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[EASIT intro music]

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EASIT. Easy Access
for Social Inclusion Training.

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This is Unit 3C.

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Easy to Understand
and audiovisual journalism.

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Element 2. Linguistic aspects.

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Video lecture: Simplifying language
and style

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of audiovisual journalistic texts.

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My name is Rocío Bernabé Caro

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from the Internationale Hochschule
SDI München, in Germany.

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Please, do not stop the video
at the end,

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because the video sample
with the subtitles will be shown

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after the end of this video lecture.

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This video lecture discusses
how to reduce

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the complexity
of audiovisual journalistic texts

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while considering the conventions
and style of the text type.

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We use a news item to illustrate
the ideas that we present.

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According to scholars such as
Meckel and Kamps (1998:11),

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"broadcasts are a part
of a daily communication culture".

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They aim to update viewers
on the latest news.

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The product delivered,
i.e., the news items,

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often comprise visual and aural elements

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that combine and relate to each other
to convey a message.

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These elements can use verbal signs,
such as the spoken text,

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and non-verbal signs,
such as images and sounds.

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Each of these elements is
a semantic carrier

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that makes up the multimodal message
of a news item.

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News items fulfil the key function to
"aid citizens in becoming informed",

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as described by Holbert in 2005, p. 511.

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It is for this reason that audiences
grant news the greatest trust

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among all forms of media presentations.

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The International Federation
of Library Associations and Institutions

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also raises awareness about this topic
in their guidelines.

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Moreover, they describe
the implicit consequences

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of a lack of access with these words:

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"For many people,
access to easy-to-read versions of news

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and other informational materials
represent their only way

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of exercising their democratic right
to stay informed."

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And they add:

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"The audience for these types
of publications is probably larger

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than that for books."

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Using a simplified language or style
in news items does not mean moving away

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from their informative function.

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Simplification principles
can support viewers

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in perceiving and decoding the message.

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The simplification process
would then involve

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the different modes and signs.

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On the one hand, we have information
that is conveyed aurally.

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Verbal, aural information can be text,
mostly read aloud by the newsreader,

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and prosodic features,

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such as the particular voice used
by newsreaders to catch our attention

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and their speaking rate.

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Non-verbal, aural information
can be sounds, mostly background sounds,

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and music, such as the jingles
and sounds used by broadcasters.

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On the other hand, we have information
that is conveyed visually.

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That can be verbal, like text images
and video information,

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and visual effects
and supporting pictures or graphics.

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Reducing the complexity
of information can be realised

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by using simplification principles.

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Some useful sources that can help us are,
for instance,

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the publication Information for All
published in 2009 by Inclusion Europe,

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the recommendations by Plain Language
Association International,

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or the 19 writing recommendations

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elaborated within the Swedish project
Begriplig Text.

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You can find more information
about this project

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on the Internet at begripligtext.se.

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Linguistically, there are
several dimensions of complexity

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that can be addressed.

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At a word level, for instance,
it is advisable to use common words.

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That is words
that are frequently encountered

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and used by a general audience.

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These words are often called
"high-frequency words".

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Journalistic texts
and news items, however,

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often report on specialised topics
and use low-frequency words.

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A way to reduce their complexity would be
to explain the meaning in the narrative

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or to provide examples.

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The underlying idea is to make
pre-supposed prior knowledge explicit.

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Sample 2 of this Unit provides
several examples of how to do this.

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The sample was produced
by the Austrian public broadcaster ORF.

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The news items
that they present are in Plain language

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and offer explanations
for low-frequency words.

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The word "Kultureinrichtungen"
is an example.

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This word means cultural institutions
or organisations.

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The term can be considered
of low frequency

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because it is less frequently used.

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Also its range of meaning is broad,

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which can be an additional hurdle.

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The broadcaster solved this issue

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by providing examples
of what Kulureinrichtungen are,

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i.e., theatres and museums.

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Indeed, the examples are chosen
very wisely,

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because the next news item
in the news is about a theatre in Wien,

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the Volkstheater.

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Let's take a look at that one.

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"Volkstheater" is a specific type
of theatre.

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Understanding the meaning requires
a specific prior knowledge

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 from a listener.

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In the sample, this knowledge is not
pre-supposed.

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Conversely, it is made explicit
by defining the term.

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A cultural institution in Vienna is
the Volkstheater.

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Volkstheater is an old theatre.

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The explicitation is done
as in written texts.

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That is the term to be defined,
Volkstheater, is repeated

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in the next sentence
just before explaining it.

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Another example from the same news item is
the explanation of the verb “to renovate”.

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First, the term is introduced,
then repeated

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and defined in the next sentences.

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The Volkstheater has been renovated
in the last few months.

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When an old house is renovated,
everything is made new.

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Other linguistic recommendations are

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to avoid abstract words and expressions,

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to use simple sentences
that express one idea,

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and to follow the canonical
sentence order,

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which in many languages is:
Subject-Verb-Object.

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One last simplification principle

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that I would like to outline is
the use of repetitions.

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The use of repetitions is recommended
as a strategy

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to support coherence and help users
to stay on track.

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Repetitions in simplification
not only occur at a lexical level

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with repetition of words or key terms
as we have seen before.

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Conversely, repetitions can also occur

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with images supporting
a statement visually or,

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at a sentence level,
by repeating the same patterns.

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Let me show you an example
from Sample 2, as well.

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In this case, the news item reports
on the COVID restrictions in Austria:

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During curfew hours, you can only leave
your house for specific reasons.

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You can leave your house to help someone.
You can leave your house to take a walk.

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Cotter stated in 1993, and I quote:

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[p]rosody is key to defining
the broadcast news register.

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Prosodic features are used
in news production purposely

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to convey a sense of authority,
credibility or competence.

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The aim is to raise listener confidence,

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which is the "basic mandate
of the profession"

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as expressed by Raymond (2000:355).

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Therefore, when producing news,

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we should also use prosodic features
that facilitate understanding

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while remaining truthful to those
in this type of discourse.

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The guidelines Information for All
published by Inclusion Europe

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already provides some recommendations.

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Allow me to list here just a few.

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Several recommendations
related to voicing are:

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The person speaking should have good
pronunciation and articulate clearly.

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The accent should not be too strong.

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The voice should only be speaking
about things

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that people can see on the screen.

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The person reading should read the text
in a way that emotions can be perceived.

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With regards to speech rates,
volume, and sound

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several recommendations are:

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That the person speaking
should speak slowly.

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The person should leave pauses
at sensible points.

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This way, people can understand
the first part

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before more information is given
to them.

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Avoid interferences
or background noises.

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The sound should be good, without
interferences or background noises.

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The sound should have a good volume,
not too loud, and not too quiet.

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And you might use
a special sound announcing

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that the following information is
in an accessible format.

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Some of these prosody features match
those used in journalistic discourse.

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For instance, the use of a clear voice,
enunciating clearly,

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sounding natural and conversational,

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using a moderate reading speed,

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or adjusting tone for content.

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Of course, we are aware that each
language has its own broadcasting style.

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I encourage you to listen to Sample 2
even if you cannot speak German.

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Try to answer for yourself
whether you can identify

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some of these recommendations
from the sound.

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You can also compare
the features you recognise,

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such as speed, pitch,
pronunciation or tone,

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with those in your own language.

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Lastly, you can also do this

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with other aural information
like sounds and music,

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or even the jingle played
by the broadcaster.

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"Show and tell" is a strategy
that we know from speeches, education,

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children's books, and also
from TV news items.

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The idea behind is that visual items help
listeners understanding the information

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that is being conveyed aurally.

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Indeed, we could even consider
this strategy

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as one sort of multimodal repetition.

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The example on the screen illustrates
this idea.

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While the newsreader explains

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that stores will close
at 19:00 o'clock at night,

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the video in the background shows

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the metal shutters of a café
rolling down at night.

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Visual items can serve
different functions.

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For instance, some items may be
elements of repetition

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to support learning and aid retention.

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Similarly, others may aim
to enhance a point,

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add an explanation, emphasize an idea,

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or to enhance one's credibility,

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for instance, with infographics.

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Using visuals
and aural information is a strategy

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that is also used in easy-to-read texts.

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I have compiled some recommendations
from different sources in the field.

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These are, for instance, not to use
too many pictures or graphic elements

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because it can be confusing.

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Also, to avoid a slow and fast motion.

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To use images
that have good contrast ratios,

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to use the same style of images
throughout the document,

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or in this case the audiovisual product,

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and to use simple graphs or tables.

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In Sample 2 we see how this was realised
for the Plain Language news.

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We see, for instance, that all news items
are accompanied by video images

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that illustrate
the narrated news items visually.

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However, one could argue
that there too many images

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and that they sometimes move quite fast.

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This could be approached by reducing
the number of images altogether,

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and extending their time on the screen.

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Lastly, Sample 2

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also provides and interesting example
of how to use visual, non-verbal items

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to communicate with the audience.

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In this case, the message communicated is
that a news item has ended

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and that a new one will begin.

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The producers have realised this
by using a visual item (a red screen)

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and an acoustic signal (a short jingle).

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The red screen drops like a curtain
while the short jingle plays.

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This is repeated after each item.

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To sum up, we can say that designing
accessible broadcasting news

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that are easy to read
and to understand enables persons

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with intellectual or reading
and learning difficulties

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to exercise their right to be informed.

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And that simplified news texts serve

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the same function
as standard journalistic ones.

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Current simplification principles
already provide guidance in the process,

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especially if the items are produced
following inclusive approaches

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such as the For All approach

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presented by Gian Maria Greco

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and Accessible film-making
by Pablo Romero Fresco.

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Ok, let’s watch the video now.

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This video-lecture has been prepared
by Rocío Bernabé Caro

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from the Internationale Hochschule
SDI München, in Germany.

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You can reach me at

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rocio.bernabe@sdi-muenchen.de.

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The project EASIT have received funding
from the European Commission

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under the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships
for Higher Education programme,

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grant agreement 2018-1-ES01-KA203-05275.

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The European Commission support
for the production of this publication

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does not constitute
an endorsement of the contents,

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which reflect the views
only of the authors,

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and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use

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which may be made
of the information contained therein.

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This work is licensed
under a Creative Commons

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Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
International License.

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Partners of the EASIT project:

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00:18:05,765 --> 00:18:08,042
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

244
00:18:08,342 --> 00:18:10,464
Università degli Studi di Trieste.

245
00:18:10,808 --> 00:18:12,370
Universidade de Vigo.

246
00:18:12,671 --> 00:18:14,671
Stiftung Universität Hildesheim.

247
00:18:14,971 --> 00:18:16,183
SDI München.

248
00:18:16,483 --> 00:18:17,636
Dyslexiförbundet.

249
00:18:18,006 --> 00:18:19,699
Radiotelevizija Slovenija.

250
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,042
Zavod RISA.

251
00:18:21,662 --> 00:18:27,625
[EASIT outro music]

252
00:18:28,186 --> 00:18:31,445
EASIT. Easy Access
for Social Inclusion Training.