Brits Ban Latin Words and Phrases

(Bournemouth, England) For those who think that political correctness has limitations, think again. The Brits are now banning Latin words and terms that have been acceptably recognized and used for centuries.

Bournemouth Council, which has the Latin motto Pulchritudo et Salubritas, meaning beauty and health, has listed 19 terms it no longer considers acceptable for use.

This includes bona fide, eg (exempli gratia), prima facie, ad lib or ad libitum, etc or et cetera, ie or id est, inter alia, NB or nota bene, per, per se, pro rata, quid pro quo, vis-a-vis, vice versa and even via.

Its list of more verbose alternatives, includes "for this special purpose", in place of ad hoc and "existing condition" or "state of things", instead of status quo.

In instructions to staff, the council said: "Not everyone knows Latin. Many readers do not have English as their first language so using Latin can be particularly difficult."

The word-banning campaign is not isolated to Bournemouth. Other local councils are doing the same.

Apparently, the road to serfdom is easier to travel with a limited vocabulary.