Gobbledygook, jargon, bureaucratese and legalese – people rail against them all. Can anything be said objectively about these ‘symptoms’ of a ‘diseased’ and ‘degenerate’ English? Is there, indeed a case for surgery?

The recent history of Ireland is a tale of two languages as well as an account of peoples and religions in conflict.

Guides to ‘good usage’ have been part of the tradition of ‘standard English’ since the 17th century. Such works have been a commercial success and are as abundant today as in the past. What characterizes the tradition of these ‘bibles of usage’?

What do we understand by the terms ‘literate’ and ‘illiterate’? Could the time ever come when there were no ‘illiterates’ left on earth?

‘Language isn't used only for communication; it's also used as an instrument of political and social power.’ If this is so, is something that was common 150 years ago in the social power-plays of England repeating itself in black Africa?

Today it is difficult to find a truly atrocious British government form being issued to the public. OUT are the acres of grey small print, the 60-word sentences, the endless use of that bureaucratic knee jerk, the passive verb. IN are forms that look good, read well, and even save money through their greater efficiency.