Kategoria: Yleinen

In recent years, eye-tracking has been increasingly used in studies evaluating the effectiveness of the postulated rules for Easy Language (see, for example, Gutermuth 2020, Wellmann 2020). In my PhD thesis, I used eye-tracking data to determine whether segmenting complex nouns (so-called compounds, i.e., nouns that consist of more than one morpheme) facilitates or hinders cognitive processing. In this blog, I summarize some of my main findings and highlight some important requirements and challenges that researchers should be aware of when conducting eye-tracking experiments with Easy Language target groups.

In German Easy Language, four guidelines (Inclusion Europe 2009, BITV 2.0 2011, Netzwerk Leichte Sprache 2013, Bredel/Maaß 2016) postulate that compounds are to be visually segmented to facilitate lexical access to the compound’s constituents. However, there is no consensus on the best visual structuring sign to use for segmenting compounds. The first practical rulebooks of Easy Language recommend segmenting compounds with a hyphen (Hunde-Hütte [dog house]). Despite the lack of scientific proof, the rule of segmenting compounds, or more specifically “long words” (Inclusion Europe 2009: 23; BMAS 2013: 26) or “compound nouns” (BITV 2.0 2011: attachment 2, Part 2), with a hyphen has been officially enshrined in law and is consequently implemented in a wide range of German texts. However, as the above-mentioned rule was formulated without cognitive-scientific foundation and has many linguistic, social, and educational shortcomings, the German Research Centre for Easy Language has suggested structuring compounds with a hyphenation point called the mediopoint (Hunde·hütte) (for a detailed discussion on this, see Bredel/Maaß 2016; Maaß 2020). Even though the rule of segmenting compounds using a mediopoint seems to be less fraught with disadvantages and problems, we still do not know whether enhancing the perception of the compound’s constituents (either by using a hyphen or mediopoint) also reduces the cognitive processing costs for Easy Language target groups. This gap in research constituted the starting point of my study. My aim was to examine and support the postulated rule of segmenting compounds in Easy Language. Therefore, my study was not only of neurologically unimpaired readers but also deaf and hearing-impaired pupils, as they represent one of the heterogenous target groups of Easy Language.

As I recorded the participants’ eye-movements using a mobile eye tracker, they did not need to leave their familiar surroundings, and I decided to conduct my study of the target group at their school for the deaf and hearing impaired. A mobile eye tracker is particularly useful because it allows researchers to conduct experiments in different locations, enabling them to reach many of the heterogenous Easy Language target groups. I conducted four different eye-tracking experiments, in all of which I presented noun-noun compounds as either written with no visual structuring signs (Regenjacke [rain jacket]), or in one of two formats, in which I signalled constituent boundaries using visual cues, i.e., by inserting a hyphen (Regen-Jacke) or a mediopoint (Regen·jacke). For data analysis, I looked at the following eye-tracking parameter: first fixation duration, number of fixations, total reading time, and rate of regressions (regressions are eye movements in the direction opposite to that of normal reading, which means that the reader jumps backwards to the word). Below, I list some of my findings without going into too much detail. (Feel free to contact me if you have any questions)

1. The benefit of segmenting compounds depended on reading proficiency. Although the less-skilled readers of the Easy Language target group clearly benefited from the segmentation cue (i.e., they read segmented compounds faster than unsegmented compounds), it seemed that for the deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils with higher literacy skills, segmentation of the compounds was unnecessary (i.e., they processed unsegmented compounds faster than segmented compounds).

2. Segmenting compounds with a mediopoint was – in most cases – more effective than segmenting compounds with a hyphen. This was especially true for pupils with low literacy skills.

3. Processing compounds with context was easier than processing compounds without context (i.e., compounds that were presented in isolation).

4. Segmenting compounds with a hyphen led to morpheme-based, compositional processing, in which the reader processes the constituents individually rather than as a whole.

5. The first fixation duration, which is the duration of the first fixation on the compound, did not enable valid conclusions regarding the overall processing effort.

Even though using online methods such as eye-tracking offers many advantages and valuable insights into cognitive processes, I would now like to mention some aspects that should be considered when conducting eye-tracking experiments with heterogenous Easy Language target groups.

First, you need to consider that some members of Easy Language target groups might not be able to communicate their needs sufficiently or might not be able to understand all the information and instructions. Consequently, it is crucial to adjust the experimental procedure to their individual needs and requirements. This refers not only to the duration of the experiment (i.e., longer sessions should be split) but also to informing the participants of personal data protection and their right to opt out of the study at any time. Researchers should only start the experiment when they are certain that all the information is fully understood. It goes without saying that not only the participants’ consent, but also (for underage participants) parents’ consent or (for participants with intellectual disabilities) the consent of the participant’s legal guardians is required.

During data collection, it is important that the participants remain still in front of the computer. However, as limiting body and head movements for a longer time might be really difficult for some participants, it is important that the experiment is designed in a way that allows the participant to take a break whenever they want. Wherever possible, the researcher should try to eliminate distracting factors and design the experimental setting to be as natural as possible.

Furthermore, not only the instructions, but also the task itself should be kept simple when working with Easy Language target groups. For example, you need to bear in mind that many participants are probably not used to using a computer and might not be able to understand single instructions (e.g., in terms of calibration and validation). Therefore, it is important to give participants some extra time to practice.

When analysing the data, it is important to keep in mind that data cleansing cannot be as strict as usual, but needs to be adjusted to the above-mentioned facts and eventualities. This means that the researcher should allow more liberal data cleansing, in which they also look at individual trials to evaluate whether the data are useful or not. This of course also means that conducting experiments with impaired participants will probably lead to higher data loss and that the outcomes and results will not be comparable to those of participants with no impairments.

However, on a final note, I would like to point out that, looking back, the collection of eye-tracking data on deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils was (at least in my study) very successful, and provided valuable insights into the processing of compounds. Therefore, I encourage other researchers to also use eye-tracking in Easy Language research.

Silvana Deilen
Research Associate at the Department of English Linguistics and Translation Studies, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germersheim.

The article is based on my PhD thesis (written in German):
Deilen, Silvana (2021): Optische Gliederung von Komposita in Leichter Sprache: Blickbewegungsstudien zum Einfluss visueller, morphologischer und semantischer Faktoren auf die Verarbeitung deutscher Substantivkomposita. Frank & Timme: Berlin.

References
BITV 2.0 (2011): Verordnung zur Schaffung barrierefreier Informationstechnik nach dem Behinderten- gleichstellungsgesetz. (Barrierefreie-Informationstechnik-Verordnung – BITV 2.0). Accessed 7 October 2022. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bitv_2_0/BJNR184300011.html
Bredel, Ursula, and Christiane Maaß. 2016. Leichte Sprache. Theoretische Grundlagen. Orientierung für die Praxis. Berlin: Dudenverlag.
Gutermuth, Silke. 2020. Leichte Sprache für alle? Eine zielgruppenorientierte Rezeptionsstudie zu Leichter und Einfacher Sprache. Berlin: Frank & Timme.
Inclusion Europe (2009): Informationen für alle! Europäische Regeln, wie man Informationen leicht les- bar und leicht verständlich macht. Ed. Inclusion Europe. Accessed 7 October 2022. https://www.lag- abt-niedersachsen.de/uploads/migrate/Download/Infofralle.pdf
Maaß, Christiane (2020): Easy Language – Plain Language – Easy Language Plus. Balancing Comprehensibility and Acceptability. Berlin: Frank & Timme.
Netzwerk Leichte Sprache. 2013. Die Regeln für Leichte Sprache. Accessed 7 October 2022. https://www.leichte-sprache.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Regeln_Leichte_Sprache.pdf
Wellmann, Katharina (2020). Medio∙punkt oder Binde-Strich? Eine Eyetracking-Studie. In: Gros, Anne- Kathrin / Gutermuth, Silke / Oster, Katharina (eds.): Leichte Sprache – Empirische und multimodale Perspektiven. Berlin: Frank & Timme, p. 23 – 42.

Female, 35 or older, and over three years in business. This is the typical profile of an Easy Language service provider in Switzerland, as emerged in our 2021 survey of Swiss-based Easy Language practitioners. In this blog post, we discuss the results of this survey, which we first presented at KLAARA 2021. They offer valuable insights into the current issues in Easy Language service provision in Switzerland and highlight interesting differences across the country’s language regions.

Survey: Motivation and timeframe

Since Switzerland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2014, the number of translation agencies and training programmes focusing on Easy Language has steadily increased. Against this background, in 2020 we conducted the first online survey among Easy Language practitioners in Switzerland. The aim of the survey was to gain preliminary information on Easy Language service provision Swiss-wide (cf. Parpan-Blaser et al. 2021: 589–90). In 2021, we replicated the study to validate our findings and obtain a longitudinal perspective of providers’ behaviours and perceptions. Our 2021 survey consisted of 25 items and 21 closed-ended questions, as well as four open-ended questions to collect qualitative data. The survey was available in German, French and Italian and was distributed to a pool of 19 Swiss-based service providers, whom we selected through purposive sampling. The survey was self-administered via a commercial online survey tool and all the data were collected anonymously.

Respondents’ profile: Who does the work?

The survey response rate was highly satisfactory. Fifteen participants responded: 11 from the German-speaking regions and two each from the Italian- and French-speaking regions.

Figure 1. Demographic profile of respondents (N=15)

Most of the respondents were female freelancers aged 35 and over with an educational background in translation or education, who had previously completed a subject-specific training programme in Switzerland (see Figure 1).

Time of service: Some regional differences

At time of the survey, a large majority of the respondents (66%) had been offering Easy Language services for more than three years.

Figure 2. Respondents’ time of service

Five of the 11 respondents from German-speaking Switzerland had been active in the field for more than five years, whereas 50% of the Swiss Italian respondents had only entered the field in the previous two years (see Figure 2). These data seem to mirror the pace at which Easy Language initiatives have been progressing in Germany and Austria, and in France and Italy, respectively.

Type of service: Intralingual vs interlingual translations

Our survey indicated that translations from Standard into Easy Language were the most common in 2021. However, although not many of the Swiss German respondents provided interlingual translations, for example, from Lingua facile to Leichte Sprache , the situation was quite different in the French- and Italian-speaking regions.

Figure 3. Respondents’ type of service [where 0 = never and 10 = most frequently]

Particularly in the latter, interlingual translation was the most common service, suggesting that texts are first drafted in Easy German and later translated into Easy Italian or Easy French. This raises the question as to whether interlingual translations of Easy Language texts are functionally appropriate for the target readers’ own linguistic and cultural settings (cf. Parpan-Blaser et al. 2021: 589).

Workload and order volume: Easy Language as a subsidiary professional activity

At the time of the survey, 67% of the respondents devoted less than 50% of their overall workload to Easy Language provision, with 7 out of 15 devoting less than 25% (see left chart in Figure 4). It is interesting that both Swiss-Italian respondents in our sample fell under the latter subgroup.

Figure 4. Respondents’ workload and order volume

Our demographics revealed a sample population aged 35 and older. We may assume that our respondents had an already well-established career path and that Easy Language provision only accounted for a subsidiary part of their workload profile. In addition, 11 participants reported that their order volume at the time was moderate to very low (see chart on the right in Figure 4). Interestingly, our 2020 survey revealed a higher percentage of respondents describing their order volume as low or very low (35%) and, on the other end of the scale, a lower percentage of high to very high responses (18% compared to 25% in 2021). This means that order volume increased in the first half of 2021. In fact, 10 out of 15 the respondents (67%) to our second survey stated that the pandemic had had a moderate to very high impact on their workload, which had generally increased.

Client base: Social institutions and public authorities

Overall, our survey data indicated that social institutions and public authorities were the main stakeholders for Easy Language services in 2021 (see Figure 5). Not surprisingly, the global pandemic had caused demand from public health partners to increase considerably since 2020, particularly in the French- and Italian-speaking regions.

Figure 5. Respondents’ client base [where 0 = never and 10 = most frequently]

It should also be noted that, at the time of the survey, the Swiss-German respondents (marked in dark blue in Figure 5) mostly worked for social institutions, such as residential homes. This may suggest that community organisations in German-speaking Switzerland have promoted Easy Language more actively than similar institutions elsewhere in the country. Further research is needed to confirm these data.

Professional status: Societal acknowledgement is yet to be achieved

When asked to express their opinion on whether Easy Language translation was being acknowledged as a professional activity based on specialised skills, 11 out of 19 respondents (73%) stated that writing in and/or translating into Easy Language was not yet fully acknowledged as a specialised profession (moderately to not at all). At the same time, however, 12 out of 19 respondents (80%) reported that public awareness of the key functions of Easy Language was growing in Switzerland (moderately to totally).

Growing awareness of and interest in the benefits of Easy Language

The survey results revealed that the number of Easy Language service providers is growing in all the language regions of Switzerland, but that the type of service, the provider workload, and the client base vary from one region to the other. Our data also suggests that the awareness of and interest in the benefits of Easy Language for the target population are increasing in the country. This might soon trigger a stronger interplay between practice and research, as well as a more professional exchange among providers Swiss-wide. In addition, as our survey indicated, interlingual translation is one of the most common services – if not the most common – in Italian- and French-speaking Switzerland. We can expect this practice to continue to gain momentum in Switzerland’s multilingual context, and more specifically, in bilingual cantons. Among the open questions that future research could address are: how do intra and interlingual translational processes differ, and in what manner – and to what extent – can source and target texts in interlingual translation (e.g. Leichte Sprache to Lingua facile) positively or negatively influence each other?

Luisa Carrer is a Research Associate in Accessible Communication at the Institute of Translation and Interpreting of the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland.

Andrea Sterchi is a journalist and writing coach. She has worked as a freelance translator and copywriter in Easy and Plain Language since 2015. In 2020, she co-funded infoeasy, the first Swiss online news magazine in Easy Language.

Further information

Parpan-Blaser, A., Girard-Groeber, S., Antener, G. et al. (2021). Easy Language in Switzerland. In C. Lindholm & U. Vanhatalo (Eds.), Handbook of Easy Languages in Europe (Easy – Plain – Accessible, Vol. 8, pp. 573–622). Berlin: Frank & Timme.

Selkokielistä viestintää on kehitetty 1980-luvulta alkaen, ja Selkokeskus on vuosikymmenet kouluttanut, selkokielistänyt ja myöntänyt selkotunnuksia teksteille. Eri oppilaitoksissa selkokielen opetusta on kuitenkin tarjolla toistaiseksi satunnaisesti. 

Havahduimme viime vuonna Klaara-verkostossa siihen, ettei meillä ollut tietoa siitä, mitä ja miten selkokieltä opetetaan ammattioppilaitoksissa, ammattikorkeakouluissa ja yliopistoissa. Siksi teimme syksyllä 2021 oppilaitosten koulutussuunnittelua tunteville kyselyn, jonka pohjalta kirjoittamamme raportti julkaistiin keväällä 2022. (Selvitys selkokielen opetuksesta ja koulutuksesta ammattioppilaitoksissa ja korkeakouluissa.) Kysely kohdennettiin aloille, joilla arvelimme olevan yhteyksiä selkokielen opetukseen. Pidimme tärkeänä myös selvittää, minkälaisia selkokielen opettamisen kehitystarpeita ja toisaalta esteitä oppilaitoksissa on.   

Saimme yhteensä 91 vastausta, joista 40 ammattioppilaitoksista, 28 ammattikorkeakouluista ja 23 yliopistoista. Suuntasimme kyselyn opettajille, opetuksen suunnittelusta vastaaville koulutussuunnittelijoille ja koordinaattoreille, lehtoreille ja professoreille. Koska selkokielen opetuksesta ei toistaiseksi ole kovin kattavaa kuvaa eri oppilaitoksista, emme voineet varmistaa kyselyn menevän juuri niille henkilöille, jotka siihen osaisivat parhaiten vastata. Siksi pyysimme välittämään kyselyn eteenpäin tarvittaessa toiselle henkilölle.  

Vastauksista ilmeni, että koulutussuunnittelussa ollaan yksimielisiä inklusiivisen opetuksen ja koulutuksen saavutettavuuden tärkeydestä, mutta kaikilla koulutusasteilla opettajilla on liian vähän selkokielen asiantuntemusta.  

Tästä huolimatta selkokielen opetuksen kehittäminen näyttää olevan aktiivisessa vaiheessa ja siitä ollaan kiinnostuneita, ja opetusta on myös lisätty viime vuosina. Ongelmana näyttää olevan, että opetuksesta puuttuu systemaattisuutta. Opetusta on kehitetty yksittäisten opettajien voimin ja käytännön tarpeiden ehdoilla, eikä opetukselle ja kehittämiselle ole pystytty osoittamaan lisäresursseja. 

Selkokielen opetus näyttäytyy erilaisena eri koulutusasteilla 

Kyselyn vastauksista välittyy monipuolinen kuva eri koulutusasteilla toteutetusta selkokielen opetuksesta. Ammatillisissa oppilaitoksissa selkokielen opetus on nivottu ammatillisiin opintoihin, ja se on etenkin sosiaali- ja terveysaloilla jo osin vakiintunut osa opetustarjontaa. Opetukseen osallistuu vuosittain melko suuri määrä ammattiopiskelijoita. Opetuksen sisällöt ja tarjonta vaihtelevat voimakkaasti, sillä oppilaitos voi itse päättää, millaista opetusta se antaa ja kuinka paljon. Tämän vuoksi opiskelijat ovat melko erilaisessa asemassa eri oppilaitoksissa. 

Ammattikorkeakouluissa selkokielen opetus painottuu sosiaali- ja terveysalalle. Se ei ole aivan yhtä vakiintunut osa opetustarjontaa kuin ammatillisissa oppilaitoksissa, mutta opetuksen määrä on kasvanut, ja selkokieltä koskevia opinnäytetöitä tehdään melko runsaasti tällä hetkellä. Näiden opinnäytetöiden ohjausta opettajat pitävät kuitenkin vaikeana, sillä he kokevat asiantuntemuksensa ohueksi.  

Yliopistoissa selkokielen opetus on lähinnä kielitieteiden erikoistumisopinnoissa. Opetus on muutamassa yliopistossa lisääntynyt viime vuosina huomattavasti, mutta tarjonnan laajuus vaihtelee paljon. Selkokieli näkyy myös kielikeskusten sekä kandidaatin ja maisterin tutkinto-ohjelmien opetussuunnitelmissa. Selkokielen opettamisessa painottuu soveltava näkökulma, mutta myös tutkimus ja teoria ovat esillä. 

Varsinkin ammattioppilaitoksista esitetään myös tarve lisätä selkokielellä opettamista. Tätä asiaa emme tässä kyselyssä tiedustelleet, koska halusimme selvittää selkokielen opettamista. Tarve selkokielellä opettamisen lisäämiseen on kuitenkin ymmärrettävä, sillä opiskelijoissa on entistä enemmän s2-oppijoita sekä erityisopiskelijoita, jotka selkokielisen opetuksen ja selkokielisten oppimateriaalien tukemina selviytyisivät ammatillisista opinnoistaan paremmin. Asia on siten ajankohtainen ja sen selvittäminen olisi tärkeää. 

Millaiselta selkokielen opetuksen ja koulutuksen tulevaisuus näyttää? 

 Selkokielen tarve kasvaa Suomessa, ja selkokielen asiantuntijoita ja osaajia tarvitaan tulevaisuudessa yhä enemmän. Tarvetta on selkokielen tutkijoille ja kehittäjille sekä eri alojen ammattilaisille, jotka osaavat soveltaa selkokieleen liittyvää tietoa työssään.  

Omalta osaltaan kasvavaan tarpeeseen voivat vastata korkeakouluissa koulutettavat kieli- ja käännösalan ammattilaiset, joille selkokieli voi tulevaisuudessa tarjota työllistymismahdollisuuksia. Tämä tulevaisuusnäkymä on hyvä ottaa huomioon eri alojen tutkintorakenteita suunniteltaessa. Tätä mahdollisuutta ei nyt pidä näillä aloilla hukata, vaan ottaa rohkeasti aloite omiin käsiin ja osoittaa, että kieliammattilaisilla on osaamista ja kykyä vastata yhteiskunnan kasvavaan selkokielen tarpeeseen. 

Tilanteeseen vaikuttaa positiivisesti selkokielen tutkimus, jota tehdään nyt aiempaa enemmän ja useammassa korkeakoulussa. On hyvin tärkeää, että opetus kaikilla koulutusasteilla vastaa uusinta tutkittua tietoa selkokielestä. Hyviä signaaleja on yliopistojen ja ammattikorkeakoulujen kasvanut selkokielen opetuksen tarjonta ja opinnäytetöiden runsaus.  

Kyselyn mukaan selkokielen opetus on kuitenkin järjestetty hajanaisesti ja resursoitu heikosti kaikilla koulutusasteilla. Mietimme kyselyn tulosten pohjalta, millaisin keinoin selkokielen opetusta ja koulutusta voisi lisätä ja hyviä kokeiluja vakiinnuttaa. 

Yhtenä tärkeänä keinoja näemme yliopistojen, ammattikorkeakoulujen ja ammatillisten oppilaitosten yhteistyön, jota tulisi vahvistaa. Pyörää ei tarvitse keksiä joka paikassa uudelleen, vaan hyväksi havaittuja menetelmiä ja käytäntöjä voi tarjota muidenkin käyttöön. Samalla on myös tarvetta selkeyttää eri tahojen rooleja, sillä vaikka hyvät käytännöt on syytä laittaa jakoon, kaikkien ei tarvitse tehdä kaikkea samalla tavalla.  

Toinen keino on opettajien täydennyskoulutus sekä selkokieltä koskevat tietoiskut opetushenkilöstölle. Kyselymme vastauksissa korostui, että opettajat pitävät omaa osaamistaan selkokielestä heikkona, joten heille tulisi tarjota mahdollisuuksia lisätä ja päivittää osaamistaan. Täydennyskoulutuksessa yhteistyö Selkokeskuksen, Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen ja selkokielen neuvottelukunnan kanssa on tärkeää.  

Kolmantena keinona on lisätä resursseja. Selkokielen opetuksen talkoisiin kaivataan mukaan myös Opetushallitusta ja muita tahoja, jotka vastaavat ja päättävät eri koulutustasojen opetuksesta ja sen resursseista.  

Kyselyn vastauksista välittyy myös tärkeä tavoite: selkokielen opetuksen tavoitteet tulisi määritellä tarkemmin eri aloilla ja eri oppilaitoksissa. Oppilaitokset kaipaavat tarkennuksia siitä, mikä eri aloilla on selkokielen opetuksessa olennaista. 

 

Leealaura Leskelä, Helsingin yliopisto ja Selkokeskus
Soilimaria Korhonen, Savonia-ammattikorkeakoulu
Auli Kulkki-Nieminen, Tampereen yliopisto  

Selvitys on luettavissa Klaaran verkkosivuilta.  

Erilaiset lomakkeet ovat tuttuja terveydenhoidossa. Lomakkeita käytetään apuna esimerkiksi mielenterveyden ongelmien tunnistamisessa ja diagnosoinnissa. Jos vastaanotolla on asiakkaan ja ammattilaisen lisäksi tulkki, lomakkeen on oltava paitsi ymmärrettävä myös sujuvasti käännettävissä suomesta muille kielille.

Suomalaiset tutkijat kiinnittävät PALOMA-käsikirjassaan huomiota siihen, että yleisesti käytössä olevat tutkimusmenetelmät eivät välttämättä toimi pakolaistaustaisten henkilöiden psykologisissa arvioinneissa. Menetelmien käytössä tulee esiin monenlaisia kulttuuriin ja kieleen liittyviä haasteita. Maahanmuuttajataustaisten henkilöiden mielenterveyden ongelmia olisi kuitenkin tärkeää tunnistaa. Terveydenhoidon ammattilaisia kannustetaan tekemään tutkimuksia ja arviointia soveltuvin, luovin ja joustavin menetelmin. (Castaneda & al. 2018)

Mitä nämä soveltuvat, joustavat ja luovat menetelmät voisivat olla? Voisivatko kielentutkijat auttaa menetelmien ja erityisesti lomakkeiden kehittämisessä?

Tuoreessa juuri vertaisarviossa olevassa pilottitutkimuksessa selvitimme, miten masennuksen seulonnassa käytettävän PRIME-MD-lomakkeen kieltä voisi yksinkertaistaa. Vain kaksi kysymystä sisältävä lomake näkyy kuvassa 1.

Kuva 1. PRIME-MD:n kahden kysymyksen seula yleiskielinenä (Käypähoito).

Jos asiakas vastaa vähintään toiseen kysymykseen myöntävästi, kyseessä voi olla masennus, ja asian selvittäminen vaatii tarkempia tutkimuksia. Kuten Käypähoito-sivulla huomautetaan, lomake ei korvaa kliinistä haastattelua, vaan lomaketta käytetään yhtenä työkaluna masennuksen tunnistamisessa. Lomakkeen kielellisillä muotoiluilla ja ymmärrettävyydellä on kuitenkin merkitystä: jatkotoimet riippuvat siitä, vastaako asiakas kysymyksiin myöntävästi vai kieltävästi. 

Selkokieltä tarvitsevan näkökulmasta lomakkeen kysymykset ovat hankalia. Virkkeet ovat pitkiä, niiden rakenne on mutkikas, eikä sanastokaan ole kaikilta osin yleistä ja tuttua.

Tutkimuksemme ensimmäisessä vaiheessa lomakkeen kieltä yksinkertaistettiin ensin perusselkokielelle ja sitten helpolle selkokielelle. Perusselkokielinen versio teetettiin Selkokeskuksessa, ja se noudattaa perusselkokielelle annettuja ohjeita. Helpon selkokielen versio pohjautuu alkusanakieleen, sen tekivät tutkijat, ja sille haettiin Selkokeskuksesta helpon selkokielen hyväksyntä. Näin saadut kolme eritasoista versiota näkyvät kuvassa 2.

Kuva 2. Vasemmassa sarakkeessa yleiskielinen masennuksen seulonnassa käytettävä lomake, keskellä sen pohjalta tehty perusselkokielinen mukautus ja oikeassa laidassa mukautus helpolle selkokielelle.

Tutkimuksen toisessa vaiheessa nämä kolme vaikeustasoltaan erilaista versiota käännätettiin arabiaksi, farsiksi, englanniksi, ruotsiksi ja venäjäksi. Käännösprosessin jälkeen meillä oli siis kahdeksantoista versiota alkuperäisestä lomakkeesta. 

Tutkimuksen kolmannessa vaiheessa pyysimme terveydenhoidossa työskenteleviä tulkkeja arvioimaan, miten hyvin lomakkeen eri versiot toimisivat tulkkaustilanteessa. Tähän vaiheeseen osallistui yhteensä kymmenen tulkkia, kaksi kutakin kieltä kohti.

Pilottitutkimuksemme päätulos oli se, että selkokielisistä lomakkeista voi olla paljon hyötyä tulkkaustilanteessa. Tulkit kokivat, että he pystyvät kyllä tulkkaamaan alkuperäisen yleiskielisen lomakkeen, mutta jos tarjolla olisi selkokielisiä versioita, niistä olisi tulkkaustilanteessa apua. Tulkkeja pyydettiin myös arvioimaan eri versioiden sopivuutta asiakkaille, joilla oli tulkkaustarpeen lisäksi jokin muu kieleen tai ymmärtämiseen vaikuttava ominaisuus. Kuten kuvassa 3 näkyy, tulkit valitsivat erilaisille asiakkaille vaikeustasoltaan erilaisia versioita.

Kuva 3. Terveydenhoidossa työskentelevät tulkit valitsivat masennuksen seulonnassa käytettävästä lomakkeesta vaikeustasoltaan erilaisia versioita erilaisille asiakkaille. 80% vastaajista valitsi muistisairaalle vanhukselle tai 7-vuotiaalle lapselle helpoimman mahdollisen selkoversion. Nuorelle tietotekniikan opiskelijalle 50% vastaajista valitsi yleiskielisen version ja 50% perusselkokielisen version.

Tulkkeja pyydettiin myös arvioimaan sitä, mikä kaikista eri lomakevaihtoehdoista olisi tulkkauksen onnistumisen kannalta paras. Kiinnostavaa oli, että selkokielinen lomake suomeksi koettiin paremmaksi kuin yleiskielinen lomake kohdekielellä.

Pilottitutkimuksemme aineisto oli pieni, ja asiaa tulisikin tutkia lisää. Tutkimusasetelmaa kannattaisi laajentaa tulkeista terveydenhuollon asiakkaisiin ja ammattilaisiin. Kiinnostava, mutta kielentutkijan asiantuntemuksen ulkopuolelle kasvava kysymys on selkomukautettujen lomakkeiden validointi.

Alustavat tulokset herättävät pohtimaan terveydenhoidossa käytettävien lomakkeiden kääntämistä ja selkokielistämistä laajemminkin. Voisiko esimerkiksi Käypähoito-sivustolta joskus löytyä yleiskielisen lomakkeen lisäksi lomakkeiden selkoversioita – ja jopa kahdella vaikeustasolla? 

Mielenterveyden asiantuntijat peräänkuuluttavat maahanmuuttajataustaisten henkilöiden psykologiseen arviointiin luovia ja soveltavia ratkaisuja silloin, kun pääväestölle suunnatut tutkimus- ja arviointimenetelmät eivät toimi. Eritasoiset selkomukautukset voisivat olla tällaisia ratkaisuja. Ihannetilanteessa mielenterveyden ongelmien tunnistamisessa ja diagnosoinnissa käytettävän lomakkeen kielen taso tulisi voida valita lääkärin vastaanotolla. Asiakkaan tulisi voida itse valita hänelle ymmärrettävä lomake. Selkomukautetun lomakkeen saattaisi valita myös moni sellainen, jonka ei katsota kuuluvan selkokielen kohderyhmiin.

 

Blogiteksti perustuu Ulla Vanhatalon ja Camilla Lindholmin artikkelikäsikirjoitukseen Simplifying phrases in depression screens: interpreters’ views on usefulness in six languages

 

Lähteitä

Castaneda, Anu E.; Mäki-Opas, Johanna; Jokela, Satu; Kivi, Nina; Lähteenmäki, Minna; Miettinen, Tanja; Nieminen, Satu; Santalahti, Päivi 2018. Pakolaisten mielenterveyden tukeminen Suomessa: PALOMA-käsikirja

Goddard, Cliff (ed.) 2018. Minimal English For a Global World: Improved Communication Using Fewer Words. Palgrave Macmillan

Vanhatalo, Ulla & Camilla Lindholm 2021. Rephrasing PRIME-MD PHQ 2 Question Depression Screen in Easy and Translatable Language. Conference presentation. KLAARA 2021. 2nd Conference on Easy-to-Read Language Research.

Whooley, M. A., Avins, A. L., Miranda, J., & Browner, W. S. (1997). Case-finding instruments for depression. Two questions are as good as many. Journal of general internal medicine, 12(7), 439–445. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.1997.00076.x

Wierzbicka, Anna 2014. “Pain” and “suffering” in cross-linguistic perspective. – International Journal of Language and Culture, Volume 1, Issue 2, Jan 2014, p. 149 – 173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/ijolc.1.2.02wie

 

Selkokielistä tietoa on tarvittu viime aikoina kenties enemmän kuin koskaan aiemmin. Koronapandemian ja Ukrainan sodan kaltaisissa kriisitilanteissa on äärimmäisen tärkeää varmistaa, että jokainen meistä saa luotettavaa tietoa itselleen helpossa muodossa. Mutta onko selkokielinen uutisointi lukijalleen riittävän ymmärrettävää?

Selkokielisten uutisten ymmärrettävyyttä lähdin selvittämään pro gradu -tutkielmassani, jota varten haastattelin viittä selkokieltä tarvitsevaa ihmistä. Kahdella heistä selkokielen tarpeen taustalla on kehitysvamma (Matti ja Pekka) ja kolmella muulla se, ettei suomi ole heidän äidinkielensä (Zora, Vera ja Mila).

Selkouutinen kirjoitetaan lukija edellä

Selkokielisillä uutisilla tarkoitetaan uutisia, jotka on kohdennettu lukijoille, joilla on vaikeuksia lukea tai ymmärtää yleiskieltä. Selkouutisia tuotetaan kirjoittamalla suoraan selkokieltä tai mukauttamalla yleiskielinen uutinen selkokielelle. Mukautettaessa kirjoittaja käsittelee tekstiä merkityskokonaisuutena ja arvioi selkokielen periaatteisiin nojaten, miten tekstin ymmärrettävyyttä ja luettavuutta voidaan tukea. (Kulkki-Nieminen 2020: 388.) Kirjoittajan täytyy esimerkiksi pohtia, puuttuuko lukijalta sellaista yleistietoa, johon tämä voisi uutisen ankkuroida (Leskelä 2019: 125).

Suomessa selkouutisia julkaisevat Selkosanomat, Lätta bladet, Leija sekä Yle. Tutkielmassani haastateltavat tutustuivat kahteen ajankohtaislehti Selkosanomien uutiseen, joista toinen käsitteli kouluväkivaltaa (myöh. koulu-uutinen) ja toinen sote-uudistusta (myöh. sote-uutinen). Haastateltavien esiin nostamia havaintoja olen luokitellut soveltaen viestinnän professori Osmo A. Wiion (1997) teoriaa ymmärrettävyyden osatekijöistä.

Kiinnostavat aiheet ja tarttumapinta auttavat ymmärtämään

Samastuminen eli lukijan mahdollisuus samastaa itsensä ja ympäristönsä uutisen tapahtumiin (Wiio 1997) nousee aineistossa keskeisesti esiin. Koska ihmisellä on taipumus kiinnostua asioista, joissa he voivat itse kuvitella olevansa mukana (ns. human interest), on samastumisella merkittävä vaikutus kykyymme ymmärtää tekstiä. Myös aineistossani samastuminen kulkee käsi kädessä uutisen ymmärrettävyyden kanssa, ja haastateltavien oli helppo samastua konkreettiseen ja arkiseen koulu-uutiseen. He peilasivat kouluväkivaltaa omaan elämäänsä:

(1) no se [hyöty] et jos mä oisi kouluikäne ni emmä ainakaa tekis tommost (Pekka)

(2) mina ymmaran minun pitaa keskustella minun lapsenii [kanssa] ja olla varovastii ja kattoo [mitä] minun lapseni puhuu (Zora)

Abstraktimpaan sote-uutiseen samastuminen sen sijaan tuntui vaikeammalta, ja ainoastaan kaksi viidestä haastateltavasta koki samastuvansa uutiseen. Eräs haastateltavista lähestyi sote-uudistusta terveyspalvelujen saatavuuden näkökulmasta:

(3) no jos mä nyt itteeni ajattelen ni joo et jos ite tarvii terveyspalveluja ni vois ymmärtää että sinne pääsis aika helpostikki (Matti)

Samastumisen ohella myös motivaatiolla on ymmärrettävyyden kannalta suuri merkitys, sillä kiinnostavaksi koetut tekstit luetaan tyypillisesti useammin loppuun kuin vähemmän kiinnostavat ja niiden ymmärtämiseksi ollaan valmiita näkemään enemmän vaivaa (Wiio 1997). Aineistossani sekä koulu-uutinen että sote-uutinen koettiin kiinnostavaksi. Haastateltavien motivaatiota lisäsi erityisesti uutisen tarjoama tieto oman tai läheisen ihmisen terveyden tai turvallisuuden parantamiseksi (esimerkit 4–6) sekä oman tiedon kartuttaminen tiettyyn aiheeseen liittyen (esimerkki 7).

(4) kyl se kiinnostaa ainahan se kiinnostaa jos koulus sattuu jotai (Pekka)

(5) joo se on kinostava ja informativinen koska mina [olen] vanhemat ja mina kinostunut lapset (Zora)

(6) kylhän se aina oma terveys kiinnostaa (Pekka)

(7) joo se on hyva tietaa etta se oli suunniteltu pitkana aikana tottakai se tarvitsee paljon toita ja se sano etta miloin se voi mm tule meidan elamaan mm muttaa olisi ihana tietaa lisaa sote systeemista (Mila)

Kiinnostavaa on myös se, että jokainen kolmesta Suomeen muuttaneesta haastateltavasta mainitsi uutisten merkityksen Suomeen integroitumisessa, ja tiedon saamisen nähtiin helpottavan elämää uudessa kotimaassa (esimerkki 8).

(8) se on tarkeaa etta maahanmuutajat tai ulkomaalaiset voivat lukea mm kaikesta asioista mita tapahtuu kaupungissa tai maassa ja mm reagoivat hyvin ja tai osallistuvat mm elamassa tassa maassa (Mila)

Myös uutisten ulkoasun, kuten ilmavan taiton ja lihavoinnin suosimisen lyhyissä korostuksissa, nähtiin tukevan uutisten ymmärrettävyyttä. Ulkoasun merkitys nousi keskeiseksi erityisesti sote-uutisessa, jonka haastateltavat kokivat muuten melko vaikeaksi. Sote-uutisessa ymmärrettävyyden kannalta keskiöön nousi uutisen kuva, jossa on potilas lääkärin vastaanotolla. Kuva esimerkiksi korjasi tekstin perusteella syntyneitä väärinkäsityksiä siitä, että sote-palveluissa olisi kyse ainoastaan puhelimitse tapahtuvasta palvelusta (esimerkit 9 ja 10).

(9) no ainaki se [on hyvää] että tää kuva liittyy tähä et tää on mun mielestä hyvin otettu tää kuva et se liittyy tähä tekstiin ja ihminen näkee et mist on kyse ku se lukee tän et jos ei ois tätä kuvaa ni ei välttämättä ymmärtäis (Pekka)

(10) muttaa mina mm mina ymmarran etta se on soittaa palvelu ja nyt hehe nyt kuvassa mina naen etta se ei ole vain soittaa mina voin kaydaa (Vera)

Vieras sanasto ja abstrakti sisältö haastavat selkouutisten ymmärrettävyyttä

Vieras sanasto nousi keskeisimmäksi ymmärrettävyyttä vaikeuttavaksi tekijäksi erityisesti niiden haastateltavien kohdalla, joiden äidinkieli ei ollut suomi. Koulu-uutisesta he löysivät 12 itselleen vierasta tai vaikeaa sanaa, joista eniten haasteita aiheuttivat uutisen ymmärtämisen kannalta keskeiset sanat uhriaan, pahoinpitely, (menetti) tajuntansa ja potki. Yksi haastateltavista kuvasi haastavan sanaston vaikutusta lukemiseen näin:

(11) jos tama mm lehti on esimerkiksi mm maahanmuuttajille sitten ehkaa sanasto voi olla vahan helpompi koska sitten se tekee en tieda puoli tuntia lukea vain yksi artikkeli ja sitten ehka en halua lukea jotakin muuta hehe (Mila)

Sote-uutisen sanasto puolestaan aiheutti päänvaivaa jokaiselle haastateltavista. Kehitysvammaiset lukijat löysivät uutisesta yhdeksän vierasta sanaa ja maahanmuuttajalukijat 12. Sote-uutisen haastavimmiksi sanoiksi kerrottiin sanat sote, hyvinvointialueet tai hyvinvointialuetta, valtuustoihin, maakunniksi ja vauhdikkaasti, joista sote oli vieras peräti neljälle viidestä haastateltavasta.

Myös uutisten sisältö nousi ymmärrettävyyspuutteeksi silloin, kun se ei ollut riittävän konkreettista. Tämä oli tyypillistä erityisesti abstraktimman sote-uutisen kohdalla. Uutisen aihe oli kahdelle haastateltavista täysin vieras, ja kolme muutakin olivat kuulleet tai lukeneet sote-uudistuksesta vain ohi mennen. Uutisen sisällön keskeisimmäksi pulmaksi osoittautui tiedon puute, mikä aiheuttaa tekstiin niin sanottuja sisällöllisiä aukkoja, joita selkoteksteissä pitäisi pyrkiä välttämään. Esimerkiksi hyvinvointialueiden merkitys jäi haastateltaville uutisen perusteella epäselväksi:

(12) nii siis hyvinvointialueet ni se on ehkä sit semmone että siit ei oikein niinku tiiä et mitä ne on että niistä ei oo niinku tossa uutisessa kerrottu (Matti)

(13) mm onkse joo alue on mm onko helsinki tai uusimaa tai mita vaan joo mutta en tieda mm kuinka monta hyvinvointialuetta ovat suomessa ja onko se tulee koko suomeen tama systeemi vai vain uusimaa tampere turku tai oulu (Mila)

Wiion (1997) mukaan ulkoasulla voidaan sekä tukea että heikentää tekstin ymmärrettävyyttä, mikä kävi ilmi myös tekemissäni haastatteluissa. Haastateltavat kertoivat uutisen ulkoasun vaikeuttavan lukemista erityisesti silloin, kun uutisten eri osat eivät erottuneet toisistaan riittävän selkeästi ja silloin, kun fontti ja riviväli olivat liian pieniä. Kukaan haastateltavista ei kuitenkaan kokenut ulkoasun vaikuttaneen merkittävästi uutisen ymmärrettävyyteen, vaan he kertoivat lähinnä, miten ulkoasua voitaisiin vielä selkeyttää.

Jenni Stolt

Kirjoittaja työskentelee Selkokeskuksessa suunnittelijana. Hän valmistui kesällä 2021 filosofian maisteriksi Tampereen yliopistosta pääaineenaan suomen kieli.

Kirjoitus perustuu pro gradu -tutkielmaan:

Stolt, Jenni (2021): Selkolukijat selkouutisten testaajina. Laadullinen tutkimus Selkosanomien uutistekstien ymmärrettävyydestä. Tampereen yliopiston informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202104284090.

Lähteet

Kulkki-Nieminen, Auli 2020: Journalistisia tekstejä selkokielellä. Saavutettavan median tarjonnasta ja erityispiirteistä – Media & viestintä 43 (2020): 4 s. 385–402.

Leskelä, Leealaura 2019: Selkokieli. Saavutettavan kielen opas. Espoo: Kehitysvammaliitto ry / Oppimateriaalikeskus Opike.

Selkosanomat 2020: Koulujen turvallisuus huolettaa – Selkosanomat 15/2020 s. 3.

Selkosanomat 2020: Sote parantaa terveyspalveluja – Selkosanomat 16/2020 s. 3.

Wiio, Osmo A. 1997: Johdatus viestintään. Porvoo: Weilin+Göös.

The writer of the blog: Bettina M. Bock

Where and how are easy-to-read (ETR) texts used at the workplace? How can they foster participation in working life? What is meant to make texts comprehensible for people with low-level reading skills or intellectual disabilities? And how consistent is this with current easy-to-read practice in Germany? These were the main questions of the “LeiSA” (= Leichte Sprache im Arbeitsleben) interdisciplinary project at the University of Leipzig, Germany (2014–2018). This project was conducted through collaboration between linguists and social scientists and followed a participatory approach by including adults with intellectual disabilities in the research process.

The sociological sub-project explored how the ETR concept is used in sheltered workshops and integrated workplaces. The team then investigated whether using ETR material in working life has positive effects on the participation of handicapped employees. They found that ETR material alone does not improve occupational participation, but were able to show that it promotes empowerment. However, as the sheltered workshop system does not seem to support these empowerment processes, the use of ETR material at the workplace actually caused a reduction in the satisfaction and motivation of the workshop employees (cf. Goldbach/Bergelt 2019).

In this blog post, I would like to focus on the linguistic sub-project and its empirical investigations. One of the first questions we asked at the beginning of the project in 2014 was: Which linguistic practices do ETR texts employ? What does making texts comprehensible for target groups mean? We collected a corpus of 404 texts (approx. 640,000 tokens) which were either labeled ETR (Leichte Sprache, Leicht lesen) or showed obvious similarities with ETR. We also collected a corpus of 300 texts that were labeled “plain language” (Einfache Sprache) (approx. 780,000 tokens). We then wanted to compare the lexical, grammatical, and propositional characteristics of ETR German to those of plain German. We also wanted to see whether the texts adhered to some of the strict ETR rules (e.g., no negation or genitive case).

The situation in Germany is unique. As in other countries, rulebooks and guidelines suggest how language and texts should be simplified. But in contrast to other countries, these rules are generally not understood as recommendations but as strict norms that have to be followed – if they are not followed, the text cannot be defined as ETR. On the one hand, this widespread understanding leads to rather inflexible, “universal” ETR practices that do not pay much attention to context factors such as the specific target group, text type or situation. On the other hand, there is no real uniform practice. Even texts that commit to a specific rulebook do not necessarily fully follow its norms, as our corpus analyses showed. This specific German situation is undoubtedly an interesting potential field for further sociolinguistic investigations, especially with regard to linguistic ideologies and the status and handling of linguistic norms in society.

The main part of LeiSA’s linguistic sub-project was comprehension studies using two target groups: adults with intellectual disabilities and adults with (internally or externally ascribed) low-level reading skills. We focused on a variety of linguistic levels. In a psycholinguistic study in cooperation with Sandra Pappert (Pappert/Bock 2020), we tested a controversial ETR rule concerning word segmentation. A sample of individuals, some with intellectual disabilities and others with poor reading skills, performed a timed lexical decision task on unsegmented and segmented noun compounds. The compounds were semantically either transparent or opaque. The results of our study show that segmentation has an advantage independent of semantic transparency. At the same time, the main effect of semantic transparency indicates that the meaning of the compounds was accessed. Our results support the practice of segmenting compounds in ETR German.

However, this was not the case in all of our studies. For instance, the results of our examinations of the pragmatic aspects of text comprehension did not support current practices. ETR German has no context- or text type-sensitive rules. Roughly speaking, all texts “look pretty much the same”, both linguistically and visually. In one study we therefore wanted to explore whether people with intellectual disabilities have any concept of text types and whether they are able to capture the text’s pragmatic function when reading (Bock 2019). We reconstructed their situation models and context models from retrospective interviews and from their online commentaries while reading authentic ETR texts. In a second study, we investigated whether the participants with intellectual disabilities and low-level reading skills were able to recognize text types when they could only use visual and haptic text features (Bock 2020). In cooperation with designer Sabina Sieghart, we prepared sheets with typical macro-typographic features, but only dummy text and blurred pictures. Some of these sheets had visual and haptic features, which are typical of ETR German, others had the features of conventional text type designs. We compared the correctness of text type comprehension using a questionnaire and an oral interview. Both studies showed that the vast majority of our participants have a knowledge, either a more or less elaborated, of text type and function, which they were able to activate in our tests. Our comparison of ETR-typical and text type conventional macro-typography shows that conventional visual design is always well recognized, whereas general ETR designs often lead to false text type associations which in turn are likely to be an obstacle to text comprehension.

Currently we are working on an accessible website that introduces the main results of the two sub-projects of LeiSA in an easy-to-understand form. Again, this project is designed participatory and we are working closely together with people with intellectual disability.

References
Bock, Bettina M./Fix, Ulla/Lange, Daisy (Ed.) (2017): „Leichte Sprache“ im Spiegel theoretischer und angewandter Forschung. Berlin. [= „Easy-to-read“ in the mirror of theoretical and applied research.]
Bock, Bettina M. (2019): „Leichte Sprache“ – Kein Regelwerk. Sprachwissenschaftliche Ergebnisse und Praxisempfehlungen aus dem LeiSA-Projekt. Berlin. URL: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa2-319592 [= „Easy-to-read“ – no Rulebook. Linguistic results and practical recommendations from the LeiSA-project]
Bock, Bettina M. (2020): Makrotypografie als Verständlichkeitsfaktor. Empirische Studie zum Erkennen von Textsorten am Beispiel der „Leichten Sprache“. In: Zeitschrift für angewandte Linguistik 73, 1-32. doi:10.1515/zfal-2020-2050 [= Macrotypography as a factor for comprehensibility. Empirical staudy on the recognition of text types using the example fo „Easy-to-read“]
Goldbach, Anne/Bergelt, Daniel (2019): Leichte Sprache am Arbeitsplatz. Sozialwissenschaftliche Ergebnisse und Praxisempfehlungen aus dem LeiSA-Projekt. Berlin. URL: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa2-383782 [= Easy-to-read at the workplace. Sociological results and practical recommendations from the LeiSA-project]
Pappert, Sandra/Bock, Bettina M. (2020): Easy-to-read German put to test: Do adults with intellectual disability or functional illiteracy benefit from compound segmentation? In: Reading and Writing 33, 1105–1131. doi:10.1007/s11145-019-09995-y

The writer of the blog: Velga Polinska

Since the birth of my son with Down syndrome, I have been trying to get a glimpse of the veiled world of people with perceptual disorders. For me personally, it is important to give my son the most opportunities I can. During these years, I have noticed that here, in Latvia, the available health care services mostly aim at bringing people with various intellectual disabilities as close as possible to the rest of society, where they are often judged by the same criteria. However, it was interesting to find out whether the rest of society can adapt their behavioral patterns to communicate with people with intellectual disabilities on the level they are able to. And once I started working on my Master’s thesis, I chose to have a closer look at the real communicative situation in Latvia.

How it looks

It is not a secret that effective communication is the basis of inclusive society, which provides education, work, and social life opportunities to every person. To start, it was important to understand whether there are any opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities of establishing effective communication in public bodies. Therefore, I created a survey which was then sent to different state and municipal bodies. There were 90 respondents: 26 social service offices, 20 health care facilities, 19 museums, 16 courts and 11 other state and municipal bodies.

The survey highlighted several tendencies regarding the work-based training in communication with people with perceptional disorders, as well as applied communication strategies and awareness of Easy Language.

Appropriate training: or rather insufficiency of it.

Only 63% of all represented bodies ensure their employees with a training on communication with their clients, and only 74% of these cover communication with people with PD. 83% of those who have received such a training use their knowledge whenever they see that their client has a PD, but 12% use their knowledge with all clients. 47% of all the respondents recognize that adequate communication would make their clients feel safer. However, 4% claim that such a training is very demanding, while the likelihood of working with clients with PD is very low. 2% believe such knowledge is too narrow and specific, and 3 respondents indicate that people with PD do not attend their institution.

It is clear that the work-based training would make the employees and their clients with perceptual disorders (PD) feel safer, reduce misunderstandings and allow to establish effective communication. On the other hand, it is noticeable that there are still few respondents that do not understand the necessity of such communication: they claim that the training would require too many resources; besides, they do not work with clients with PD very often. However, clients may be choosing not to visit public bodies for the reason that they have not experienced effective bidirectional communication.

Communicative strategies can be correlated with the frequency of their use as follows:

When communicating with clients with perceptional disorders, majority of the employees (68%) choose to rephrase or clarify the information. Alarmingly that 39% of the respondents communicate with the accompanying person only. 50% speak slower, 21% speak louder and also 21% write the information on the paper or the screen. 20% of the respondents search for individual solutions, 10% think that moving their lips expressively is helpful, and 7% do not apply any specific strategy.

The given responses clearly show that only a few of the applied strategies are appropriate in communication with people with PD. Although, the most often used strategy — rephrasing or clarifying the given information — is also the most effective (especially in Easy Language), we cannot disregard that almost 40% of the respondents tend to ignore their clients, communicating with the accompanying person only. Likewise, often enough employees choose inappropriate strategies, such as writing the information on a piece of paper or moving the lips expressively.

Factors that according to the respondents hinder successful communication with people PD:

 

48% of the respondents confirm that their knowledge is insufficient to provide effective communication with their clients with PD. 42% claim that the visits are too short , and 10% believe that people with PD most probably will not understand what they are told.

In other words, employees often do not have time to establish effective communication, and they also do not know how. Besides quite a few also believe that people with PD are not able to understand any explanations or clarifications; therefore, they choose to communicate with the accompanying person.

Easy Language awareness: finally, I wanted to know whether the respondents have considered using Easy Language in order to communicate effectively with their clients.

36% of the respondents claim that they know the principles of Easy Language and can apply them, 23% know what Easy Language is, but do not know its principles and thus cannot use it. 33% do not know what Easy Language is at all.

Turns out that Easy Language still is underrated as a communication tool in Latvia – 33% of the respondents do not even know what it is.

Technically, these are just numbers; however, the results of the survey showcase inclusion and equality gaps. So, the question is –

What to do?

First of all, all response groups of the survey clearly showed that public bodies’ employees are in need of an appropriate training programme on how to communicate with their clients, including clients with PD.

Another very important step towards successful communication and hence an inclusive society is the promotion of Easy Language. Knowledge of the Easy Language principles and ability to apply them would significantly enhance effective communication, thus increasing independence of the people with PD and reducing the need for assistants, accompanying persons, or care providers in daily activities such as going to the museum.

Within the project “Promoting Easy-to-Read Language for Social Inclusion”, the guidelines for Easy Latvian have been developed, which will be freely available in the coming months. The authors of the guidelines hope that these will be a good tool to significantly increase the use of written Easy Language in different institutions in Latvia.

However, I believe that not only Easy-to-read but also spoken Easy Language is of paramount importance. Thus, any of the following solutions might increase public service availability: 1) websites including not only written information but also audio materials; 2) museums’ offer of audio-guides in Easy Language; 3) Easy Language interpreters; 4) easily available theoretical and practical training in Easy Language principles to ensure effective communication; 5) destigmatization of Easy Language.

Moreover, communication and service availability can be enhanced, for example, by planning a longer visit for clients with PD or checking whether the setting of the conversation is adapted to meet the needs of the client. Not always caring for the clients require enormous resources; sometimes, it is just a matter of an attitude. Every person regardless of their position can cultivate an inclusive environment. At the same time, it should be kept in mind that inclusion is bidirectional, and appropriate communication tools would allow people with PD communicating their outlook, hence enriching our society with new and original ideas.

About the writer: Velga Polinska (Mg. Art., Mg. Phil.) is a teacher, translator, and interpreter. She is a board member of the society “Down Syndrome Latvia” and a junior representative of the Latvian Alliance for Rare Diseases. Currently she takes part in the project “Promoting Easy‑to‑Read Language for Social Inclusion” (Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia).

The article is based on my Master’s thesis:
Velga Polinska (2021) “Interpreting for People with Perceptual Disorders” (“Tulkošana cilvēkiem ar uztveres traucējumiem”). Riga: University of Latvia.
Available: https://dspace.lu.lv/dspace/handle/7/56137

 

The writer of the blog: Rita Farkasné Gönczi

The use of easy-to-understand communication dates back decades in Hungary, one of the foundations of which is to ensure equal access to information. The history of easy to understand communication was very diverse in Hungary. The first event is that the ÉFOÉSZ adapted the easy to understand communication to Hungary, which it continuously uses in its publications and holds trainings on the subject (Horváth, Ladányi, 2021). For the first time in Hungary, easy-to-understand communication appeared online in 2011. I launched a blog called Easy-to-understand kitchen, where recipes with easy-to-understand communication were available. From 2017, the blog moved to the website http://konnyenertheto.gonczirita.hu/english , where professional knowledge and publication collections related to easy-to-understand communication appeared.

In the meantime, I worked with experts by experience to develop the concept of easy-to-understand communication in Hungary. “Easy-to-understand communication is the display of content units of information appearing in the common language or at a more complex language level, or the development of independently created information content in a simple, clear form for understanding information” (http://konnyenertheto.gonczirita.hu/english/definition-easy-to-understand/, 2017, lc. 2018, modified 2021).” Easy-to-understand communication is communication that uses linguistic and non-linguistic signs in many cases along specific rules. Easy-to-understand communication uses each language’s own linguistic and non-linguistic cues to develop and convey the message. Individual application means that the level of comprehension of the people involved in the communication determines the level of communication that is easy to understand and according to which the range of grammatical and other rules can be adjusted. Participants in easy-to-understand communication consciously or spontaneously apply the rules of message formation that appear in the communication situation” (Rita Farkasné Gönczi, 2021).

1. figure: system for the use of linguistic and non-linguistic signs in easy-to-understand communication (Farkasné Gönczi Rita, 2021).

The use of language symbols (strings and their written image) refers to the rules for that language. The use of non-linguistic signs in speech clarifies or modifies comprehension, possibly as a message in itself.

The formal rules that appear in the method of easy-to-understand communication are actually the use of non-linguistic signs themselves.

Researching 2 formal rules of easy-to-understand communication

The real effectiveness of formal rules have not been studied much in Hungary. I first conducted an examination of 2 formal rules among experts by experience in Hungary in 2018, and then in 2019. The non-representative study included 44 individuals with intellectual disabilities. Among the formal rules, I reviewed the rules on font size and shape background in international and domestic regulators, and then adjusted the examination tool for this. The basis for examining the two rules is my hypothesis that font size and shape-background rules can be modified by the proliferation of digital platforms and their frequent use.

My questions for reading comprehension:

• • Does the larger font size really support intelligent reading?
  • In terms of font size, which font size do test subjects prefer?
  • Does the shape-background rule in the light background, dark font version really support intelligent reading?
  • Which shape-background form do test subjects consider supportive?

In both cases, we asked the person to read the text. We measured the reading speed. Then weasked him to select an image that matched the sentences from the images in the queue. The correct selections were scored.  We asked people which text they considered easy to read and which they read faster.

Table 1: The font size rule for easy-to-understand communication research material, KÉK-BM (Farkasné Gönczi, Sugatagi & Szilágyi, 2019, 323).

 

Table 2: Research material on the shape-background rule of easy-to-understand communication, KÉK-BH (Farkasné Gönczi, Sugatagi & Szilágyi 2019, 323).

There is no significant difference between the font size and the background of the letters, neither in the reading speed (sign. 0.745) nor in the number of correctly understood texts (sign. 0,200) for each font size. In the reading speed it was found that at the letter-background (sign. 0.049), the comparison is just below the standard significance level of 5% in the statistical sense, so the unusual text with a dark background can be considered to be read significantly faster (Farkasné Gönczi, Sugatagi & Szilágyi 2019). Based on the results, the application of letter background rules is of little need among the subjects. This may be due to the intensifying digital look where we come across a wide variety of text and backgrounds. It would be worthwhile to resaurch the larger population.

Based on the results of the non-representative small-sample research presented above, it can be seen that the rules used in easy-to-understand communication derive from practice and little research has addressed their effectiveness. The present research examining the applicability of the two formal rules of easy-to-understand communication can only show a trend and serve as a basis for future interdisciplinary research.

The development of rules for easy-to-understand communication such as intralinguistic translation can be influenced by several disciplines. The rules for the use of linguistic signs refer, for example, to linguistics or translation science. The rules for the use of non-linguistic signs refer, for example, to the communication sciences. The effectiveness of the use of easy-to-understand communication among people with intellectual disabilities is the science of special education. This may be one way to make easy-to-understand communication an interdisciplinary science.

We were the first in Hungary to address these issues at an international conference on easy-to-understand communication organized by the community of my website and the ELTE Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs Education on 4 June 2021 (http://konnyenertheto.gonczirita.hu/konnyen-ertheto-konferencia/).

About the writer: Rita Farkasné dr. Gönczi is a PhD at the University of special education in Hungary, who was the first to describe the definition of easy-to-understand communication and conducted empirical research on the subject in Hungary. Edit her own professional website on the subject from 2011, where she works with Experts by experience: http://konnyenertheto.gonczirita.hu/english/

References:

Peter László Horvath, Lili Ladányi (2021). Easy Language in Hungary. In: Camilla Lindholm, Ulla Vanhatalo (eds.) Handbook of Easy Languages in Europe. Frank & Timme, Berlin.

Rita Farkasné Gönczi (2021). The concept of easy-to-understand communication, language levels, and applicability in the context of visual impairment. In Dimensional changes in the pedagogy and rehabilitation of the visually impaired. International conference organized by the Gusztáv Bárczi Faculty of Special Education at the Eötvös Loránd University on the occasion of the Hungarian Science Festival. (ed. Farkas Gönczi), ELTE BGGYK, Budapest.

Rita Farkasné Gönczi, Gábor Sugatagi, Lajosné Szilágyi (2019): A small sample test of the 2 formal rules of easy-to-understand communication. In: Farkasné Dr. Rita Gönczi, Dr. Ferencné Gereben, Dr. Zoltán Lénárt (ed.) Rehabilitation ages, institutions, needs and opportunities in the Hungarian system of services. Volume of a study on the 47th National Professional Conference. Association of Hungarian Special Education Teachers, Gárdony. URL: https://edit.elte.hu/xmlui/handle/10831/46035, download: 11/28/2021

Rita Farkasné Gönczi (2018). The concept and rules of easy-to-understand communication are based on international and domestic examples and the suggestions of Hungarian experts by experience. Special Educational Review, 46 (1), 64-76.

Rita Farkasné Gönczi, Éva Graf-Jaksa (2009). Easy to understand communication in Communication and Information Technology and Disability. Disability Science Knowledge Base, ELTEBGGYK.

 

 

The writer of the blog: Idastiina Valtasalmi

Research participants should be informed about the research in a way they can understand. In easy language research, this might involve writing research information leaflets and consent forms in easy language. What is the process of using easy language in research, and what are the benefits?

In spring 2018, I began writing my PhD thesis about the accessibility of easy language to people with intellectual disabilities. Since the designed research participants were easy language users, one of the first tasks was to write research information leaflets and consent forms in easy Finnish, or selkokieli. The task was not straightforward, because there were no guidelines for using easy language in research. Instead, I turned to ethical guidelines for research and guidelines for easy Finnish to find the best way to proceed.

The goal was to write research documents for two target audiences in two different language forms: one in easy Finnish for research participants, and another in standard Finnish for their legal representatives, if they had any. First, a standard Finnish information leaflet was written following the ethical principles of research. Then, a consent form was simply modeled after a form provided by the Ethics Committee of the Tampere Region. The Committee would later conduct the ethical review for the research.

Once the standard Finnish form and leaflet were finished, they were adapted into easy language following the linguistic and visual criteria for easy Finnish (see, for example, Selkokeskus 2018; Leskelä 2019). The purpose of each text was introduced carefully at the beginning since it was assumed that the readers might not be familiar with the genres.

The easy Finnish adaptation of the leaflet was an A5-sized document with 7 pages, and its standard language counterpart was an A4-sized document with one page. Despite having more pages, the easy language leaflet had less text and was shorter. To improve perceptibility, the easy language text was typed in a 14-point font and headlines in a 16-point font. The text was aligned to the left, and new sentences started on a new line. Each line had less than 60 characters following the Finnish guidelines for easy language. No pictures were used, so the focus was on clear textual hierarchy. Headlines were at the top of the page, and the text focused only on one topic on each page.

The easy language texts were sent to the ethics committee to be assessed with the ethical review application. After a positive review statement, they were sent to the Finnish Center for Easy Language with an application for a permission to use the SELKO symbol. The symbol is granted free of charge to texts that meet the criteria for easy Finnish (Selkokeskus 2021). Permission to use the symbol was granted after the language and layout were assessed and approved.

Research information leaflet was distributed to potential participants in group meetings. In other words, it was delivered to them personally, and they had an opportunity to hear more about the study. The contents of the leaflet were introduced orally using the guidelines for easy language in interaction (Leskelä & Lindholm 2012). Voluntary participation was emphasized several times during the meeting. Reception was very positive, and lively conversations ensued in an unhurried environment. Potential participants were able to take the information leaflet home and consider if they wanted to participate. They were also given an opportunity to attend one-on-one meetings if they wanted to ask more questions or enroll in the study.

The SELKO symbol turned out be an important asset in making information leaflets and consent forms more accessible and acceptable. The primary purpose of the symbol was to make sure that the texts were officially accepted as easy language. Then, many of the readers commented that they became more interested in the texts after seeing the symbol, so it made the texts more approachable and reading more acceptable (Maaß 2020: 44-47). All in all, it can be said that the SELKO symbol was useful and had a double role in improving acceptability.

To summarize, when conducting research with easy language users, written and spoken easy language should be used in various stages of the research process. Otherwise, inaccessible communication might turn away potential participants and cause misunderstandings that might endanger the ethical principles of informed consent and self-determination. For this reason, easy language should be embraced not only as a subject of research but also as a tool for research. Only then user-based easy language research can be made more accessible to its participants.

About the writer: Idastiina Valtasalmi is a doctoral researcher at Tampere University. The topic of her ongoing research is Accessible language: People with intellectual disabilities as users of Easy Finnish.

References:
Leskelä, Leealaura 2019: Selkokieli: Saavutettavan kielen opas. Helsinki: Kehitysvammaliitto ry.
Leskelä, Leealaura & Lindholm, Camilla 2012 (eds.): Haavoittuva keskustelu. Keskustelunanalyyttisia tutkimuksia kielellisesti epäsymmetrisestä vuorovaikutuksesta. Helsinki, Kehitysvammaliitto.
Maaß, Christiane 2020: Easy language – plain language – easy language plus. balancing comprehensibility and acceptability (vol. 3). Berlin: Frank & Timme.
Selkokeskus 2018: Selkomittari. https://selkokeskus.fi/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/SELKOMITTARI_2018_11.10.18.pdf (5.10.2021)
Selkokeskus (2021). Selko symbol. https://selkokeskus.fi/in-english/services/selko-symbol/ (5.10.2021)