People ‘infantilised’ by Latin phrase diktat, says Fellowes

LATIN and French phrases should be phased out, according to a Government watchdog which has been accused of treating people like children.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has told staff not to use certain phrases such as “quid pro quo” because they may alienate their readers.

Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey, criticised the guidance.

The style guide, obtained by The Mail on Sunday using the Freedom of Information laws the ICO is responsible for overseeing, warns staff not to use Latin because few people have studied it. It states: “English has embraced thousands of words from other languages, including bungalow, cliché, graffiti, kiosk and ombudsman. But some words of foreign origin are so uncommon that they confuse or alienate our readers.”

A list of foreign words to be avoided include the Latin “ergo”, and several French terms including “en route”. More obscure Latin phrases listed include “a priori”, meaning knowledge not based on experience, “sine qua non”, meaning an essential condition and “inter alia”, which translates as among other things.

Mr Fellowes said that the guidance was “infantilising the British people”.

“The idea that it is morally right to make absolutely no demands on anyone, either intellectually or emotionally, is a pernicious one and simply increases the gap between the privileged and those who are less so,” he said.

The ICO said: “We avoid using foreign words in our writing as some words are uncommon and may alienate our readers. The purpose of the style guide is to ensure our written communications are clear, easy to follow and are accessible to all ICO audiences, eg those with literacy difficulties or where English is a second language.”

Latin is taught in just 2.7 per cent of state secondary schools, compared with 49 per cent of private schools. Ministers launched a £4 million Latin Excellence Programme last year which will see thousands of state school pupils offered lessons in the subject.