The Plain Language Movement, aimed at promoting straightforward writing that focuses on the message rather than the complications of inflated language and complex sentence structure, has become increasingly prevalent, having trickled down from the government level to the legal, medical, and business sectors. This presentation will explore how this affects translations, particularly when interlinguistic register and usage differ. Writing techniques, readability scores, linguistic obstacles, and specific tools and glossaries will be covered. Before and after texts will be dissected to illustrate how to effectively apply the principles of plain language to improve the quality, consistency, and leveragability of translations.

1. © Erin M. Lyons, LLC 2011

2. A Plain Language Primer
1
Applied Interlinguistic Principles
2
A Plain Language Toolbox
3
Applications and Examples
4

4. “The most valuable of all talents is that of
never using two words when one will do. ”
- Thomas Jefferson

5. What is “Plain Language”?
Communication the audience can understand
the first time it is read
Language that is plain to one set of readers
may not be plain to others
Plain language is defined by results—it is
easy to read, understand, and use
1 - A Plain Language Primer

6. What isn’t Plain Language?
Baby talk or an attempt to be playful or PC
Stripping out necessary technical and
legal information
Editorial polishing and clean-up
Easy
1 - A Plain Language Primer

7. Plain language examples
Original Plain Language
Counsel Lawyer
Equilibrium Balance
Restrained/enjoined from Must not
Writ of possession Eviction order
Lessor/Lessee Landlord/Tenant
Exempt property Protected income/assets
Renal Kidney
Statutory Legal, by law
To declare true; make
To warrant
legally binding
1 - A Plain Language Primer

8. Milestones in the movement
o 1970 Plain English movement starts as a
grassroots campaign to fight
“gobbledygook,” i.e., legalese,
small print and bureaucratic
language
o 1978 Carter issues Executive Order on
plain language
o 1982 British government issues White
Paper ordering Plain language for
the 1st time
o 1998 Clinton creates PLAN
1 - A Plain Language Primer

9. Milestones in the movement, cont.
o 1998 EC Commission EN translators
found Fight the Fog
EC Translation Service writes
How to write clearly
o 1999 Unfair Terms in Consumer
Contracts Regulations
o 2010 Plain Writing Act requiring US
federal agencies to use plain
language in all covered documents
1 - A Plain Language Primer

10. Why is PL important for translators?
o Cuts bloat shorter, simpler text cuts down
expansion factor in other languages
(average of 25% out of EN)
o Strategic vocabulary selection prevents
interlinguistic pitfalls (faux amis, semantics,
implicature, etc.)
o Countries with multiple official languages
and simultaneous drafting are more
susceptible to unclear writing
1 - A Plain Language Primer

11. 2009 EC Commission survey
1 - A Plain Language Primer

12. PL and translation
The problem!
Very few writers have
translatability in mind
when drafting their
documents
BUT
In a multilingual
context, this is
an extremely
important issue.
1 - A Plain Language Primer

13. EU language drafting trends
1 - A Plain Language Primer

14. EU language drafting trends, cont.
1 - A Plain Language Primer

15. EU language drafting trends, cont.
1 - A Plain Language Primer

16. PL made simple
o No one wants to waste a lot of time trying to
translate difficult, wordy documents
Eliminate barriers
Communicate effectively
LESS IS MORE!
1 - A Plain Language Primer

18. “If you can't explain something simply, you
don't understand it well. ”
- Albert Einstein

19. The problem with translation…
o Linguistically equivalent notions may get lost
(especially in legal, bureaucratic contexts!)
Translation metalanguage covers all
facets and implications, but can be
incomprehensible to the reader
o Interlinguistic mediation requires the
accommodation of linguistically and culturally
dependent elements
Equi-legitimate translations
sacrifice readability
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

20. How PL can help translations
o PL requires a concrete—rather than
abstract—message
Forces translators to avoid ad
verbum translations
o Helps minimize negative transfer
False friends, jargon, and borrowing
displace the burden of comprehension
from the translator to the reader
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

21. Translator becomes interpreter
Equivalence
Meaning
shift
Plain
Language
Structural &
Functional
Linguistic
Textual Elements Discourse
purpose and
register
analyses
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

22. PL obstacles: Faux amis
FF What’s wrong What’s right?
“to elaborate”
draft, develop,
élaborer elaborate means “to go into
produce
detail”
“to respect” means
respecter respect comply with, meet
“to value or honor”
“opportunity”
opportunité opportunity advisability
means “chance”
“attribute to” means
attribuer attribute to allocate to, assign to
“help”
“foreseen” means provided for,
prévu foreseen
“predicted” planned
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

23. PL obstacles: “Euro jargon”
and “Euro-speak”
o Euro jargon:
Language used by insiders/specialists that
cannot always be understood by outsiders
(comitology, habilitation, European
construction, etc.)
o Euro-speak:
Potentially useful language coined to
describe EU inventions/concepts with no
exact parallel at the national level
(subsidiarity, codecision, convergence,
economic and social cohesion)
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

24. PL obstacles: Jargon, cont.
o Try to avoid jargon or make it explicit via
definitions, in less abstract terms
Remember!
Linguistically equivalent notions often
have different connotations in different
languages/locales
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

25. PL obstacles: A historical example
Treaty of Versailles:
o “legal or equitable interests” (EN) translated
as “droits et intérêts légitimes” (FR)
o EN corresponds to a well-established legal
concept in the US/UK, while there is no
definite legal idea in French
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

26. PL obstacles: A historical
example, cont.
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties:
o Codifies procedure with a possible recourse
to the original language when meaning
cannot be removed by ordinary interpretation
“the meaning which best reconciles the
texts, having regard to the object and
purpose of the treaty, shall be adopted”
(Art. 33, para. 4 VCLT)
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

27. A major linguistic challenge!
o It is very difficult to make a good joke in a
foreign language (subtle humor, irony, etc.)
o PL is a similar challenge:
How to convey linguistic subtleties with
limited vocabulary and grammar?
o How can we avoid BSE (“bad
simple English”)?
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

28. When EN is a lingua franca
o There is a new audience of non-native
English speaking professionals using EN as
a lingua franca
Any alteration in style is more than
compensated by an improvement in
clarity and readability
o Translators need to examine the “big picture”
of EN-language communication =>
communication is king
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

29. Interlinguistic dilemmas
o English is a relatively simple grammatical
language to begin with
o Grammatical and lexical differences between
languages entail shifts in register
PL is based on “dynamic equivalence”
Pragmatic transference aimed at the
receiving audience
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

30. Expected shifts
o Shift in structure
Change in grammatical concept
o Shift in class
Change in part of speech
(ex. denominalization)
o Shift in unit or rank
Breaking sentences apart
o Shift in terminology
Non-corresponding terms
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

31. Shift in structure
o EN favors S-V-O structure, using short
sentences without embedded clauses
o NL tends to “frontally overload” sentences
(reverse EN flow)
o Ambiguous modifiers/subjects in non-EN
o Subjunctive is virtually non-existent in EN
(constitutes 10% of constructions in IT
legal texts!)
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

32. Shift in class
o EN is more active, favoring verbs that are
otherwise nominalized in
Romance Languages
o EN can juxtapose adverbs (“amazingly
slowly”), which is impossible in many
other languages
o Prepositional and phrasal verbs are
extremely commonplace in EN
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

33. Shift in unit or rank
o DE is infamous for its use of nested
sentences, involved periods (Schachtelsatz)
o Finnish favors more impersonal expressions
Extensive use of direct address could
be perceived as officious & patronizing
o Legal ES (ES) still contains remnants of
archaic and rigid structures inherited from
style under the dictatorship
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

34. Shift in terminology
o Gender vs. gender-neutral writing
EN is generally*** a gender-neutral
language
o Inherent hierarchical and
structural differences
FR has 2 terms: “cour” and “tribunal” for 1
equivalent EN term
o Sublanguages/locales (DE for DE, CH,
AT, etc.)
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

35. Antidote for translator myopia?
“Writing clear language can be difficult…since
much of the subject matter is complex and
more and more is written in English by (and
for) non-native speakers, or by native speakers
who are beginning to lose touch with their
language after years working in a multilingual
environment.”
- European Commission Directorate-General
for Translation, English Style Guide
2 - Applied Interlinguistic Principles

37. “I believe more in the scissors than I do in
the pencil. ”
- Truman Capote

38. PL reminders for translators
o Eliminate the passive voice where possible
o Keep prepositional phrases concise
o Eliminate unnecessary modifiers
o Avoid circumlocutions or
intentional ambiguity
3 - A Plain Language Toolbox

39. PL strategies for translators
o Opt for translations with Latin word roots,
which will be accessible to a wider audience
beschleunigern >> translate as “expedite”
rather than “speed up”
o Avoid unnecessary preambles
it is interesting to note that…
it may be recalled that…
it is important to add that…
3 - A Plain Language Toolbox

40. PL strategies for translators, cont.
o Abstract words are a barrier to
understanding (several nouns + adjective)
“implementing a skills mix adjustment”
“negative economic growth” (recession)
o Beware of language-specific traps
Translating JP “tadashi” with a fragment
in EN (“provided, however, that”)
3 - A Plain Language Toolbox

41. PL takeaways
o Field – subject matter
o Tenor – author and intended reader
o Mode – form of the text
o Presupposition – assumed prior knowledge
of the audience
3 - A Plain Language Toolbox

42. Readability and assessment tools
o Reading Effectiveness Tool
(http:www.eastendliteracy.on.ca)
Assign grade level
o PMOSE/IKIRSCH Document Readability Formula
Rating scale inclusive of non-prose
documentation (labels, signage, etc.)
o SMOG Online Calculator
3 - A Plain Language Toolbox

43. PL resources: General
o PLAIN (http://www.plainlanguage.gov)
How to guides
Before and after examples
o Plain Language Network
Association International
(http://plainlanguagenetwork.org)
Language for law, business, science
Dead words list
3 - A Plain Language Toolbox

44. PL resources: General glossaries
o The A-Z of Alternative Words
(http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/files/alternative.pdf)
o Plain English Lexicon
(http://clearest.co.uk/files/PlainEnglishLexicon.pdf)
Includes terms, alternatives, grade levels,
commentary, and caveats
3 - A Plain Language Toolbox

45. PL resources: Health glossaries
o Plain Language Thesaurus for Health
Communications
(http://www.nphic.org/files/editor/file/thesaurus_1007.pdf)
o PRISM Readability Toolkit
(http://www.grouphealthresearch.org/capabilities/re
adability/readability_home.html)
o Michigan Library Plain Language
Medical Dictionary
(http://www.lib.umich.edu/plain-language-dictionary.com)
3 - A Plain Language Toolbox

46. PL resources: Legal and
financial glossaries
o Glossary of EU jargon
(http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do)
(http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/glossary/)
o Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
(http://www.nolo.com/dictionary/)
o A Plain Language Handbook: How to Create Clear
SEC Disclosure Documents
(http://sec.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf)
3 - A Plain Language Toolbox

48. “Making the simple complicated is
commonplace; making the complicated
simple, awesomely simple,
that's creativity. ”
- Charles Mingus

49. Example 1 – Legalese
“Lawyers have two common failings. One is
that they do not write well and the other is
that they think they do.”
- Carl Felsenfeld, Attorney and Law Professor
4 - Applications and Examples

50. Legalese: Before and after
Before After
I give, devise and I give the rest of my estate
bequeath all the rest, to my Trustee, who is
residue and remainder of named below. This trust
my property of every kind shall be known as The
and description (including Sampler Family Trust. The
lapsed legacies and trustee shall hold, manage
devises) wherever situated and distribute the
and whether acquired remaining trust property
before or after the as follows:
execution of this Will,
absolutely in fee simple, to
my Trustee hereinafter
named. This trust shall be
known as "Trust B" and
shall be held, administered
and distributed as follows:
4 - Applications and Examples

51. Legalese: Before and after, cont.
Before
Redundant After
I give, devise and I give the rest of my estate
bequeath all the rest, to my Trustee, who is
residue and remainder of named below. This trust
Redundant my property of every kind shall be known as The
and description (including Sampler Family Trust. The
lapsed legacies and trustee shall hold,
devises) wherever situated manage and distribute
and whether acquired the remaining trust
before or after the property as follows:
Jargon execution of this Will, Passive
absolutely in fee simple, to
my Trustee hereinafter to
named. This trust shall be Active
known as "Trust B" and
shall be held,
administered and
distributed as follows:
4 - Applications and Examples

52. Example 2 – Financial
“Plain English is like pornography. It’s hard to
define, but you know it when you see it.”
- Nancy Smith, SEC Senior Official
4 - Applications and Examples

53. Financial: Before and after
Before After
These securities have not Neither the Securities and
been approved or Exchange Commission,
disapproved by the nor any state securities
Securities and Exchange commission has approved
Commission nor has the or disapproved these
Commission passed upon securities, or determined if
the accuracy or adequacy this Prospectus is truthful
of this Prospectus. Any or complete. Any
representation to the representation to the
contrary is a contrary is a
criminal offense. criminal offense.
4 - Applications and Examples

54. Financial: Before and after, cont.
Before After
These securities have not Neither the Securities and Passive
been approved or Exchange Commission, to
disapproved by the nor any state securities Active
Securities and Exchange commission has
Jargon
Commission nor has the approved or
Commission passed disapproved these
upon the accuracy or securities, or determined
adequacy of this if this Prospectus is
Prospectus. Any truthful or complete. Any
representation to the representation to the
contrary is a contrary is a
criminal offense. criminal offense.
Abstractions
4 - Applications and Examples

55. Example 3 – Medical
“Now, Doc, I can take it. Tell me in plain
English what is wrong with me.”
“Well, in plain English, you’re just lazy.”
“Okay, now give me the medical term so I
can tell my wife.”
4 - Applications and Examples

56. Medical: Before and after
Before After
During the birth process, a During birth, a baby’s eyes
baby’s eyes may be can get infected with
contaminated during the bacteria from the cervix and
birth with organisms that are the vagina. This can cause
shed from the cervix and a condition called
vagina. This can cause a conjunctivitis. If this injection
condition known as is not treated, it can quickly
conjunctivitis. If this lead to blindness.
conjunctivitis goes
untreated, it can rapidly lead
to blindness.
4 - Applications and Examples

57. Medical: Before and after, cont.
Redundant
Before After
During the birth process, a During birth, a baby’s eyes
baby’s eyes may be can get infected with
Jargon
contaminated during the bacteria from the cervix and
birth with organisms that the vagina. This can cause
are shed from the cervix a condition called
and vagina. This can cause conjunctivitis. If this infection
a condition known as is not treated, it can quickly
conjunctivitis. If this lead to blindness.
conjunctivitis goes
untreated, it can rapidly
lead to blindness.
Verbose
4 - Applications and Examples