Amtwort

The biggest problem is noun addiction

Published October 2026

For centuries, administrations have tried to write more clearly. And for centuries, they have reliably turned verbs back into nouns.

# The biggest problem is noun addiction

Or: how "we are checking" eventually became "the carrying out of an examination".

There are words that live a fairly quiet life in ordinary conversation.

Implementation.
Transmission.
Notification.
Provision.

Then they enter an office building and start multiplying.

Suddenly nothing is checked. An examination is carried out.

Nobody sends documents. The transmission of the required documentation takes place.

And nobody tells you anything. Notification is effected.

Welcome to noun addiction.

The problem is older than the computer

Historian Peter Becker even devoted a paper to the subject. Its title is refreshingly direct:

"Das größte Problem ist die Hauptwortsucht."
"The biggest problem is noun addiction."

Becker traces attempts to reform administrative language from 1750 to 2000. What is striking is not only the enormous time span, but his finding: the basic complaints about bureaucratic language remain remarkably stable.

At the end of the 18th century, people wanted administration to write more clearly.

Around 1900, people wanted administration to write more clearly.

After the Second World War, people wanted administration to write more clearly.

Today, we still want administration to write more clearly.

Lack of persistence is clearly not the issue.

Why nouns are so useful

The so-called nominal style did not arise because generations of civil servants secretly agreed to torture citizens.

Nouns are extremely practical for administration.

They sound factual.

They fit neatly into standardised text modules.

They can describe actions without making it especially clear who is acting.

And that is where things become interesting.

Compare:

"We are checking your application."

with:

"The examination of your application will take place after receipt of the documents."

In the first sentence, there are people. We are doing something.

In the second, there is a process.

The examination almost happens like weather.

Where did the human being go?

This is not merely a matter of style.

Verbs tell us that somebody is doing something.

Nouns can turn actions into objects.

To decide becomes a decision.

To reject becomes a rejection.

To examine becomes an examination.

That can be useful. Nobody needs to eradicate every noun.

But when a sentence consists almost entirely of processes, it becomes easy to lose sight of who wants what from whom.

And then there is a human being sitting on the other side of the letter thinking:

Fine. But what am I supposed to do now?

The historical irony is rather beautiful

Clarity, unambiguity and brevity were already among the requirements for good administrative language in the 18th century.

Peter Becker's research shows that later reform movements repeatedly identified similar problems.

The tone changes.

The technology changes.

The typewriter arrives, disappears again and is replaced by computers.

Noun addiction, meanwhile, appears to sit comfortably in the office and wait it out.

Not complicated enough? Add the passive voice

Nominal style becomes especially effective when combined with impersonal constructions.

"We have to reject your application."

is unpleasant, but clear.

"A positive resolution of the matter in question cannot be held out in prospect."

has an almost magical quality.

Nobody was rejected.

Nobody did the rejecting.

A positive resolution merely decided not to place itself in prospect.

Responsibility can be surprisingly mobile when language gets involved.

Vienna now tries to do the opposite

Today, there are plenty of counter-movements.

The City of Vienna explicitly instructs writers in its guidelines for easily understandable language to avoid Amtsdeutsch. Texts should focus on the people who read them and should ideally be understood on the first pass.

That sounds obvious.

Apparently it is not, otherwise the guideline would not be necessary.

Nouns are not evil

This is not a crusade against nouns.

Some things are simply called an application, a deadline or a decision.

Technical language needs technical terms.

The problem begins when language becomes not more precise, but merely heavier.

A text is not more professional because more words end in -tion.

Sometimes:

"Please send us the form."

really is the most advanced form of official communication.

No implementation.

No transmission procedure.

No execution of a provision process.

Just a form.

Almost revolutionary.

Sources

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