Endeavour: Difference between revisions

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:“Well”, a drama tutor said to me once, “I cannot argue with you about that. You ''are'' trying.”  
{{a|plainenglish|}}{{quote|
:I smiled, flushed with such an unexpected compliment.
“Now look,” said I, flapping my arms: “I ''am'' trying”. <br>
:“''Very'' fucking trying.”
“Well, yes”, she replied, “I’ll give you that. You ''are'' trying.” <br>
I smiled, flushed with the endorphins of an unexpected compliment.<br>
“''Very'' trying indeed.”<br>
“Oh, right.”}}


“[[Endeavour]]”  neatly illustrates the practical problem with [[plain English]]. It is a silly word: long; archaic; it conjures images of Captain Spaulding, in a pith helmet, slashing through jungle on the hunt for a pajama-wearing elephant. Its alternative — “[[try]]” — is better in every way that a plain speaker cares about: shorter, more idiomatic, clearer, less ''fussy''.


But there lies the problem: “[[try]]” slices cleanly through the semantic murk that “[[endeavour]]” so skilfully stirs up. It makes clear something the [[legal eagle]] rather hoped to obscure: namely, that to promise to ''try'' to do something is a ''feeble'' [[covenant]], hardly worth the paper it is written on.


[[Endeavour]] is a {{t|verb}} that illustrates the practical problem with plain English. “[[Endeavour]]” is a silly word: long, archaic, and its alternative — to [[try]] — is better in every way that a Plain Englishman cares about: shorter, more idiomatic, plainer, less fussy.
Consider:


But therein lies the problem: “[[try]]” slices cleanly through the semantic murk that “[[endeavour]]” so skilfully stirs up. It makes plain something the draftsman rather hoped to obscure: namely, that his client’s convenant is scarcely worth the paper it is written on.
:''“The vendor shall [[endeavour]] to notify the purchaser of its intention within a reasonable period, but shall not have any liability for failing to do so.”''
Which sounds qualified — sure — but at least carrying some meat on its bones.  


Consider these alternatives:
But the [[plain English]] alternative reveals how thin that old hogget really is:
 
:''“The vendor shall [[endeavour]] to notify the purchaser of its intention within a reasonable period, but shall not have any liability for failing to do so.”''
Which sounds qualified, sure, but at least carrying some meat on its bones. But the plain English alternative reveals how thin that gruel really is:
:''“The vendor must [[try]] to tell the purchaser, but isn't responsible if it doesn’t.”''
:''“The vendor must [[try]] to tell the purchaser, but isn't responsible if it doesn’t.”''
{{sa}}


* [[Best reasonable efforts]]


{{plainenglish}}
*[[BAU]]

Latest revision as of 11:04, 17 January 2023

Towards more picturesque speech™


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“Now look,” said I, flapping my arms: “I am trying”.
“Well, yes”, she replied, “I’ll give you that. You are trying.”
I smiled, flushed with the endorphins of an unexpected compliment.
“Very trying indeed.”
“Oh, right.”

“Endeavour” neatly illustrates the practical problem with plain English. It is a silly word: long; archaic; it conjures images of Captain Spaulding, in a pith helmet, slashing through jungle on the hunt for a pajama-wearing elephant. Its alternative — “try” — is better in every way that a plain speaker cares about: shorter, more idiomatic, clearer, less fussy.

But there lies the problem: “try” slices cleanly through the semantic murk that “endeavour” so skilfully stirs up. It makes clear something the legal eagle rather hoped to obscure: namely, that to promise to try to do something is a feeble covenant, hardly worth the paper it is written on.

Consider:

“The vendor shall endeavour to notify the purchaser of its intention within a reasonable period, but shall not have any liability for failing to do so.”

Which sounds qualified — sure — but at least carrying some meat on its bones.

But the plain English alternative reveals how thin that old hogget really is:

“The vendor must try to tell the purchaser, but isn't responsible if it doesn’t.”

See also

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