Dal plain language all'easy-to-read per lettori con disabilità intellettive: oltre la semplificazione

This paper deals with the topic of text simplification discussing two models of writing that make texts easier to read and understand. First, it briefly discusses plain language, which has been debated in Italy since the beginning of the 1990s as a tool to improve government communication. However, even though several initiatives tried to promote it, it is still little used, and it has not defeated bureaucratese. Second, this paper presents “Easy-to-Read”, a model of linguistic adaptation designed to write texts that are easy to read and understand for people with intellectual disabilities. Its features of conciseness and simplicity also make it suitable for other categories with reading difficulties due to psychological and neuropsychiatric conditions, social factors, and/or poor knowledge of a language. Plain language and Easy-to-Read share several traits, although Easy-to-Read is a more specific application designed for readers with special needs. Easy-to-Read is a relatively new concept: several guidelines have already been created for some languages, along with the European ones, designed during the Pathways project by the European association Inclusion Europe. Yet, the existing guidelines often lack extensive linguistic indications and can prove insufficient to write proper easy-to-read texts. After presenting Easy-to-Read, the paper will discuss some methodological issues, such as some problems regarding the existing guidelines for the Italian version of Easy-toRead; the complexity of the needs of its recipient; and the absence of proofs, as Easy-toRead currently lacks a more scientific approach and further studies are still needed. Finally, the paper briefly discusses the need to spread both plain language and Easy-toRead in order to foster the participation in social life of people with reading difficulties or intellectual disabilities and promote their right to information.