Town halls ban staff from using Latin words, in case they confuse immigrants (UK)
Town halls have banned employees from using Latin words on documents because they could confuse people who don't speak English as their first language.
The move has infuriated classical scholars who have blasted it as the 'linguistic equivalent of ethnic cleansing'.
Bournemouth Council has listed 19 items which are no longer suitable for use on its documents.
These include bona fide, eg, prima facie, ad lib, etc, ie, inter alia, NB, per se, pro rata, vis-a-vis and vice versa.
Instead, the authority has ordered employees to use wordier alternatives including 'for this special purpose', instead of adhoc, and 'state of things' instead of status quo.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, instructions to staff said: 'Not everyone knows Latin. Many readers do not have English as their first language so using Latin can be particularly difficult.'
Other authorities which have banned the use of Latin include Salisbury Council, which asked staff to avoid using ad hoc, ergo and QED, and Fife Council which banned ad hoc as ex officio.
Professor Mary Beard, a professor Classics at the University of Cambridge, told the Sunday Telegraph: 'This is absolute bonkers and the linguistic equivalent of ethnic cleansing. English is and always has been a language full of foreign words.
Read entire article at Daily Mail (UK)
The move has infuriated classical scholars who have blasted it as the 'linguistic equivalent of ethnic cleansing'.
Bournemouth Council has listed 19 items which are no longer suitable for use on its documents.
These include bona fide, eg, prima facie, ad lib, etc, ie, inter alia, NB, per se, pro rata, vis-a-vis and vice versa.
Instead, the authority has ordered employees to use wordier alternatives including 'for this special purpose', instead of adhoc, and 'state of things' instead of status quo.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, instructions to staff said: 'Not everyone knows Latin. Many readers do not have English as their first language so using Latin can be particularly difficult.'
Other authorities which have banned the use of Latin include Salisbury Council, which asked staff to avoid using ad hoc, ergo and QED, and Fife Council which banned ad hoc as ex officio.
Professor Mary Beard, a professor Classics at the University of Cambridge, told the Sunday Telegraph: 'This is absolute bonkers and the linguistic equivalent of ethnic cleansing. English is and always has been a language full of foreign words.