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Article published In:
Specialised Translation in Spain: Institutional dimensions
Edited by José Santaemilia-Ruiz and Sergio Maruenda-Bataller
[Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics 30:2] 2017
► pp. 559–591

Informational pamphlets for asylum seekers in English

A proposal for simplification in translation based on the Plain Language Movement

| University of Córdoba
| Conrad Translations
The aim of our study is to examine the legal and administrative English used in the informational pamphlet the Spanish Ministry for Home Affairs created to explain Law 12/2009 to international protection applicants. To do so, a linguistic revision of the translated pamphlet was carried out in order to identify the linguistic and discursive elements which make comprehension difficult. Then, using translation techniques developed by Molina and Hurtado Albir (2002), an intralinguistic translation was proposed with the goal of rewriting the text in easily-understandable English. Additionally, errors were classified and corrected in accordance with Toledo Báez’s (2010, 2015) analytical assessment scale and the pamphlet’s design was updated. Lastly, the readability of both the original and simplified translations was evaluated using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula.
Keywords: plain language translation, text simplification, translation techniques, intralinguistic translation, analytic assessment
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The Plain Language Movement and plain language translation
  • 3.Analysis, revision and proposal for simplification of the English version of the international protection pamphlet
    • 3.1Methods for revising, correcting, simplifying and calculating readability
    • 3.2Revision, correction, simplification, and modernization of the pamphlet
      • 3.2.1Cover
      • 3.2.2First page
      • 3.2.3Second page
      • 3.2.4Third page
      • 3.2.5Fourth page
      • 3.2.6Fifth page
    • 3.3Results of analysis of readability of original and simplified translation
  • 4.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 26 March 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.00007.tol
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