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EASIT

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Easy Access
for Social Inclusion Training

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This is unit 2,

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Easy-to-understand language (E2U).

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Element 2,

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Legislation, standards,

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and guidelines.

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Video lecture:

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E2U language in Italy:

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specificities, recommendations

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and guidelines.

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This is Elisa Perego,

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from Università degli Studi di Trieste.

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In this video lecture,

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I will focus on

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linguistic specificities

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of Easy Italian.

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I will show examples

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and clarify the current standards

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and guidelines used in the sector.

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In Italy,

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the National Association

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of Families of Persons

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with Intellectual

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and/or Relational Disabilities

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(Anffas)

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participates in most activities

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linked to language simplification.

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Anffas took part

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in the Inclusion Europe project

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and contributed to

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the creation
of the 2009 European standards

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for making information

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easy to read
and understand,

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which was translated into
several languages,

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including Italian.

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These standards are

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a reference point

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for Easy to read Italian.

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The title in Italian is

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<i>Informazioni per tutti.</i>

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<i>Linee guida europee</i>

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<i>per rendere l'informazione</i>

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<i>facile da leggere</i>

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<i>e da capire per tutti.</i>

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They are available online.

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The Inclusion Europe guidelines are

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a major step in a country

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that was lacking
basic rules

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on the subject,

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even though they do not include

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language-specific recommendations.

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In fact,

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comprehensive language-specific
guidelines

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to produce Easy Italian

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are currently lacking,

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but sparse recommendations do exist.

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These are included,

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in publications by

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Cortelazzo and Pellegrino 2002,

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Fortis 2003

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and Sciumbata 2017,

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for example.

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What are the language specificities

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of Easy Italian?

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For instance,

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1. limit the use
of the subjunctive mode;

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2. limit past
and present participles

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(explicit forms are preferred);

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3. limit impersonal forms;

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4. limit Latin words or expressions.

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It is better to avoid

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the combination

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of the “d” consonant sound

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(<i>d eufonica</i>)

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with the conjunctions

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“e” (and) and “o” (or)

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preceding a vowel:

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“<i>E ora</i>” (and now)

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is better than

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“<i>ed ora</i>”.

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The Italian language tends to prefer

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obscure means of expression,

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so, in Easy Italian

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common and concrete words

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(such as the verb

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<i>ricordare</i>, to remember,

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or the noun <i>segnali</i>, signs)

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should be preferred over

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formal and low-frequency

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or abstract items

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(such as the verb <i>rammentare</i>

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and the noun <i>segnaletica</i>).

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Using simple verbs

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(such as <i>assicurare</i>, to ensure,

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and <i>pagare</i>, to pay)

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is better than using

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long and intricate circumlocutions

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with the same meaning

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(such as <i>provvedere</i>

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<i>alla copertura assicurativa </i>

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and <i>provvedere al pagamento</i>).

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This applies to nouns as well.

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<i>Sfratto</i>, eviction, is better than

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<i>provvedimento esecutivo di rilascio</i>.

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The double negation,

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which is frequent in Italian style

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(e.g. <i>non infelice</i>,
not unhappy, in English)

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should be replaced by

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a single clear word

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(<i>felice</i>, happy),

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which is more direct.

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Interpreting double negation

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as an affirmative sentence

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takes a longer time to process,

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it is more difficult,

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and could hinder comprehension.

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It is common to use

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mild or indirect words

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or expressions

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to substitute

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words considered

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harsh, blunt, unpleasant

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or embarrassing,

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but this is not efficient

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when it comes to

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enhanced comprehensibility.

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So, using a direct verb,

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such as
<i>morire</i> (to die),

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instead of

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a multi-word expression

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such as

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<i>venire a mancare</i>

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or <i>passare a miglior vita</i>,

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would boost comprehensibility.

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These are some recommendations,

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and they can be applied to Plain Italian.

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In fact,
Easy Language

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and Plain Language recommendations

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are often mixed

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or used interchangeably,

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in Italian.

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All the pictures used

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come from

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the Public Domain
Vectors website,

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which gathers hundreds

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of royalty-free vector images

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under the Creative Commons

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Universal Picture

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Domain Dedication license.

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This video lecture was prepared by

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Elisa Perego

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and produced by

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Martina Atzeri,

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from Università degli Studi
di Trieste.

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You can reach me at

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eperego@units.it.