The New UK Easy Read Standards
Standardising can be a challenge across the translation industry as nuances such as register, tone and audience affect how ideas are communicated. The same goes for accessible translation, with different audiences having different needs and priorities. Easy Read has a wide audience, catering for people with learning disabilities, memory problems and various limits to comprehension. Taking a wide range of needs into account, the organisations within the UK Easy Read Standards Working Group have collaborated with Easy Read users to create the New UK Easy Read Standards. Not every Easy Read provider will subscribe to these Standards, but many may find them useful in guiding their work.
What do the Standards include?
As Easy Read is an accessible form of communication, using easy everyday words, avoiding jargon or defining it clearly and addressing the reader directly are key to developing user-friendly documents. Formatting is also important, with the alignment of text, fonts and text size all contributing to the clarity of the document. You can read the Standards in full here: https://disabilityequality.scot/services/easy-read-creation/easy-read-standards/
All of the Easy Read documents that we create will still be quality tested. We will not require our linguists to subscribe to the Standards but will continue to promote best practice in all cases, including understanding client needs as part of the process.
What does this mean for the future of Easy Read?
The aim of these Standards is to ‘…make Easy Read a good communication experience for anyone in the UK who needs or chooses it,’ according to Disability Equality Scotland, which helped to create the UK Easy Read Standards Working Group in 2024. They hope the Standards will ensure high-quality, useful communication of Easy Read users and clear guidelines for Easy Read writers. They also emphasise working with Easy Read users to best understand their needs, which we are happy to see our linguists do. Overall, the Standards will contribute to the independence, understanding and access to information that those who need or choose Easy Read will benefit from.
Please contact translations@globalconnects.com if you would like a document translated to Easy Read and we will find a solution that works for you and your readers.
