of script encoding and computational linguistics. Everson's work focused more on technical aspects of writing systems and Unicode standards.