Monday, July 31, 2006

Politispeak? Politalk?

Whatever you call it, here's a good example of a very political reply to a direct question. This is taken from the "Daily Dialogue" that my company does, where they supposedly answer employee questions

Q. Why didn't [Name removed] start his town hall on July 20 with a safety message?

A. Answer from [Another name removed] of [Company] Corporate Communications:
Safety is a regular component of [Name]'s communications to employees, both written messages and town meetings. Regardless of whether any given meeting starts with a safety message, we're still obligated as a company to maintain the highest levels of safety. We take safety seriously enough to measure it and consistently take actions to improve our performance. Even more important, we hold everybody accountable for doing the right thing when it comes to safety.

Translation:
A. Answer from [Another name removed] of [Company] Corporate Communications:
That was a mistake on our part. However, we can't admit is as such, as that might give you ammunition to use against us. We can, however, remind you that safety is still very important.

I'm tempted to send them an e-mail with the question "Why didn't you actually answer the question, 'Why didn't [Name removed] start his town hall on July 20 with a safety message'?"

(Oh yeah, and watch your adverbs! It should be "importantly" in the last line, not "important." You're an international corporation, so try to sound like it!)

Also, check out the Bad Astronomy blog today for another good example of butchering the term "UFO."

2 comments:

TheBrummell said...

Grammar Nazi rides again!

"Why didn't you the question,

Why didn't you what the question...?

Infophile said...

Nice catch. I missed that one as the missing word was right at the end of a line/beginning of the next. It's like the old trick where you're asked to read out:

_____I_______
____love_____
_Paris in the__
the springtime