The Future of Education
Linguistic Simplification for Self-Determination
Gianluca Capotosto, Independent Researcher (Italy)
Abstract
This paper proposes a participatory approach to inclusive language education in L1, addressing the imperative for fully accessible communication through the development and evaluation of simplified linguistic varieties tailored for people with cognitive and sensory disabilities. Situated within the field of linguistic simplification, this research aims to address significant lacunae in empirical research within the Italian context (cf. Perego 2021: 294). Drawing inspiration from the existing state-of-the-art participatory approaches (cf. Trevisan & Brumen 2023), a qualitative and ethnographic methodology is employed to analyze common tendencies in the way a homogeneous cohort of eight participants (aged 35-60), recruited from a specialized day center, actively reformulates texts across diverse communicative contexts. Crucially, the participants represent the primary target demographic for simplified language varieties. Text co-creation methodologies and the adaptation of complex literary excerpts were implemented during the research sessions. Visual aids, including pictograms and keyword highlighting, were utilized to enhance content comprehension. The methodology incorporated two symmetrical cycles of focus groups to ascertain the emergence of a learning effect. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of frame-shifting in garden path jokes, which tend to be cognitively demanding, to investigate the limits of simplification and the potential of pre-activating related semantic fields to facilitate understanding. Additional areas of inquiry include the interpretation of figurative language, the functional efficacy of an explicit strategy for gender awareness. The "born accessible" paradigm, which integrates accessibility principles from the initial design stages, informs the overall approach. This paper presents preliminary findings, which suggest that eliciting individual perceptions of content accessibility, in conjunction with the active and informed engagement of primary recipients as co-authors in the processes of linguistic simplification, can substantially enhance their autonomy and promote more comprehensive educational inclusion.
Keywords: linguistic simplification, cognitive accessibility, co-authorship, self-determination, UDL, disability
REFERENCES
[1] Perego, E. (2021). Easy Language in Italy. In C. Lindholm, & U. Vanhatalo, Handbook of Easy Languages in Europe (p. 275-304). Berlino: Frank&Timme.
[2] Trevisan, P., & Brumen, D. (2023). 7 Results: What happens in Italy. In SELSI.
[3] Orero, P. (2020). Born Accessible: Beyond raising awareness. Barcelona: UAB.
