How can Easy-to-Read language help recently-settled migrants to understand their rights and duties and decode the technical language that they will necessarily encounter in public administration offices? This was experimented through the process of creating an illustrated Easy-to-Read glossary on Italian public administration terminology. The activities were carried out in the framework of a project funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund to develop the PAeSI website (www.immigrazione.regione.toscana.it) which provides information on procedures and norms regarding immigration in Italy. In simplifying the PAeSI information sheets on administrative procedures for the migrant audience, we learnt that it was better not to replace some terms, even complex ones, with simpler synonyms but to provide a simplified explanation. These terms are technical ones believed to be essential for migrants to know to favor inclusion in the host society. The glossary was created in Easy-to-Read on the basis that even if this language was specifically designed for people with cognitive and learning disabilities, it is considered effective also for those who have basic second language skills like recent immigrants. In the Easy-to-Read approach, then, the use of images has a fundamental role just as visual aids are considered important tools to convey messages to users from different cultural backgrounds. The Human-centered design methodology was followed when applying the Easy-to-Read guidelines and creating the glossary: from design to implementation, stakeholders (linguistic-cultural mediators, immigration front-office civil servants, teachers of Italian as a second language) and end-users were involved through focus-groups and text-testing activities in an iterative process. This paper aims to give insights on a method to apply Easy-to-read guidelines focusing on user participation as well as to reflect on the effectiveness of this language for migrants, providing specific additional considerations for this target derived from this experience that comprise both verbal and visual aspects.
Easy-to-read for migrant inclusion: creating a glossary on public administration terminology
Chiara Fioravanti;Francesco Romano
2021
Abstract
How can Easy-to-Read language help recently-settled migrants to understand their rights and duties and decode the technical language that they will necessarily encounter in public administration offices? This was experimented through the process of creating an illustrated Easy-to-Read glossary on Italian public administration terminology. The activities were carried out in the framework of a project funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund to develop the PAeSI website (www.immigrazione.regione.toscana.it) which provides information on procedures and norms regarding immigration in Italy. In simplifying the PAeSI information sheets on administrative procedures for the migrant audience, we learnt that it was better not to replace some terms, even complex ones, with simpler synonyms but to provide a simplified explanation. These terms are technical ones believed to be essential for migrants to know to favor inclusion in the host society. The glossary was created in Easy-to-Read on the basis that even if this language was specifically designed for people with cognitive and learning disabilities, it is considered effective also for those who have basic second language skills like recent immigrants. In the Easy-to-Read approach, then, the use of images has a fundamental role just as visual aids are considered important tools to convey messages to users from different cultural backgrounds. The Human-centered design methodology was followed when applying the Easy-to-Read guidelines and creating the glossary: from design to implementation, stakeholders (linguistic-cultural mediators, immigration front-office civil servants, teachers of Italian as a second language) and end-users were involved through focus-groups and text-testing activities in an iterative process. This paper aims to give insights on a method to apply Easy-to-read guidelines focusing on user participation as well as to reflect on the effectiveness of this language for migrants, providing specific additional considerations for this target derived from this experience that comprise both verbal and visual aspects.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
