Main Content
Simple Language in the (Inter)National Research Discourse
Term: 07/2019 to 09/2021
Project management and coordination: Prof. Dr phil. habil. Hendrik Trescher
Implementing institutions: The professorship for educational sciences with a special focus on inclusion and exclusion at Philipps University Marburg in cooperation with:
Associates/Partners/Contributors: Teresa Hauck, MA, Michael Börner, MA, Silvia Rügner, MA, Anna Lamby
Research assistant(s): Peter Nothbaum, BA
Financing: Research support fund of Philipps University Marburg
The study "Easy Language in the (Inter)National Research Discourse" examines the extent to which simple language is addressed in English and German-language professional journals, monographs, anthology contributions, and other specialized publications. The methodology of the study is based on the study "Cognitive Impairment and Accessibility" (Trescher 2018). It also consists of a secondary evaluation, since in parts the same corpus of material is analyzed. Using a three-step approach, the study examines well over 70,000 articles published in the period between January 2007 and September 2019. The (hitherto very few) contributions that can be identified as relevant to the topic of interest on the basis of this approach – i.e. in which the authors deal with "Leichte Sprache" (Easy Language) – are analyzed in terms of content in line with the following research questions:
- What is the subject of the study?
- What is "Leichte Sprache" (Easy Language)?
- What challenges does "Leichte Sprache" (Easy Language) embody?
The aim of the study is therefore to generate an overview of the German and English-language research discourse on "Leichte Sprache" (Easy Language), in order to initiate a further, more in-depth discussion of the topic.