I read a lot of press releases, websites and corporate literature, and nowadays most of them have one thing in common; the grammar is appalling. The most annoying aspect is the ‘corporate habit’ of using a capital letter for every word deemed important. Consequently, ‘client’ becomes ‘Client’, ‘showroom’ becomes ‘Showroom’ – the list is endless.
This is particularly unforgivable because presumably companies are employing ‘professional’ media organisations to write the copy for them. What’s going wrong?
Perhaps the following will help to explain; and yes, it is a true story, although admittedly rather funny. Keith Elliot, chairman of UK-based PMA Media Training, received a letter from a would-be writer that is staggering in its ineptitude:
Dear Mr Elliot, I wont to come on you’re journalism course this summer, I leave university this summer. I am expected to get a 2:1 in my media studies degree.
I would like to write about football for one of the national newspapers after the course, prefarably the Sunday Times, and cover mainly Manchester United, I am an big fan. I notice that you advice people to get some work experience, I hav’nt been able to do this because of my degree, but my tutor’s have praised my writing and I am sure I have what it takes to be a journalist.
Your’s sincerely …
Of course, the big companies and brand leaders have access to the very best of everything, including the best writers. With this in mind, I invite you to read the follow quotes, taken from the individual companies’ corporate literature, and the way that words and titles such as ‘software engineer’, ‘partner’ and ‘chairman’ are treated.
Singapore Airlines has been a great partner and we are delighted to extend this relationship further. (Rolls Royce)
Ghareeb, the software engineer, said he is going back to Tahrir to protest … (Al Jazeera)
Mr Svanberg was appointed a non-executive director of BP on 1 September 2009 and became chairman of BP on
1 January 2010. He is chairman of the chairman’s committee and attends the nomination and Gulf of Mexico committees. (BP)
Not only are these grammatically correct, they are easier to read too. It’s about time that people began to follow the leaders.
Rod Millington
Editor
