VERBOSITY versus BREVITY

How often was I preached during my schooldays about the importance of being concise when writing text? This is certainly an honourable goal when the intention is to communicate ideas and thoughts efficiently, so that communal goals can be reached more rapidly and effectively. But to say that this should always be the case is grossly distorting the truth.

My early days as a scientist were probably like those of many others. After having finished my Ph.D. thesis, a casual observer might have been forgiven for thinking that the primary goal was merely to write a document of sufficient width to impress the pour soul who would eventually have to assess it. For most people it will more often than not be the first attempt at writing anything that looks remotely  like a book, and books of course have to be filled. As well as looking at every possible variable correlation that wouldn't find its way  into any self respecting  journal article, an inexperienced writer also has a tendency to repeat adjectives and corroborating statements to the point of dire tedium, all for the fear of inadequately stressing one point or another to support the ultimate theorem. It was only years after completing it that I realised I could have written my Ph.D. thesis using a quarter of the ink without compromising the message I was trying to convey in any way whatsoever.

Verbosity and non clarity is not merely the domain of the inexperienced, or indeed the incompetent. How many times have we heard of the business meetings where the speaker tries to bamboozle the audience with technical jargon and the latest marketing catchphrases, all in the hope of convincing the audience that something significant has been achieved? And lets face it, if authors didn't have some license for expanding their use of words, many a novel could probably be written in just 50 or 60 pages. Who would want to buy a book which was that short ?

I suppose my point is this. Many authors might want to hide a little behind the language, or indeed use its floridity to achieve an atmospheric effect, a bamboozling effect, but most certainly not to bring something over effectively and efficiently.

As a translator one must always be aware of this, and what the needs of the client are. It may be noble to strive for conciseness, brevity, and to produce perfect copy, but it may not always be appreciated or indeed even wanted by the client.     


Dr. Julian P. Keogh
Lead Translator
Pharmacad Services
Translations for Medicine and the Pharmaceutical Industry
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