Guidelines For Easy To Read Materials

The Handbook of Easy Languages in Europe describes what Easy Language is and how it is used in European countries. It demonstrates the great diversity of actors, instruments and outcomes related to Easy Language throughout Europe. All people, despite their limitations, have an equal right to information, inclusion, and social participation. This results in requirements for understandable language. The notion of Easy Language refers to modified forms of standard languages that aim to facilitate reading and language comprehension. This handbook describes the historical background, the principles and the practices of Easy Language in 21 European countries. Its topics include terminological definitions, legal status, stakeholders, target groups, guidelines, practical outcomes, education, research, and a reflection on future perspectives related to Easy Language in each country. Written in an academic yet interesting and understandable style, this Handbook of Easy Languages in Europe aims to find a wide audience.

An explosive and daring novel about bodies, sex, politics and disability by the prize-winning Spanish writer Cristina Morales Ángela, Patricia, Marga and Nati are cousins living together in Barcelona. As women branded as disabled who share a state-subsidised flat, they must fight every day to retain their independence and find new and inventive ways - from dance to underground zines - to stop the state from managing every aspect of their lives. Funny and furious, Easy Reading is an indictment of the institutions that stigmatise individuals as disabled and of the language that marginalises them. It is also a portrait - visceral, vibrant, combative - of contemporary Barcelona. But, above all, Easy Reading is a feminist celebration of the body in all its forms, of female desire and queer sexuality, and of the transgressive and revolutionary power of language. Translated from the Spanish by Kevin Gerry Dunn

The two-volume set LNCS 12376 and 12377 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, ICCHP 2020, held in Lecco, Italy, in September 2020. The conference was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 104 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 206 submissions. Included also are 13 introductions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: Part I: user centred design and user participation in inclusive R&D; artificial intelligence, accessible and assistive technologies; XR accessibility – learning from the past, addressing real user needs and the technical architecture for inclusive immersive environments; serious and fun games; large-scale web accessibility observatories; accessible and inclusive digital publishing; AT and accessibility for blind and low vision users; Art Karshmer lectures in access to mathematics, science and engineering; tactile graphics and models for blind people and recognition of shapes by touch; and environmental sensing technologies for visual impairment Part II: accessibility of non-verbal communication: making spatial information accessible to people with disabilities; cognitive disabilities and accessibility – pushing the boundaries of inclusion using digital technologies and accessible eLearning environments; ICT to support inclusive education – universal learning design (ULD); hearing systems and accessories for people with hearing loss; mobile health and mobile rehabilitation for people with disabilities: current state, challenges and opportunities; innovation and implementation in the area of independent mobility through digital technologies; how to improve interaction with a text input system; human movement analysis for the design and evaluation of interactive systems and assistive devices; and service and care provision in assistive environments 10 chapters are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This edited book explores the rising interest in minimal languages – radically simplified languages using cross-translatable words and grammar, fulfilling the widely-recognised need to use language which is clear, accessible and easy to translate. The authors draw on case studies from around the world to demonstrate how early adopters have been putting Minimal English, Minimal Finnish, and other minimal languages into action: in language teaching and learning, ‘easy language’ projects, agricultural development training, language revitalisation, intercultural education, paediatric assessment, and health messaging. As well as reporting how minimal languages are being put into service, the contributors explore how minimal languages can be adapted, localised and implemented differently for different purposes. Like its predecessor Minimal English for a Global World: Improved Communication Using Fewer Words (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), the book will appeal to students and scholars of applied linguistics, language education and translation studies, as well as to professionals in any field where accessibility and translatability matter.

This book provides a detailed overview of current or recent research exploring a wide range of ideas, theories, and practices around written text production. European researchers from a broad range of disciplines brought together under the European Research Network on Learning to Write Effectively were instructed to contribute short papers summarising their current activity. The papers are grouped around the four main themes. The first deals with issues around the development of basic ("low-level") writing skills, mainly in the early years of education. The second section focuses directly on issues around the teaching and learning of writing. This is divided into five parts that describe: evaluations of different forms of writing instruction, research exploring the processes by which writers learn, methods of text assessment in educational contexts, research exploring the effects of various learner and teacher variables on the development of writing skill, and conceptions of and variation in educational text genres. The third section reports research exploring effective document design. The final section has a main focus on tools for exploring the writing process.

Easy-to-Understand (E2U) text practices enable and facilitate accessible communication. E2U refers both to Plain and to Easy Language. These two powerful methods of language and content comprehension enhancement are illustrated through several examples in English, starting from the seminal role of the Anglophone world in promoting plain and lucid style. Originally implemented in written texts, today the employment of these simplified language varieties should infiltrate new communication services that are more complex and multifaceted. Thanks to the EASIT project, the integration of E2U strategies into a selection of audiovisual services is being successfully researched. After advancing simplification proposals in the area of subtitling and audio description, Elisa Perego reports on the results of a cross-country survey conducted during the initial stages of the EASIT project: She pinpoints the background, activity, and training experience of those who currently work in the sector of E2U in Europe, and identifies the skills and the competences of, as well as a training path and materials for, future hybrid professionals.