Why do we need an understandable language?
Why do we need an understandable language? Where did this phenomenon come from? What is “plain language” in the world and who supports this movement? I will try to answer all these questions in this article.
You can read the background in the last publication on Habré, where there was a story about the algorithms used to evaluate the readability of texts. This note should have been an introduction to technology.
And you do not want to throw the TV or any other source of official information into the window every time you hear phrases like
If you watch TV, listen to the radio and read the news, it is hard not to notice that the officials broke away from people, not only in numerous examples of unjustified enrichment and consumption, but also in what they say and write. And the resistance of citizens to state initiatives will also become clear. After all, the language in which the gos.apparat speaks to us is unclear and is a mixture of clichés and clerical. And this oppressive mixture creates discomfort and apathy for those who are forced to read and listen to it.
')
The fact that "Clarity is the main advantage of speech," we know thanks to Aristotle.
Socrates, Seneca, Aristotle - again, and many, many others addressed the topic of clarity and intelligibility of language and clarity as the basis of being.
The texts of Dante, Cervantes, and Chaucer were so popular precisely because they were written in a simple, ordinary language, strikingly different from the language of the Law and the Church of that time, and from what was clear to all readers.
The form that the culture of the language of the law took on was mentioned by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Journey. In chapter 5 he writes:
American revolutionary Tom Payne put a mention of clarity in everything he wrote and called for:
Serious changes in the direction of simplicity of the language began to occur with the spread of mass education. The massive training of workers and the emergence of schools for the working class led to the need to create training programs for children, many of whom continued to work.
After the Second World War, George Orwell wrote most vividly about his simple language in his essay Politics and English:
Since the 1970s, under the influence of Orwell and many others, the first initiatives in understandable language began to appear.
In the United States, President Nixon issued orders that the Federated Register should be issued in “layman terms”.
In 1977, the Federal Communications Commission issued a set of rules for the civil radio frequency band, which were written as a series of simple questions and answers, with short sentences, an active voice, personal treatment and clear instructions. These rules were perhaps the first government rules written in plain English.
In subsequent years, the movement of understandability of the language, first English Plain English, then the language in principle - Plain Language gained many followers and gained mass development in many countries. But not yet in Russia.
After all, it seems that when we talk with our friends, everything is clear. When we watch movies and read literature, it’s also generally understandable.
And if we listen to politicians? And when we read the laws? Official addresses? Instructions? Medical appointments?
When we study at school and at university, the language we speak with is understandable.
The teacher, the purpose of which is to convey information to the student, can always check whether the student has learned it. The most common method of such verification is an oral retelling of the information received or answers to meaningful questions, for example: what was the story about? Who was this character? What kind of relationship did he have with this and that? Those. answering questions or text in your own words are the two most obvious indicators that a person has understood and assimilated information.
As a rule, the educational program is written whole. You can not begin to study physics, without basic knowledge in mathematics. You can not begin to study literature, without the ability to read and write. Due to the fact that information, when learning (school and beyond), must be consistent and, in some way, gradual, it is written in a very understandable language.
When the period of study ends, we are faced with the fact that a huge layer of life around us is completely unclear. The agreements that we sign (especially the part that is written below and in small print) are not clear. The state that tells us something is not clear. How banks work, the laws, what the doctor actually said in the clinic, is also not very transparent.
Very often, the reason for this misunderstanding is precisely the language, not the problem, with the education or mental abilities of a person. Moreover, mental and educational restrictions do not deprive a person of the right to receive information, do not deprive of all the rights protected by the Constitution and do not deprive all other rights enshrined in numerous laws.
How many of us can tell about what and for what (whom), in fact, this or that state service? Government programs that exist in sufficient numbers, but for which no one is served simply because people do not understand how to do this. Institutes and organizations with "their", understandable only to professionals, language. Administrative regulations, the structure of the text of which simply does not imply that an ordinary citizen will understand and be able to use it for his own purposes, and so on and so forth.
But initially, the purpose of these texts was not to create a small group of the chosen and understanding, but, on the contrary, to be understood and mastered by all categories and, almost, by all ages of citizens.
On the question of what to do with it, there is an answer - to simplify, without losing sense.
When we are not trying to train millions of people to do more complicated things, but if we simplify it, are we doing the right thing?
All the development of society, which is now, says that most likely we are doing right. People do not understand complex things, not because they are stupid, but because, as a rule, we all exist in very narrow social roles. Even some brilliant doctor will often not be able to understand the intricacies of financial structures. This doctor, almost daily, is faced with various financial documents. He signs them, takes loans, but does not understand how it works simply because it is a foreign language and a difficult language for him, and he does not have the time and energy to study it.
Our life has become very difficult and it only becomes more complicated. We are accustomed to many things and some things impossible to understand in the past; for us, they are already natural and clear from childhood. Electricity, current, for generations 00 - this is the Internet. But there are other aspects of life that I would like to make more simple, but at the same time prevent them from losing their content.
Simplicity (simplification) of the language - this is learning and training. The economy is becoming increasingly service and client-oriented, hence its language should be simplified. But how is economics taught? What incomprehensible language?
Now we are not talking about global language reform. This is most likely unlikely
but we can definitely talk about the simplification of the official Russian language.
The first persons in Russia have already begun to act within the framework of a general trend to simplify speech and texts. With the exception of jargon, in their speeches one can find minimal use of professional terminology and maximum reporting of information in an extremely concise and understandable form. But if we compare the speeches of the first persons and any other official documents, we will see that if there is some work on the intelligibility of the language at the top level of the state, then at the next levels, there is no such understanding.
The language in which they write is still difficult to comprehend, and the low quality of laws is only multiplied by the complexity of the texts.
When we created the Information Culture, the clarity of the language was one of our goals. We have already created a special service for assessing the readability of texts and will continue to work in this direction. However, it is very important that the simplicity and clarity of the language was not only a discussion of specialists, but an integral and conscious need of each person.
All over the world, movements have existed for a long time, according to the understandability of the language. Such as Plain English Movement and Clarity International.
The goal of these movements and initiatives comes down to one idea.
The language in which laws are written, in which various instructions are created, the language used by officials should be understandable to ordinary citizens. For example, in English-speaking countries, the initiative “ Plain English ” has existed for 50 years and it is enshrined as a law, including, it is used as a set of tests for comprehensibility for schoolchildren, students and specialists. Introduced special metrics that show the number of classes of American high school, necessary for the understanding of a text. In many respects, thanks to this, the English language has become so popular, because the host countries of the Anglo-Saxon culture continuously develop and simplify it.
Recently, this initiative grew up in Plain Language Movement in other countries, with the goal of getting an understandable language from the public structures to the public.
Sources of materials for the article:
You can read the background in the last publication on Habré, where there was a story about the algorithms used to evaluate the readability of texts. This note should have been an introduction to technology.
Why do we need an understandable language?
And you do not want to throw the TV or any other source of official information into the window every time you hear phrases like
“Increasing budget balance”or
“... measures are being taken to maintain and raise the level of qualification and professional education of officials”or
“Redistribution of separate tax and non-tax revenues between municipal districts and rural settlements without changing the revenues of the consolidated budgets of municipal districts”?
If you watch TV, listen to the radio and read the news, it is hard not to notice that the officials broke away from people, not only in numerous examples of unjustified enrichment and consumption, but also in what they say and write. And the resistance of citizens to state initiatives will also become clear. After all, the language in which the gos.apparat speaks to us is unclear and is a mixture of clichés and clerical. And this oppressive mixture creates discomfort and apathy for those who are forced to read and listen to it.
')
Story
The fact that "Clarity is the main advantage of speech," we know thanks to Aristotle.
Socrates, Seneca, Aristotle - again, and many, many others addressed the topic of clarity and intelligibility of language and clarity as the basis of being.
The texts of Dante, Cervantes, and Chaucer were so popular precisely because they were written in a simple, ordinary language, strikingly different from the language of the Law and the Church of that time, and from what was clear to all readers.
The form that the culture of the language of the law took on was mentioned by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Journey. In chapter 5 he writes:
“It should also be taken into account that this jury has its own language, a special jargon, inaccessible to the understanding of ordinary mortals, in which all their laws are written.”
American revolutionary Tom Payne put a mention of clarity in everything he wrote and called for:
“Since my goal is to make those who can hardly read, I have to avoid any literary tricks and use a language as simple as the alphabet.”
Serious changes in the direction of simplicity of the language began to occur with the spread of mass education. The massive training of workers and the emergence of schools for the working class led to the need to create training programs for children, many of whom continued to work.
After the Second World War, George Orwell wrote most vividly about his simple language in his essay Politics and English:
“... I did not speak here about the language of fiction, but only about language as a tool for expressing, not hiding or suppressing thoughts. ... If you simplify your English, you will recover from the worst follies of orthodoxy. You will not be able to speak in any of the cash dialects, and if you make a stupid remark, its stupidity will be obvious, even to you. Political language — and this applies to all political parties, from conservatives to anarchists — is designed to make a lie look true, murder is a worthy deed, and idle chatter sounds solid. All this can not be changed in one minute, but you can at least change your habits, or even send them - making fun of them in public, - some hackneyed and useless phrases - all Achilles' heels, strength tests, pressure conditions, red threads , great joy, nothing was missing, tangible progress and other verbal waste in the trash can, where they belong. ... ”
Since the 1970s, under the influence of Orwell and many others, the first initiatives in understandable language began to appear.
In the United States, President Nixon issued orders that the Federated Register should be issued in “layman terms”.
In 1977, the Federal Communications Commission issued a set of rules for the civil radio frequency band, which were written as a series of simple questions and answers, with short sentences, an active voice, personal treatment and clear instructions. These rules were perhaps the first government rules written in plain English.
In subsequent years, the movement of understandability of the language, first English Plain English, then the language in principle - Plain Language gained many followers and gained mass development in many countries. But not yet in Russia.
Clear language these days
After all, it seems that when we talk with our friends, everything is clear. When we watch movies and read literature, it’s also generally understandable.
And if we listen to politicians? And when we read the laws? Official addresses? Instructions? Medical appointments?
When we study at school and at university, the language we speak with is understandable.
The teacher, the purpose of which is to convey information to the student, can always check whether the student has learned it. The most common method of such verification is an oral retelling of the information received or answers to meaningful questions, for example: what was the story about? Who was this character? What kind of relationship did he have with this and that? Those. answering questions or text in your own words are the two most obvious indicators that a person has understood and assimilated information.
As a rule, the educational program is written whole. You can not begin to study physics, without basic knowledge in mathematics. You can not begin to study literature, without the ability to read and write. Due to the fact that information, when learning (school and beyond), must be consistent and, in some way, gradual, it is written in a very understandable language.
When the period of study ends, we are faced with the fact that a huge layer of life around us is completely unclear. The agreements that we sign (especially the part that is written below and in small print) are not clear. The state that tells us something is not clear. How banks work, the laws, what the doctor actually said in the clinic, is also not very transparent.
Very often, the reason for this misunderstanding is precisely the language, not the problem, with the education or mental abilities of a person. Moreover, mental and educational restrictions do not deprive a person of the right to receive information, do not deprive of all the rights protected by the Constitution and do not deprive all other rights enshrined in numerous laws.
How many of us can tell about what and for what (whom), in fact, this or that state service? Government programs that exist in sufficient numbers, but for which no one is served simply because people do not understand how to do this. Institutes and organizations with "their", understandable only to professionals, language. Administrative regulations, the structure of the text of which simply does not imply that an ordinary citizen will understand and be able to use it for his own purposes, and so on and so forth.
But initially, the purpose of these texts was not to create a small group of the chosen and understanding, but, on the contrary, to be understood and mastered by all categories and, almost, by all ages of citizens.
Steps to change
On the question of what to do with it, there is an answer - to simplify, without losing sense.
When we are not trying to train millions of people to do more complicated things, but if we simplify it, are we doing the right thing?
All the development of society, which is now, says that most likely we are doing right. People do not understand complex things, not because they are stupid, but because, as a rule, we all exist in very narrow social roles. Even some brilliant doctor will often not be able to understand the intricacies of financial structures. This doctor, almost daily, is faced with various financial documents. He signs them, takes loans, but does not understand how it works simply because it is a foreign language and a difficult language for him, and he does not have the time and energy to study it.
Our life has become very difficult and it only becomes more complicated. We are accustomed to many things and some things impossible to understand in the past; for us, they are already natural and clear from childhood. Electricity, current, for generations 00 - this is the Internet. But there are other aspects of life that I would like to make more simple, but at the same time prevent them from losing their content.
Simplicity (simplification) of the language - this is learning and training. The economy is becoming increasingly service and client-oriented, hence its language should be simplified. But how is economics taught? What incomprehensible language?
Now we are not talking about global language reform. This is most likely unlikely
but we can definitely talk about the simplification of the official Russian language.
The first persons in Russia have already begun to act within the framework of a general trend to simplify speech and texts. With the exception of jargon, in their speeches one can find minimal use of professional terminology and maximum reporting of information in an extremely concise and understandable form. But if we compare the speeches of the first persons and any other official documents, we will see that if there is some work on the intelligibility of the language at the top level of the state, then at the next levels, there is no such understanding.
The language in which they write is still difficult to comprehend, and the low quality of laws is only multiplied by the complexity of the texts.
When we created the Information Culture, the clarity of the language was one of our goals. We have already created a special service for assessing the readability of texts and will continue to work in this direction. However, it is very important that the simplicity and clarity of the language was not only a discussion of specialists, but an integral and conscious need of each person.
Reference:
All over the world, movements have existed for a long time, according to the understandability of the language. Such as Plain English Movement and Clarity International.
The goal of these movements and initiatives comes down to one idea.
The language in which laws are written, in which various instructions are created, the language used by officials should be understandable to ordinary citizens. For example, in English-speaking countries, the initiative “ Plain English ” has existed for 50 years and it is enshrined as a law, including, it is used as a set of tests for comprehensibility for schoolchildren, students and specialists. Introduced special metrics that show the number of classes of American high school, necessary for the understanding of a text. In many respects, thanks to this, the English language has become so popular, because the host countries of the Anglo-Saxon culture continuously develop and simplify it.
Recently, this initiative grew up in Plain Language Movement in other countries, with the goal of getting an understandable language from the public structures to the public.
Sources of materials for the article:
- A Brief History of Plain Language www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/conferences/2002/history/history.pdf
- “Politics and English”, George Orwell - www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/russian/r_polit
- Plain Language - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_language
- PlainLanguage.gov - www.plainlanguage.gov
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/248501/
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