Maria has only recently arrived in Germany. She is already learning German and would like to apply for a job.
Lisa has an intellectual disability. As her identity card is due to expire soon, she needs to apply for a new one.
The scenarios described above are typical everyday situations. What do Lisa and Maria have in common? Both find it difficult to understand texts written in standard German. This not only makes it harder for them to access public administration services, but also hinders their participation in society and their ability to act independently. Those affected feel excluded, and coping with everyday life becomes more difficult.
The target audience for plain language is wide-ranging. This includes:
- People with reading and writing difficulties
- People with intellectual disabilities
- People with physical disabilities, such as visual impairment
- People with aphasia or dementia
- People learning German
Rules for plain language
To improve accessibility and comprehensibility, a number of linguistic rules are followed in plain language, including short sentences, one idea per sentence, the active rather than the passive voice, concrete rather than abstract terms, and the avoidance of the genitive case. In addition, various layout rules should be observed for documents written in plain language to ensure better readability.
The use of plain language is regulated at federal level by the Disability Equality Act and the Accessible Information Technology Regulation (BITV 2.0). Public bodies are required to ensure accessible communication for everyone. Building on this, the federal states have enacted their own, state-specific equality laws.
There is also a need for action on the part of businesses – from 2025, they will be obliged to offer accessible products and services. This is enshrined in law under the Accessibility Enhancement Act (BFSG). Specifically, the Act stipulates that certain products placed on the market after 28 June 2025 and certain services provided to consumers from 28 June 2025 onwards must be accessible.
The implementation of digital accessibility is intended to make digital services accessible to people with hearing, visual, cognitive and temporary impairments. Whilst, for example, screen reader compatibility makes an application usable for people with visual impairments, plain language – alongside sign language – is an important tool for breaking down linguistic barriers. Both digital accessibility in general and plain language in particular are covered by teams of experts at Materna. Today’s blog post focuses on plain language.
Plain language in the Materna editorial team
The concept of plain language is already firmly established within the Materna editorial team working on client projects. We are trained to produce translations from standard language into plain language. Whilst our online editors focus on translating website content, our chatbot editorial team is particularly attuned to ensuring accessible communication in chatbots. As a journalist, the rules governing plain language were initially unfamiliar to me; after all, they run completely counter to my usual writing style and my pursuit of ‘beautiful language’. Similarly, the avoidance of the genitive case and negations seems strange at first. Now, however, I see translating into plain language as an exciting challenge – it requires a shift in editorial thinking.
Whether it’s standard language or plain language – as team leader of the Materna editorial team for client projects, I hold our editorial work to high quality standards. To ensure the highest possible quality of the translation, the texts should always be proofread by reviewers from the target audience. They check the translated text and, where necessary, point out passages that are not yet easy to understand and need to be adapted. It is also advisable to involve testers from the target group when testing chatbots in plain language.
Opportunities and challenges of chatbots in plain language
In my view, the potential of plain language is not yet being utilised sufficiently, particularly in the chatbot environment; indeed, there is sometimes a lack of awareness of this issue. We recommend assessing on a case-by-case basis for each project and use case whether, alongside a standard-language chatbot, the use of a plain-language bot would also be appropriate.
By using a chatbot in plain language, standard enquiries can be automatically handled and answered in a way that is tailored to the target group, which can ease the workload on staff. At the same time, important insights for the further optimisation of the digital information service can be drawn from the main themes of the questions asked. In addition to the purely textual aspect, the design of a plain language chatbot presents further challenges that should be taken into account during the chatbot’s conception and planning.
Firstly, it is important to identify which content is actually relevant to the target audience. Only in very few cases is it appropriate to translate the standard-language bot entirely into plain language. Rather, the focus should be on identifying the level of detail that is actually appropriate for the target audience. In most cases, the majority of typical user enquiries can already be covered with just a few dialogue nodes. Similarly, emphasis should be placed on keeping the dialogue logic as simple as possible, requiring only a few dialogue steps and jumps.
Within the limits of what is technically feasible, the rules for an easily readable layout should also be followed as far as possible in the chatbot. This applies, for example, to the font, contrast and line spacing. It is also recommended to start each sentence on a new line and align it to the left. The textual content can be illustrated with images placed alongside the relevant text. It is important to note that the image and text must correspond.
Conclusion
Plain language is an important means of breaking down language barriers. Due to legal requirements, not only public authorities but, in future, businesses too will be obliged to use plain language. When using plain language, a holistic approach should be adopted, ensuring that digital information resources are coordinated with one another. Implementing a plain-language chatbot can enhance digital inclusion and add an interactive element.
Do you need support with using plain language in your digital communications? Please get in touch with us.
You can find all the information on the Accessibility Enhancement Act (BFSG) here.
