21 OCTOBER 1989, Page 23

A DICTIONARY OF CANT

COMMUNICATION. You are meant to communicate with people, but there are parties who go on about 'communicat- ing our message to people'. You can tell they don't want any backchat in their style of communication, that they want to talk at you, not to you. Communica- tion is a propaganda word for propagan- da. In our present government of com- municators, three ministers to my knowledge have speech impediments, which I would advise them to mask with a diverting display of grace, wit and sincerity.

Nigel Burke