Easy language

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Easy language is a specially regulated simple language . The linguistic expression of German aims to be particularly easy to understand. The set of rules is published by the German association Network Light Language , which has existed since 2006 . In addition to language rules, it also includes spelling rules as well as recommendations on typography and media use. The easy language is intended to make it easier for people who for various reasons have little competence in the German language to understand texts. It also serves to ensure accessibility .

A similar concept is less strictly regulated and closer to the standard language lying Simple language to their target audience in addition to individuals with cognitive disabilities explicitly include individuals whose first language is not German.

Set of rules

The basic principles of easy language established by the easy language network are:

Language rules

  • Short sentences are used.
  • Each sentence contains only one statement .
  • There are active sets used.
  • In the interest of comprehensibility, a sentence consists of the terms subject + predicate + object , e.g. B. The child is petting the dog.
  • The subjunctive (possible form) is avoided.
  • In most cases, the genitive is replaced by prepositional additions with "von", e.g. B. The house of the teacher or Teacher's House by The House of the teacher or the house of the teacher .
  • Synonyms , special characters and negations are also illegal.
  • Precise quantities should be replaced by “a lot” or “little”, and years (such as “Bismarck was appointed Reich Chancellor in 1871”) by “a long time ago” or the like.
  • Easy language is not children's language , specifically the forms of address "You" and "Sie" are used as in the standard language.

Spelling rules

  • In the case of compositions , hyphens or semi-high points (regularly referred to as mediopoints in this context ) make it clear which words the composition consists of, e.g. B. World-All , Federal Day or World · all , Federal · day .

Text content rules

  • Abstract terms are avoided; where they are necessary, they are explained through clear examples or comparisons.
  • Pictorial language (e.g. raven parents ) is avoided.
  • If foreign or technical terms occur, they are explained.
  • Abbreviations are explained by the written form when they first appear.

Typography and media usage recommendations

  • Words are not written in continuous capital letters. Italic font is not used.
  • Texts are clearly structured, e.g. B. each sentence is on its own line.
  • Texts are left-justified throughout in the flutter sentence.
  • Bullet points are used.
  • Image and text do not flow into one another.
  • Pictures help to understand a text better.

Practical use

Plain language should improve the independent search for information and thus self-determination of adults who for various reasons, temporarily or permanently, have problems with complex sentence structures and do not understand foreign words.

When translating texts from difficult to easy language , the original texts are reformulated according to the rules for easy language. To ensure that the texts are properly understood by the target group, they are often reviewed by so-called reviewers or reviewers. The resulting feedback is viewed and taken into account when the final text is drawn up. The translation into the easy language can be very time-consuming. For example, one difficulty is that the translation of ambiguous words must start from the meaning intended in the text.

Official communications should also use easy language to ensure accessibility . Some authorities, such as the German Bundestag , use on their website in addition to the normal language of the Plain Language .

The business magazine brand eins has been translating a complex text into plain language every month since August 2016; including speeches by politicians, legal texts and investor information.

On the occasion of the state elections in Schleswig-Holstein in 2017 , the election notifications were written in plain language for the first time and caused confusion among the citizens, especially because of the many hyphens.

Legal basis in Germany

According to Section 11 of the Disability Equality Act (BGG), public authorities in Germany are obliged to “provide more information in plain language. The Federal Government is working towards the fact that ... public authorities make greater use of plain language and that their competencies for writing texts in plain language are built up and expanded. ”The exact implementation is regulated in the barrier-free information technology ordinance (BITV 2.0) .

Representatives, funding and research

Inclusion Europe signet for plain language texts

The Easy Language Network, to which the Bundesvereinigung Lebenshilfe and the self-help group Mensch first belong, promotes the use of easy language. For its commitment to the use of easy language, the association Mensch first received the initiative prize of the association German language in 2009 .

The Federal Association for Literacy has issued special recommendations for easy language in literacy courses.

The Light Language Research Center was founded in January 2014 at the Institute for Translation Studies and Specialized Communication at the University of Hildesheim . It sets itself the task of researching easy language from a linguistic and translation studies perspective, and sees itself as the hinge between university research and the practical application of easy language in authorities and companies. It carries out translation projects accompanied by research (focus on legal and administrative texts) and offers workshops and the examination of texts that have already been translated. Texts that have been revised according to the test results are given the “Test Seal for Light Language” from the research center.

As a seal of approval for texts in easy language, the association Inclusion Europe has created a "European logo for easy language".

Since October 2014, the LeiSA study at the University of Leipzig has been researching, with the participation of people with learning difficulties, "how easy language can improve the opportunities for people with learning difficulties to participate in the work environment". The aim is to create a qualification program for employees and employers that includes specific information on the use of plain language and a linguistically secured guide for writing and reviewing texts. The project is divided into two areas: The social science sub-project investigates whether and in what respect opportunities for professional participation improve through the use of plain language. The linguistic sub-project aims, on the one hand, to establish the phenomenon of easy language as a legitimate variety of German and to clarify what comprehensibility and accessibility can mean for the respective reader. On the second level, the question of which linguistic and typographical design tools are best suited to make it easier for people with learning difficulties to access different texts is investigated . The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs . The results of the linguistic sub-study are published in the form of practical recommendations.

Differences to simple language

The easy language goes further in the simplification than the simple language . The maximum sentence length in simple language is usually 15 words, in easy language sentences should be "short". According to Aktion Mensch , sentences in easy language should be limited to 8 words, while the network for easy language and the German Historical Museum also wrote longer sentences in easy language. Simple language avoids complicated language elements, but makes a normal language impression. Easy language, on the other hand, has peculiarities that do not occur in normal language , such as: B. Hyphens in compound words and additional line breaks.

criticism

The voting notifications for the state elections in Bremen 2015 , as well as a letter accompanying the sample ballot papers, were also written in plain language. Interior Senator Ulrich Mäurer gave the reason for the low voter turnout. Rainer Bremer, sociologist and educationalist at the University of Bremen , assessed the approach of the project as "hostile to education" and clientelistic. The “falsifying” simplifications lead “astray”, can be read “like parodies of disabled people” and are “worse than real satire”. Unemployment representatives criticized that it was not due to "educational disabilities" when Hartz IV recipients felt excluded and no longer voted.

The journalist Susanne Gaschke considers the use of easy language in a supplement to the weekly newspaper Das Parlament to be the “epitome of condescension” and “stupid”. There it says z. B. about the demonstrations in Chemnitz in 2018 : “Many different people took part in the demos. Some wanted to show that they are sad about the death of this young man. ... Certain people took part in the demos. And partly they planned the demos too. These people are called extreme right. [...] Members of the AfD took part in a demo. […] That is why many people are now asking: Does the AfD have the same opinions as the right-wing extremists? ”The program with the mouse would be far better at explaining complex issues than the magazine for those interested in parliament. In letters to the readers of the article, she is accused of not having done enough research. She would not have taken into account that texts in easy language are not aimed at people with average reading comprehension, but that they enable readers who have difficulty understanding difficult texts to understand in the first place (ibid.).

The year before, Alfred Dorfer had written a comment on the teletext of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) on ZEIT ONLINE in easy language in a similar style to Gaschke. After being pointed out by commentators, he apologized.

See also

literature

  • Bettina M. Bock, Ulla Fix, Daisy Lange: “Easy language” as reflected in theoretical and applied research . Frank & Timme, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-7329-0282-8 .
  • Ursula Bredel , Christiane Maaß: Easy language . Theoretical basics, orientation for practice. Dudenverlag, Berlin 2016, ISBN 3-411-75616-0 .
  • Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs (Ed.): Easy language . A guide. BMAS, Berlin 2014 ( full text PDF, free of charge, 127 pages, 3.5 MB [accessed on September 28, 2014] print version can be ordered from bmas.de ).
  • Duden (Ed.): Duden - easy language . Bibliographisches Institut GmbH, Dudenverlag, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-411-75616-2 .
  • European Association of ILSMH (Ed.): Just say it! European guidelines for the production of easily readable information for people with intellectual disabilities for authors, editors, information services, translators and other interested parties . European Association of ILSMH, Brussels 1998, ISBN 2-930078-12-X ( full text (27 pages) free of charge from webforall.info [PDF; 52 kB ; accessed on August 3, 2012]).
  • Inclusion Europe (Ed.): Information for everyone. European rules on how to make information easy to read and easy to understand. Inclusion Europe, Brussels 2009, ISBN 2-87460-111-X ( online - 44 pages [PDF; 1000 kB ; accessed on June 18, 2016]).
  • Human First - Network People First Germany (Ed.): The new dictionary for easy language . Human First - Network People First Germany, Kassel 2008, ISBN 978-3-937945-08-8 .
  • Bettina M. Bock: "Easy language" - no set of rules. Linguistic results and practical recommendations from the LeiSA project. Leipzig 2018 ( http://ul.qucosa.de/api/qucosa%3A31959/attachment/ATT-0/ PDF, free of charge, 97 pages).

Web links

Wiktionary: Easy language  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Network of easy language. Retrieved September 11, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Rules for Easy Language. (PDF; 1.2 MB) Network for light language, 2017, accessed on September 11, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b Easy Language - Simple Language. Clear and Clear - Agency for Simple Language, 2014, accessed on June 5, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Simple German. Clear and Clear - Agency for Simple Language, 2014, accessed on June 5, 2014 .
  5. ↑ s. Martin Doerry , in: Der SPIEGEL No. 29, July 16, 2017 (p. 128f)
  6. ↑ What is the media point? ( Memento from November 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) on Nachrichten · Leicht ( nachrichtenleicht.at ), accessed on November 21, 2016.
  7. ^ Christiane Maaß: Leichte Sprache - Das Regelbuch , LIT Verlag, Münster, 2015, ISBN 978-3-643-12907-9 . P. 88ff.
  8. ↑ Bredel & Maaß (2016), p. 337.
  9. ↑ Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs (Ed.): Easy language. A guide . Unchanged reprint June 2018 edition. Bonn April 2014, p. 72 .
  10. ↑ Article Easy language is not so easy in Kehrwieder am Sonntag , Hildesheim, February 3, 2013, page 5. ( online version )
  11. ↑ What does the federal day do?
  12. ↑ Holger Fröhlich: Easy language - brand eins. In: brand eins online. Retrieved March 16, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Easy language scares voters
  14. ↑ Wording of § 11 BGG online at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection , accessed on February 6, 2017.
  15. ↑ Wording of the BITV 2.0 online at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection , accessed on August 1, 2017.
  16. ↑ Cornelia Funke is the recipient of the Jacob Grimm Prize for German Language. German Language Association, May 12, 2009, archived from the original on February 11, 2011 ; Retrieved November 16, 2009 .
  17. ↑ Sven Nickel: Functional Illiteracy - Causes and Solutions Here and Elsewhere (PDF; 1.3 MB) What is easy to read? Criteria for easy-to-read reading p. 16
  18. ^ Research Center for Light Language. University of Hildesheim Foundation, accessed on June 6, 2014 .
  19. ↑ European Association of ILSMH (Ed.): Just say it! European guidelines for the production of easily readable information for people with intellectual disabilities for authors, editors, information services, translators and other interested parties . European Association of ILSMH, Brussels 1998, ISBN 2-930078-12-X ( webforall.info [PDF; accessed on May 16, 2013]). (PDF; 52 kB); [About the use of the European easy-to-read logo] on Inclusion Europe website, accessed August 4, 2010
  20. ↑ a b c d e LeiSa project page , www.research.uni-leipzig.de, accessed on November 29, 2015.
  21. ↑ Press release of the University of Leipzig ( Memento of December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), www.zv.uni-leipzig.de, June 17, 2014, accessed on November 29, 2015.
  22. ↑ Bock, Bettina M .: "Easy language" - No set of rules. Linguistic results and practical recommendations from the LeiSA project . 2018 ( qucosa.de ).
  23. ↑ Fact sheet Simple Language of Aktion Mensch ( Memento from December 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 198 kB)
  24. ↑ Easy language - simple language with Klar und Veillich : "Simple language [...]: The sentences are usually no longer than 15 words."
  25. ↑ Fact sheet Simple Language of Aktion Mensch ( Memento of December 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 198 kB):
    • "That is simple language [...]: A sentence usually has a maximum of 15 words and a maximum of one comma."
    • “Distinction between simple language and easy language [...]: Easy language consists of very short sentences. The sentence length is limited to eight words. "
  26. ↑ Rules for easy language. (PDF; 3.7 MB) In: Leichtessprache.org. Easy Language Network, archived from the original on May 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 18, 2016 .
    • "Write short sentences."
    • Examples of sentences in easy language that are longer than eight words: “You can make a word book at the end of the text.”, “Only you can say whether a text is easy enough.”, “You are allowed to write a text at Change Writing in Easy Language. ”,“ Write an address like you would on a letter ”and“ If you don't understand something, the text is not good ”(9-11 words).
  27. ↑ German Historical Museum: Easy language : "The German Historical Museum is the museum for the history of all of Germany." (13 words)
  28. ^ "New ballot papers in easy language" ( Memento from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), "Weser-Kurier", March 26, 2015
  29. ↑ "Worse than real satire" , interview with Rainer Bremer, "Neue Zürcher Zeitung", September 8, 2014
  30. ^ "Not representative" , post-election analysis by the Bertelsmann Foundation, May 2015
  31. ↑ Susanne Gaschke: The "Sendung mit der Maus" can do better , in: www.welt.de, 23 August 2018.
  32. ^ Alfred Dorfer: Easily understandable. Our columnist finally knows his way around the news on ORF. In: Donnerstalk. ZEIT ONLINE, July 17, 2017, accessed on November 18, 2018 .