Why the “Tagesschau” broadcasts news in simple language

What happened to the “Tagesschau”? Suddenly the Minister of Finance is called “Minister of Money” here. There is a ‘government of Germany’. And what a refugee is, is first explained from their perspective: “There is war in my country. That is why I came to Germany.” Sounds strangely unfamiliar, but at the same time surprisingly plausible.

This “Tagesschau” edition is apparently a little different. You have to listen first: the sentences are shorter, there are almost no comma-separated insertions, no foreign words, hardly any adjectives. Genitives are completely absent. Surprisingly, the speaker does not shy away from repetitions, which are usually frowned upon in journalistic circles. She speaks particularly attentively to the television audience, slower than usual, and clearly makes an effort to produce accurate pronunciation.

A mandate of public service

So what happened to the otherwise routinely rattling ARD news machine? Marcus Bornheim, editor-in-chief of ARD Aktuell, knows the answer: “We have discovered that we have around 17 million adults in Germany who cannot read or write properly.” range of news. This is the only way they have a chance to participate in the debates.

That’s why ARD broadcasts the “Tagesschau in Simple Language” on weekdays at 7 p.m. as the first offering of its kind in Germany. Access to it. Get information – about important national and international events and not just about events that affect their area of ​​life.

You immediately want to applaud: What a great show! And then add: Why is it only being included in the program now? And by the way: There will be no valuable news this weekend for the 17 million people in Germany between the ages of 18 and 64 who, according to the study “Living with Low Literacy”, published in 2018 by the University of Hamburg, read at a fourth-grade level or worse write?

The simple answer: it is complicated with the German language, which often serves as a social divide and means of exclusion and still sounds so complicated and old-fashioned to some authorities that it does not even want to be understood. In this country we are still far removed from the sentence attributed to Albert Einstein: “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you haven’t understood it yourself.”

Easy language is significantly different from ordinary language

It starts with the term simple language. There is also an easy language, which is even simpler than the simple language. Easy language differs significantly from standard language, originates from self-help for the disabled and is aimed at people who can hardly read.

The distinction between the two ‘languages’ has of course become blurred. According to experts, the special ‘Tagesschau’ version is somewhere in between. Those affected have been demanding such an offer for a long time. They are legally entitled to it: the Federal Republic signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities a decade and a half ago. According to this principle, everyone has the right to accessibility. This concerns access to buildings or to buses and trains, but also to the provision of information.

The problem is that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is still poorly implemented, according to Isabel Rink, a linguist and translation scholar at the University of Hildesheim. Authorities, whether they are driving license agencies or pension insurers, are hardly adequately prepared. There were also no sanctions if written or oral explanations in simple or easy language were missing.

A special crux: the federal government is responsible for the implementation of the UN treaty. However, the contact persons for citizens are often the municipalities.

According to Rink, there is a lack of social awareness among people with poor reading and writing skills. They would hardly have a lobby. Questions are painful for people who are wrongly considered not very competent. A remedy can only be created if the language service is offered as a matter of course.

Exclusion can take on threatening aspects

The exclusion can certainly take on threatening characteristics: During the Corona pandemic, Anne Leichtfuß, one of barely more than a dozen easy-language interpreters in the entire country, initiated a portal to inform even less literate people about the constantly changing level of knowledge. “For the first few months, there was no information in plain language at all,” she says. Until the end of the pandemic, the government did not interpret a single press conference in plain language. “What resonated with those affected was: Anyone can die, and I have to wash my hands for ages,” said Leichtfuß.

Other countries are much further along. Sweden has its own agency for accessible media, which emerged from a citizens’ movement in the 1960s. It is no longer just about authorities: people with reading difficulties must have access to literary works and newspapers. Crime novels by bestselling author Henning Mankell can be read in simple language in Scandinavia.

And in Germany? According to Leichtfuß, the topic of entertainment is criminally neglected. There is only one publisher called Fun Reading, which strives to provide access for everyone. Theaters also rely on linguistic inclusion. In early 2023, Leichtfuß simplified the language of the drama “Antigone” for the Kammerspiele in Munich, a real premiere.

In fact, an ‘Asterix’ comic strip has already been translated into plain language: ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’ was published last year just in time for the Special Olympics in Berlin. The edition sold out in no time, but questions were also raised: Why is it that the affected people are only assumed to want to have fun at the World Games for People with Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities? According to the publisher, there are no plans for another ‘Asterix’ edition in plain language.

Those involved agree: future opportunities could lie in the use of artificial intelligence. AI-based tools, for example to translate health texts into plain language, are already being tested. With such a program, a diabetes patient no longer has to think about complicated treatment plans and a dentist patient understands how an implant is inserted. However, the group of people with writing and reading problems in particular often lacks the necessary natural handling of the Internet.

Strange that many companies miss the opportunity to offer barrier-free language access to potential customers and employees on their websites. You waste unexpected human resources.

According to linguist Rink, for many professionals it is enough to be understood by their own bubble. They did not reflect their professional knowledge sufficiently to make it understandable to others. “This applies not least to journalists and linguists,” says Rink.

One in five people in this country is excluded

Scientists, translators and interpreters are increasingly confronted with malice on social media for their attempts to use easy or simple language – especially from people who are not aware of the privilege of being able to write and read. They supposedly fear that the language of poets and thinkers is being impoverished – and do not always see this as an extra offer. Anyone can read Goethe in the original if they want to.

The more you look at the problem of poor language skills, the clearer its enormity becomes: statistically, about one in five people in this country is excluded. Some assume that the number of unreported cases is considerably higher. Those affected try to hide this deficiency at all costs – and prefer to pretend at the doctor’s office that they have forgotten their glasses.

The consequences of the exclusion of millions of people are far-reaching: is this society perhaps creating its own so-called stragglers and at the same time asking itself why the distance to democracy is increasing for so many? It should be clear: those who do not understand anything do not necessarily see themselves as called upon to defend political institutions.

Voters who feel and are excluded from political participation are likely to be even more sensitive to simple and even more simplistic slogans. Behind the simple messages of the populists lies a distorted reality. But this can only be recognized by those who learn about other perspectives.

It is not enough if more and more democratic parties present their election programs in simple language. Even the “Tagesschau in simple language” can only be a start. Incidentally, it also reminds ordinary speakers of important connections. What was it called recently? “The Chancellor is the head of the government.”