This blog is about the intricacies of grammar. The debates and
articles on various grammar topics are just plain interesting, when you really
get into it. The very fact that we can argue about language and grammar is
great proof of how smart humans are. There are times, however, when language
cannot be up for debate. The meaning behind a sentence needs to be clear. This
clarity keeps Grandmothers alive!!
Image source: http://www.rottenecards.com/ecards/rottenecard_6419836_9qd85dt3rz.png
Rogers Communications, a Canadian company found this comma conundrum
very costly in 2006; the company lost 1 million dollars because of a single comma.
The guilty sentence in question:
“This agreement shall be effective from the date it is made and shall
continue in force for a period of five (5) years from the date it is made, and
thereafter for successive five (5) year terms, unless and until terminated by
one year prior notice in writing be either party.” (Austen, 2006)
WHAT THEY MEANT!
The agreement will
be effective from the date it is made and continue for a period of five years
from that date. After that initial five year period the agreement will continue
in five year terms unless one party cancels the agreement by giving one year
notice.
WHAT THEY SAID!
The contract can be
cancelled at any time if one party gives the other party one year written
notice.
Internal punctuation of a sentence can be the trickiest part of the
English language, and still it is often underrepresented. For
business writing this clarity matters a great deal. So how could Rogers have
avoided their mistake? Well they could have made the whole sentence (most likely
the whole document) easy to understand.
Anyone who loves reading and writing as much as I do (a love too large
to be quantified) knows that there can be a wonderful joy in ambiguous
sentences with hidden meanings, because the author makes the writing more complicated.
This is where English PHDs are born
from, this love for making language an art.
However, in business contracts this ambiguity has no place; there is only one intended meaning when it comes to a contract. If there is more than one meaning, jobs, money, and reputations are on the chopping block. What Rogers needed was some plain-language skills. Websites like wordsmithassociates, the center for plain language and plainlanguage.gov are committing to promoting the concept of plain language. They are committed to the fact that using language that is unambiguous is not dumbing down writing, rather it allows clear meaning and for Rogers would have been the smarter choice.
National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Plain
Language at NIH. Retrieved from National Institutes of Health:
http://www.nih.gov/clearcommunication/plainlanguage/index.htm
