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Copyright of Journal of Language & Law / Revista de Llengua i Dret is the property of Revista de Llengua i Dret and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We are surrounded by dysfunctional texts that are burdened with various communication barriers: They are not where we are looking for them, they are written in fonts that are too small, they are completely incomprehensible or unacceptable. Such texts make it difficult for us to act based on them and they need editing. Removing communication barriers is a form of translation. Accessible communication recognises and accommodates the diversity of communication partners. This diversity can be the result of differing interests and expertise in certain areas, differing educational opportunities, stressful life events such as flight or migration, but also disability. In recent years, accessible communication has become a major issue in Europe and around the world: Approaches include Easy Language, Plain Language, subtitling for the hearing impaired, text-to-speech interpreting, sign language interpreting, and audio description for the blind. An expert field has emerged here: It encompasses a labour market, study programmes, and scientific research. Recently, a new player has been added: artificial intelligence. Machine translation – between different languages, but also intralingually between different levels of comprehensibility – has recently improved enormously in quality. What does it entail that machine translation has become part of the field of accessible communication? Are human translators still necessary and what is their role? Who can use machine translation and for what? How is the field of accessible communication changing as a result? In this invited plenary talk of the XLIV VAKKI Symposium, held on 8-9 February 2024 at the University of Vaasa, I focus on Easy Language translation and try to find at least a preliminary answer to this question: Is the new Easy Language translator a machine?

BackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionsThe demand for simplified languages such as Easy Language has grown, also in healthcare. Despite this, very few studies have examined how healthcare personnel perceive Easy Language, or its effects on healthcare.This qualitative case study was conducted in a Finnish hospital. The data consisted of 14 interviews with hospital management and operational staff on their experiences of implementing and using Easy Language in patient communication.According to the hospital personnel, the experiences of Easy Language use were mainly positive. The staff felt that patient instructions in Easy Language improved communication with customers. They were proud that the values of the hospital’s strategy, especially customer orientation, were realized in practical work. However, operational-level personnel also reported certain challenges, especially regarding the adequacy of resources and training.Considering its modest financial investment, we conclude that the Easy Language project had a positive impact. The hospital staff were satisfied and perceived that health communication in the hospital had improved. Their positive reputation due to their use of Easy Language brought added value to their work. Further studies are needed to measure the direct customer experience and financial effects of using Easy Language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay focuses on gender-sensitive language in German and Italian from a lexicographic perspective. Research questions are: 1. How can the results of lexicographic research be integrated into the didactics of translation (German as L2) in university lectures? 2. What tools can support mediating human nouns in German-Italian / Italian-German translation activities in simplification contexts? The analysis considers (a) monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, which are based on a binary concept of gender; (b) "gender dictionaries", which go beyond binarism, at least for specific terms; (c) bilingual "easy language" dictionaries that adopt different gender-sensitive language strategies. The analysis highlights differences in the treatment of a selection of human nouns in dictionaries (a), the different availability of lexicographical tools dedicated to gender-sensitive language (b) and translation issues (c). Language learning activities in translation are to be centred on the balance between the benefits of knowledge of gender-sensitive language strategies, described in manuals and websites dedicated to the topic, and the problems/risks in applying such strategies, especially in mediation contexts that pursue the primary objective of simplification.

The easy language makes it possible to observe the rights of people with limited literacy, especially in case of various cognitive or physical restrictions. The methodology of the easy language relies on anthropological linguistics, as well as text theory and translation studies. It is a system of rules for adapting difficult texts for the needs of people with disabilities or limited language comprehension. The study describes a linguistic experiment with the representatives of the target audience who were asked to identify incomprehensible words in texts of different types written in authentic official Russian and Easy Russian. The experiment involved 38 patients (≥ 18 y.o.) of Altai Regional Clinical Psychiatric Hospital with disability categories I and II who were proficient enough in spoken and written communication (November-December 2022). On average, one person read 20 different texts. The authors studied words and phrases designated by the participants as incomprehensible in original and adapted texts. The current methodology of Easy Russian proved effective since the participants did not mark any words as incomprehensible in the adapted texts.

Easy Language is a language variety that aims to make information more comprehensible and, ultimately, more accessible. Content in this variety is written and designed following a set of recommendations that have been published in different guidelines. However, it remains uncertain to what extent these recommendations are backed up by empirical research. The aim of this study is to review the existing literature that evaluates current recommendations in Easy Language guidelines, on the basis of the following research questions: (a) is there empirical research that evaluates current international Easy Language recommendations? and, (b) if so, what current international Easy Language recommendations are supported by empirical research and what results were obtained? To this end, we conducted a systematic literature review based on journal articles in three languages: Catalan, English, and Spanish. First, a systematic search was designed and performed in 10 databases of different fields of science. Then, we reviewed every article that resulted from the search and found that 6 publications out of the initial 617 met the inclusion criteria and could be considered relevant for the study. Based on the data extracted from the included publications, and after an overall review of our systematic search results, we safely state that there is indeed empirical research on some current Easy Language recommendations. Nevertheless, empirical research in the field (at least in the publication format and languages considered in our study) is not enough in terms of the number of publications, and the findings obtained are far from generalisable. Our literature review suggests future lines of research, and we hope that it fosters empirical studies in the field that help support the existing findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining informed consent is a standard procedure in research practice. However, it is not sufficient, even if an individual chooses to participate voluntarily in research process, for the researchers to be able to claim that they have obtained informed consent. The consent must be of sufficiently 'high quality': it must not only be informed, but also valid, i.e., it must contain the following three elements: adequate information, voluntariness, and competence. Although preparing informed consent is a difficult process in general, it is particularly challenging when working with certain populations, such as clinical groups who have language and literacy difficulties, e.g., dyslexia. A lack of understanding of the basis and specific characteristics of this disorder can have negative effects on people with dyslexia (PwD) such as in the form of unwanted misunderstandings, psychological stress, negative effects on their learning processes, as well as unethical treatment in the research process. Studies have shown that PwD can be particularly vulnerable to research that might exploit, imply, or attribute unsafe practices to them and their difficulties, especially in connection with research recommendations that require written informed consent. Easy language refers to the language adaptation of a text to facilitate both reading and comprehension, particularly for PwD. Therefore, the use of the easy language guidelines for language adaptation and graphical adjustment is important when obtaining informed consent from PwD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the target groups of Easy Language, a comprehensibility enhanced variety of a natural language, are migrants who have difficulties with the standard language of the host country. However, regarding French Easy Language, evidence-based linguistic criteria are lacking. Therefore, the present study aims at elaborating suitable linguistic criteria for French Easy Language intended for low-literate migrants. We asked 87 migrants in France to read four texts, two original and two rewritten according to specific criteria, and to answer several comprehension questions presented in a questionnaire. The score of correctly answered questions is significantly higher in the case of the rewritten texts. The article discusses the implications of this result in the context of Easy Language research and gives an outlook on current research desiderata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A core area of pragmatics is conversational implicatures, where speakers imply a meaning that is not part of what is literally said. Not all people have the ability to easily understand such common (implicit) forms of communication. For these people, Easy Language has been developed, i.e. a form of barrier-free communication with substantially simplified syntax and lexis. Moreover, Easy Language is based on the principle of maximum explicitness. However, the heterogeneous target groups and the different types of implicature have not been systematically taken into account. Therefore, this article is the first to take an in-depth look at conversational implicatures in Easy Language. It shows that a universal principle of maximum explicitness for Easy Language is too short-sighted. Instead, the principle of explicitness must be considered in relation to the different target groups and the types of implicature. The article provides an impulse for further (empirical) research in this emerging field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Applied Linguistics / Taikomoji Kalbotyra is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Providing access to knowledge and information for all citizens, including the disadvantaged ones, is a constant preoccupation of the decision-making bodies of countries across the globe, particularly of developed and developing ones. In Europe, guidelines for creating accessible informational content have been created, being constantly improved and adapted to the new social realities. As a member state of the European Union, Romania also fosters social inclusion at various levels, including that of making information accessible to all people. Nevertheless, a lot still needs to be done in the field of linguistic accessibility as the analysis presented in the article shows. For example, research should be conducted to draft guidelines for using accessible languages. Then, the study of accessible languages should be implemented in “Translation and interpreting” study programmes for the purpose of developing skills that could be employed socially to increase knowledge accessibility, through interlingual and intralingual translation and interpreting services. In this way, awareness is raised in society and professionals specialised in linguistic accessibility are provided to the labour market to contribute, as language professionals, to the creation of an inclusive society.

In research on Easy Language and automatic text simplification, it is imperative to evaluate the comprehensibility of texts by presenting them to target users and assessing their level of comprehension. Target readers often include people with intellectual or other disabilities, which renders conducting experiments more challenging and time-consuming. In this paper, we introduce Okra, an openly available touchscreen-based application to facilitate the inclusion of people with disabilities in studies of text comprehensibility. It implements several tasks related to reading comprehension and cognition and its user interface is optimized toward the needs of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). We used Okra in a study with 16 participants with IDs and tested for effects of modality, comparing reading comprehension results when texts are read on paper and on an iPad. We found no evidence of such an effect on multiple-choice comprehension questions and perceived difficulty ratings, but reading time was significantly longer on paper. We also tested the feasibility of assessing cognitive skill levels of participants in Okra, and discuss problems and possible improvements. We will continue development of the application and use it for evaluating automatic text simplification systems in the future.

Copyright of Módszertani Közlemények is the property of Szeged University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Статья посвящена проблеме написания текстов на ясном языке (leichte Sprache). В ней указывается важность применения ясного языка как средства интеграции в общественную жизнь людей различных социальных групп. В данной статье приводятся принципы построения текста на ясном языке, указывается важность понимания отдельных слов и предложений, приводятся правила и даются рекомендации по составлению новостных текстов. При написании статьи используются методы стратификации, сопоставительного анализа, а также описательный метод. Приведенные в статье правила были получены благодаря людям, практикующим ясный язык, который является инструментом включения определенных социальных групп в общественную, культурную, политическую жизнь общества.

Previous research has shown that word length, frequency and word repetition influence word reading times (Rayner 1998; 2009). Guidelines for Easy Language advise writers to use frequent and short words, and to repeat words instead of using synonyms. However, some of these guidelines are based on research that has been misinterpreted, simplified, or is outdated (Wengelin 2015), and studies focusing on effects of word length, frequency and word repetition among adult readers in the Easy Swedish target group are lacking. This eyetracking study investigated the reading of Easy Language texts written by public authorities, as well as the effects of word length, frequency, and word repetition on readers in a day centre for people with intellectual disabilities. The results showed significant effects for word length and frequency in all readers. In addition, the effects were significantly greater in the target group than in the control group. The effects for word repetition were not as clear, affecting only one of the reading measures. Furthermore, the study revealed poor comprehension rates in the target group, i. e., when asked, they were not able to reproduce the main contents of the texts. The significantly greater effects of word length and frequency suggest that the related Easy Language guidelines are valid for this group of readers. The poor comprehension rates indicate that the texts were too difficult for these readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we consider a fundamental but so far little-investigated area of crisis communication: Easy Language journalism and public communication. Specifically, we focus on Easy Finnish material related to the Covid-19 pandemic. By adopting a Discourse Analytic perspective, we look at the ways in which the pandemic is constructed as a crisis across genres and ideological discourses operating in the overall ecology of Finnish Easy Language mass communication. As a result, we identify and describe four discourses that are foregrounded in our data: responsibility discourse, equality discourse, trust discourse and coping discourse. Our results highlight the importance of Easy Language communication in supporting the social inclusion of its target groups during a time of global crisis further severed by the so-called infodemic. The data covers the years 2020 and 2021 and includes material from the media and third-sector organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the international standard for the description of functioning and disability, completely ignores a specific form of accessible communication despite its potential to improve functioning and reduce disability: Easy Language, a form of standard language with substantially reduced linguistic complexity. Starting with a proposal for how and where Easy Language could be appropriately integrated into the ICF, the commentary then outlines the various benefits and opportunities for social policy that could be associated with doing so. It also notes several potential challenges involved in this process. If used correctly, the integration of Easy Language into the ICF could prove useful for both professional users of the ICF and Easy Language target groups., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Предметом исследования является лингвистическая концепция «Leichte Sprache», активно распространяющаяся в Германии. Созданная в 2006 г. ассоциация легкого языка «Netzwerk Leichte Sprache» принимает участие в продвижении легкого языка в различных областях, в том числе политика, образование, медицина и культура, оказывает помощь в переводе текстов на легкий язык, разрабатывая правила перевода и тестируя их совместно с представителями целевой аудитории, к которым относятся люди со сложностями в обучении. С лингвистической точки зрения, большой интерес представляет с одной стороны, систематизация и конкретизация этих правил для устной и письменной речи на основе норм современного немецкого языка, с другой стороны, максимальный учет потребностей целевой аудитории легкого языка, которая, в свою очередь, представляется как неоднородная.

Language for all is a method developed in the Netherlands for providing information in such a way that as many intended readers as possible both comprehend and accept this information. Readers include people with a large variety of reading abilities including people with low literacy skills. Language for all can be characterized as a more accessible variant of plain language with some characteristics of easy language. In three studies the comprehension and acceptance of and preference for texts written in Language for all was evaluated, comparing original texts with a version in Language for all. Information written in Language for all was significantly better understood and accepted, and was preferable to the original version. In conclusion, Language for all is a promising effective, inclusive, and comprehensive method to provide information to people with and without low literacy skills. Further research is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to introduce new insights to further the understanding of easy language (EL) and plain language (PL) as examples of tailored language and place them within a broader context of linguistic varieties. We examine EL and PL in relation to standard language, and we consider the degree of conscious effort required in tailoring and the compliance with the codified norms of standard language. Both EL and PL are used in asymmetric communication: PL to mediate between specialists and the general public and EL in communication with people with language barriers. We argue that while these varieties have similar purposes and methods, they also have significant differences; for example, the tailoring moves in opposite directions, as PL seeks general comprehensibility and EL aims to reach special and vulnerable groups. The differences between PL and EL are primarily linked to social prestige and the potential risk of stigma related to their use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the early establishment of Easy Language in Sweden in the 1960s and a growing interest in producing Easy Language materials, linguistic research on Easy Swedish remains scarce. This literature review aims to describe how Easy Swedish has been understood in previous research, bringing together a wide range of perspectives and approaches. Applying a meta-narrative method, we investigate terms and definitions, descriptions of the target group, and ideologies, discourses, and values that justify Easy Language. Our results show an exclusive focus on written language and use of the term lättläst (Easy to Read), and a lack of a universal definition of the term. The results also show general agreement on the heterogeneity of the target group. Controversy arises from different perspectives on reading as well as the breadth of the concept, and the conceptualisation of Easy Swedish varies depending on the aims, discipline, and studied material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we distinguish between four interconnected notions that recur in the literature on text simplification: clarity, easiness, plainness, and simplicity. While plain language and easy language have both been the subject of standardization efforts, there are few attempts to define text clarity and text simplicity. Indeed, in the definition of plain language, clarity has been favored at the expense of simplicity but is employed as a self-evident notion. Meanwhile, text simplicity suffers from a negative connotation and is more likely to be defined by its antonym, text complexity. In our analysis, we examine the current definitions of plain language and easy language and discuss common definitions of text clarity and text complexity. We propose a model of text simplification that can clarify the transition from specialized texts to plain language texts, and easy language texts. It is our contention that text simplification should be placed in a more general framework of discursive ergonomics.

Copyright of Domínios de Lingu@gem is the property of Dominios de Lingu@gem and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 2017, the organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated that around 25 per cent of the population experiences difficulties in reading comprehension. The World Health Organisation (2021) has indicated that around 15 per cent of the world population faces functional impairment-related problems, which limit sufficient access to information unless the resources are adapted for meeting the needs of this layer of society. Considering the increasing numbers of the population who suffer from impairments at the language perception level, the present study has attempted to examine selected approaches that might serve for developing easy-to-read (EtR) discourses. Limited research has been conducted in the above-mentioned field, and the contributions that exist so far have focused on the linguistic and design features considered when producing EtR discourses; however, other central components that govern the adaptation of authentic texts for EtR needs seem to be neglected. Therefore, the present study aims to examine selected discourse-pragmatic approaches that can be applied for adapting texts to an EtR language. The present research is a qualitative case study targeted at EtR text developers and seeks to answer the research question: which discourse-pragmatic approaches should be considered to produce easy-to-read discourses? In conclusion, the paper offers the implications of the findings and reflects on the value of using discourse-pragmatic approaches to EtR discourse and cognitive load reduction.

In 2017, the organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated that around 25 per cent of the population experiences difficulties in reading comprehension. The World Health Organisation (2021) has indicated that around 15 per cent of the world population faces functional impairment-related problems, which limit sufficient access to information unless the resources are adapted for meeting the needs of this layer of society. Considering the increasing numbers of the population who suffer from impairments at the language perception level, the present study has attempted to examine selected approaches that might serve for developing easy-to-read (EtR) discourses. Limited research has been conducted in the above-mentioned field, and the contributions that exist so far have focused on the linguistic and design features considered when producing EtR discourses; however, other central components that govern the adaptation of authentic texts for EtR needs seem to be neglected. Therefore, the present study aims to examine selected discourse-pragmatic approaches that can be applied for adapting texts to an EtR language. The present research is a qualitative case study targeted at EtR text developers and seeks to answer the research question: which discourse-pragmatic approaches should be considered to produce easy-to-read discourses? In conclusion, the paper offers the implications of the findings and reflects on the value of using discourse-pragmatic approaches to EtR discourse and cognitive load reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Wool Textile Journal is the property of National Wool Textile Science & Technology Information Center and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In an increasingly networked world, people who cannot participate in written communication are particularly at risk of social exclusion. Like other concepts of barrier-free communication, Easy Language (“Leichte Sprache”) attempts to enhance perceptibility and comprehensibility of texts for people with reading impairments by means of a rule-based reduction of complexity on the text side. The underlying assumption of simplified languages is that the reduction of linguistic complexity correspondingly reduces cognitive processing costs. However, this interplay between linguistic complexity and cognitive processing costs still needs to be investigated by empirical research as up to date there are only a few studies investigating the perception and reception of Easy Language, mostly using offline methods (e.g., questionnaires or retrospective interviews). In contrast to offline methods, which are only capable of assessing comprehension products, online methods allow researchers to track what a participant is focusing their attention on at any given time and to thereby develop a detailed representation of the time-course of cognitive language processing. In our paper, we aim to point out how different online methods (eye-tracking, EEG and fMRI) can be used for investigating the empirical validity of the postulated rules for Easy Language by evaluating cognitive processing efficiency. Besides discussing the applicability of those neuroscientific online methods in Easy Language research, we discuss the importance of collecting personal and neuropsychological data to gain detailed profiles of the participants and therefore not only contribute to the explanation of variance but furthermore to determine the role of neuropsychological skills on reading proficiency. For each online method we elaborate basic principles, discuss some of the main findings in cognitive sciences and demonstrate the greatest advantages but also restrictions of the method and challenges related to the data collection process with impaired participants. Furthermore, we outline current challenges in Easy Language research and summarize remaining research gaps. On a final note, we emphasize that it is both the establishment of online methods and the data triangulation in Easy Language research that enable researchers to gain a profound insight into the cognitive processing of simplified languages.

Copyright of Finnish Journal of Linguistics is the property of Linguistic Association of Finland and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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