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Translating Into Easy Italian an Analysis of Health Related Texts and Their Impact on Comprehension by People with Intellectual Disabilities

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Translating Into Easy Italian an Analysis of Health Related Texts and Their Impact on Comprehension by People with Intellectual Disabilities Luisa Carrer Translating into Easy Italian An analysis of health related texts and their impact on comprehension by people with intellectual disabilities Graduate Papers in Applied Linguistics 14 Zürcher Fachhochschule Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde am Departement Angewandte Linguistik der ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften im Frühlingssemester 2020 als Masterarbeit im Masterstudiengang Angewandte Linguistik, Vertiefung Fachübersetzen, verfasst (Referentin: Prof. Dr. Susanne J. Jekat) und mit dem Lionbridge-Preis für die beste Masterarbeit im Bereich Fachübersetzen ausgezeichnet. Das Departement Angewandte Linguistik der ZHAW betreibt Angewandte Linguistik als transdisziplinär orientierte Sprachwissenschaft. Diese befasst sich mit den Problemen der realen Welt, in denen Sprache eine zentrale Rolle spielt. Sie identifiziert, analysiert und löst diese Probleme einerseits durch die Anwendung linguistischer Theorien, Methoden und Resultate, andererseits durch die Entwicklung neuer theoretischer und methodischer Ansätze. In den Graduate Papers in Applied Linguistics veröffentlicht das Departement Angewandte Linguistik der ZHAW preisgekrönte Abschlussarbeiten von Studierenden des Bachelorstudiengangs Angewandte Sprachen, des Bachelorstudiengangs Kommunikation, des Masterstudiengangs Angewandte Linguistik und des MAS Communication Management and Leadership. Kontakt ZHAW Angewandte Linguistik Theaterstrasse 15c Postfach 8401 Winterthur [email protected] +41 (0) 58 934 60 60 Luisa Carrer (2021): Translating into Easy Italian. An analysis of health-related texts and their impact on comprehension by people with intellectual disabilities. Winterthur: ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. (Graduate Papers in Applied Linguistics 14). DOI 10.21256/zhaw-2804 (https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-2804) ZHAW Angewandte Linguistik 3 Inhalt Abstract ......................................................................................................................... 5 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 7 2 Theoretical background ................................................................................................ 9 2.1 Communication barriers .................................................................................................. 9 2.2 Easy Language: A definition ............................................................................................ 10 2.3 Easy Language in Europe ............................................................................................... 11 2.4 Initiatives for text simplification in Italy ............................................................................. 13 2.5 Accessibility legislation .................................................................................................... 17 2.6 Primary target population ................................................................................................ 21 2.7 Translating into Easy Language ...................................................................................... 24 3 Relevance ...................................................................................................................... 29 4 Research purpose ......................................................................................................... 30 5 Methods ......................................................................................................................... 31 6 Text analysis.................................................................................................................. 33 6.1 Corpus description .......................................................................................................... 34 6.2 Analysis of Text 1 (extract from eHealth Suisse 2019a) .................................................. 37 6.3 Analysis of Text 2 (extract from SSN 2018) ..................................................................... 42 6.4 Analysis of Text 3 (extract from Villa Olimpia n.d) ........................................................... 45 6.5 Conclusions from text analysis ........................................................................................ 49 7 Empirical study ............................................................................................................. 53 7.1 Sampling strategy ........................................................................................................... 53 7.2 Sample description .......................................................................................................... 54 7.3 Ethical issues .................................................................................................................. 55 7.4 Instruments ..................................................................................................................... 55 7.5 Data collection................................................................................................................. 60 8 Results ........................................................................................................................... 62 8.1 Reader profiles ................................................................................................................ 62 8.2 RC test results ................................................................................................................. 65 8.3 Qualitative data from focus group interviews ................................................................... 71 ZHAW Angewandte Linguistik 4 9 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 74 9.1 Findability ........................................................................................................................ 75 9.2 Perceptibility .................................................................................................................... 76 9.3 Comprehensibility ............................................................................................................ 76 9.4 Proactivity ....................................................................................................................... 77 10 Concluding remarks ...................................................................................................... 78 List of Figures and Tables ............................................................................................ 80 List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................... 80 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 81 Appendices .................................................................................................................... 90 ZHAW Angewandte Linguistik 5 Abstract Recent studies show that low literacy affects large segments of the adult population, both in Switzerland and Italy. Easy Language is an essential instrument of inclusion for people who would otherwise be excluded from access to written information and full participation in society. In Italy, high readability and comprehensibility of texts of public interest have been the focus of academic research since as early as the mid-1970s. Nonetheless, in recent years, little experimental research has addressed the impact of Easy Italian on text comprehension by people with intellectual disabilities (ID). This thesis aims to fill this gap. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to address the following research questions: (1) What strategies do translators employ when translating from Standard into Easy Italian?, and (2) Do translators’ strategies facilitate reading comprehension of Easy Italian texts to people with ID? Three health-related texts in Easy Italian are analysed in the context of their adherence to the European standards for Easy Language. A reading comprehension test is then conducted to assess the degree of readability and comprehensibility of the texts. The test is administered to 26 participants with mild to moderate ID. The analysis shows that all texts contravene several European guidelines. Furthermore, the test results suggest that non-compliance with guidelines hinders respondents’ comprehension of the texts. It is concluded that, on the one hand, standards for Easy Language are essential to guide the translator’s work. On the other hand, high comprehensibility can only be achieved through a careful consideration of the target communicative situation. Recenti studi dimostrano che bassi livelli di competenze alfabetiche funzionali interessano ampie fasce della popolazione sia in Svizzera sia in Italia. La Lingua facile è uno strumento essenziale di inclusione che può garantire l’accesso universale all’informazione scritta e, dunque, la piena partecipazione alla società. In Italia, l’alta leggibilità e comprensibilità dei testi di pubblica utilità sono state oggetto di ricerca accademica sin dalla metà degli anni Settanta. Tuttavia, negli ultimi anni, non si riscontrano attività di sperimentazione sulla reale comprensibilità dei testi in Lingua facile da parte di persone con disabilità intellettiva. Il presente lavoro si propone di colmare questa lacuna. Utilizzando metodi sia quantitativi sia qualitativi, la tesi mira a rispondere alle seguenti domande di ricerca: (1) Quali strategie
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