Highlights from PLAIN 2019 — Oslo, Norway

Joanna Richardson and Dr. Neil James
Co-editors

This edition of the PLAIN e-journal brings you some of the highlights from PLAIN’s 12th international conference in Oslo, Norway in September 2019.

Models for plain language

Not surprisingly, the conference showcased how well Scandinavia has advanced plain language over the last decade. We celebrated the 10th anniversary of Klart språk i staten (Plain Language in Norway’s Civil Service). Margrethe Kvarenes and Grete Orderud open our issue with an excellent summary of how that country went from a plain language newcomer to a world leader in just a few short years.

Of course, Sweden has a long tradition in clear communication, and Ingrid Olsson from Språkrådet (the Language Council of Sweden) asks cheekily whether the Swedish model might be as close as we can get to “plain language nirvana”.

On the other side of the Baltic, Katrin Hallik of Eesti Keele Instituut (Institute of the Estonian Language) describes how Estonia developed its own CLEAR model for plain language:

  • Community building
  • Lobbying
  • Endorsement
  • Awareness building
  • Realization

At the opposite end of the earth in South Africa, Nadja Green also explores models – in this case a framework for integrating plain language into the strategic priorities of commercial enterprises. The 3 principles she identifies are crucial for any organization wanting to sustain a plain language program.

Collaboration is the key

The Oslo conference presented many case studies on how organizations are pursuing plain language. A common theme was the need for collaboration.

Reeta Talonen and Outi Toijanniemi explain how Vero (the Finnish Tax Administration) brings together tax experts, usability specialists, web developers, communication specialists, and translators with the common goal of making “taxation as painless as possible for the taxpayer”.

Anne-Marie Chisnall in New Zealand highlights the role of designers as part of a project team that transformed an insurance Product Disclosure Statement.

Hanna Sjöström asks why insurance should be as stressful as the accident it covers and unpacks how “cross-functional teams bring new perspectives and give the best results – and are more fun to work in!”

New digital communities

Digital transformation was another of the conference themes and underlined so many of its papers. Valter Mavrič provides an inspiring case study of how the European Parliament took on the “mammoth task” of making complex EU language more palatable by combining text, audio, and video in every one of its 24 languages.

Barbra Kingsley gives us an excellent overview of eye tracking technology and how it can improve our results.

Of course, technology has become ever more present in our lives since COVID-19. Yet there are lessons to be learned in how we deploy it. An online solution may not work well if your users do not have electricity – let alone a computer.

Suzanne Owen presented a popular keynote about helping seasonal workers from Vanuatu to receive the superannuation entitlements they earn when working in Australia. This replaced a complex 6-page online form with a 1-page version that increased the refund rate from 30% to 80%!

Plain language for public safety

More than ever, the right plain language solutions are essential to help those who are vulnerable and to keep the public safe.

Keon Bum Lee of the Hangul Culture Solidarity in South Korea explains how confusing public safety information can be if it does not use plain language. Its 2017 work analyzing hundreds of public documents found 133 difficult safety terms being used in laws, signs, and announcements. In 2019, it lobbied to change another 54 terms and argues that the use of “easy and plain words protects the right to know”.

There can be few more important messages in a world reeling from COVID-19.

PLAIN’s eJournal

We hope that by highlighting plain language best practice from around the world, PLAIN’s e-journal will inspire our members and keep us all connected. Our decision last year to produce an online-only publication now seems eerily prescient in a world under lockdown.

This edition is the last for founding co-editors Neil James and Joanna Richardson. While Neil will continue as editor-in-chief, Joanna is handing over the managing editor role to Hannah Sapunor-Davis. Hannah has already been closely involved in the journal as our copy editor. Our thanks also go to Vera Gergely for her work on this issue.

The journal this time rounds out with an entertaining piece from Professor Johan Tønnesson of the University of Oslo, who explores the poetic functions of plain language. This is a reminder that, despite our current focus on public safety and economic survival, it is culture that defines us as humans. While plain language has never been more important in our lives, Professor Tønnesson maintains that “a life without poetry is a life not worth living”.