Some town councils in England have taken to prohibiting government employees from using such Latin words as “status quo,” “bona fide,” “vice versa,” “via,” “et cetera,” “per se,” and “quid pro quo.” The rationale for such a ban is that these words are “elitist” and “discriminatory.” Apparently, government officials exercising coercive power over others is not regarded as “elitist!” Such a measure was praised by one person who noted that the “national literacy level is about 12 years and the vast majority of people hardly ever use these terms.” Perhaps the low literacy level has something to do with the … Continue reading The War Against Language Continues