Easy language

SprachUnion » Text service » Easy language

For companies and public authorities, making important information accessible to everyone is essential. This includes formulating texts in easy language so that specialised information can be communicated in an easy-to-read way. Technical terms and complicated formulations are often used in texts like official letters, medical information and insurance documents that are aimed at the general public. These can be difficult for many customers to understand. Easy language benefits people with limited language skills, language learners, people with functional illiteracy and older people.
As a language service provider, SprachUnion is here to help you make your information understandable to more people.

We offer the following services:

Case Study: HR Communication in easy language

Translation of internal HR documents for Mercedes-Benz, as well as an enabling session on accessible corporate communication.

Find out more here

An overview of our easy language translator services

As a service provider, we know how important it is to produce high-quality easy language texts. To ensure a high level of professional and linguistic quality for our customers, we work with professional easy language translators. They have the expertise to formulate content in a way that is easy to read, appropriate for target audience and technically accurate. Our services are aimed at companies and institutions that want to make their texts more accessible and formulate them in a clearer and more understandable way. We support our customers throughout the entire process – from the initial enquiry and planning, to processing, quality assurance and delivery of the finished easy language text.

Who is easy language for?

People with limited language skills, reading difficulties, older people or anyone who wants to understand information more easily.

What does a text need to have to be considered easy language?

Short sentences, simple words, a clear structure and easy-to-read content.

Who are our services aimed at?

Companies, public authorities, associations, educational institutions and organisations.

Who do we work with?

At SprachUnion, we work with a network of experts who specialise in preparing content in easy language.

What rules do we follow?

Our easy language translators follow recognised easy language guidelines. These include the international standard ISO 24495 and the German recommendation DIN 8581. The international standard is language independent, while the DIN standard was specifically developed for German language texts.

Why easy language?

Easy-read texts offer many benefits to readers – they can find information more quickly and understand it more easily. Typical use cases include websites, brochures, forms, contracts, flyers and operating instructions. Companies and public authorities also benefit from improved communication when they convert their texts to easy language.

Your benefits at a glance:

Complex topics are communicated in an understandable way without losing important information

Follow-up questions and misunderstandings are reduced

Accessible communication is improved

More people can use content independently

Customer satisfaction increases

Frequently asked questions about easy language (FAQ)

What is easy language?

Easy language means simplifying a text to make it accessible to as many people as possible. Complex sentence structures are simplified and information is clearly structured.

What's the difference between plain language and easy language?

Plain language follows a fixed set of rules and is reviewed by a testing group. Texts are also generally illustrated. Plain language is primarily aimed at people with learning difficulties. Easy language is more flexible. For example, it allows technical terms as long as they are understandable or explained. Easy language also addresses a broader target audience.

Are there rules for easy language?

There are no fixed rules for converting texts to easy language. However, recognised recommendations and standards for easy language texts do exist. There are also certain characteristics that help make a text truly accessible. These include clearly structured sentences, understandable words and clear information.

What language level does easy language equate to?

Texts written in easy language generally equate to the A2 to B1 levels of the CEFR. However, it’s important to note that the difficulty of a text depends on the target audience and the subject matter, so it’s not always possible to determine the exact language level of an easy language text with complete certainty.