波多野结衣办公室双飞_制服 丝袜 综合 日韩 欧美_网站永久看片免费_欧美一级片在线免费观看_免费视频91蜜桃_精产国品一区二区三区_97超碰免费在线观看_欧美做受喷浆在线观看_国产熟妇搡bbbb搡bbbb_麻豆精品国产传媒

 
 
 

Plain language activists seek clarity; modern storytelling

2012-06-07 16:15

 

Get Flash Player

Download

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Christopher Cruise.

JUNE SIMMS: And I'm June Simms. This week on our program, we learn about the international movement for plain language. The aim is to make information easier to understand. And, later, we look at storytelling in the modern age.

(MUSIC)

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Have you ever received an important notice or other document that you could not understand because it was poorly written? Plain language activists around the world know all about that problem. They say people deserve to have materials like tax forms, legal documents and financial statements written clearly and understandably.

Plain language activists seek clarity; modern storytelling

JUNE SIMMS: Last month, some of the world's leading experts on plain language gathered in Washington for the Clarity 2012 conference. Clarity is an international group of lawyers and other professionals. Their common goal is removing needlessly complex language from legal writing.

This was Clarity's fifth international conference. The association began about 30 years ago and now has 650 members in 50 countries.

Clarity focuses on legal writing. But there are other organizations that provide tools and guidance for plain language in business and government. Among them is the Center for Plain Language in Washington. Annetta Cheek is chairwoman of the center.

Plain language activists seek clarity; modern storytelling

ANNETTA CHEEK: "Our goal is to get government and business to speak more clearly, to write more clearly to citizens and customers. Because we think that unclear communication -- confusing, bureaucratic, legalistic communication is beyond annoying. It can be harmful to people that don't understand important information that affects their financial life, their security and what have you."

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: In 2010, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act. This law requires the federal government to use plain language in newly written public documents such as letters, forms and publications. Ms. Cheek says some progress is being made.

ANNETTA CHEEK: "There is certainly a lot of movement, but it's the government. Writing all that material in plain language is going to take a long time."

She points out that other countries have also taken steps to adopt plain language measures.

ANNETTA CHEEK: "Sweden has the oldest government-wide plain language program. They started a program I think in the late 1970s, and I've been told that it's difficult to find a top-level government document in Sweden that's hard to understand."

Other countries including Norway, Australia, Canada and South Africa are also making efforts to use plain language more in public documents. However, Ms. Cheek says there has not been as much activity in the use of plain language in Asia and the Middle East.

JUNE SIMMS: Christopher Balmford is an expert in clear legal writing and the managing director of Words and Beyond in Australia. He says the issues involved in making English easy to understand are the same as for other languages throughout the world.

CHRISTOPHER BALMFORD: "There's not a language where the people like their sentences to be really long. There's not a language where people like writers to use words that they don't understand. These things are intuitive, cross-cultural."

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: One problem is that some common words may not mean the same thing to the general public as they do to a lawyer. Mr. Balmford says a big part of writing clearly is considering who you are writing for.

CHRISTOPHER BALMFORD: "We need to make sure we use words that put the right pictures in people's minds. And too often traditional legal drafting uses words that won't put the right pictures in people's minds that create these miscues."

JUNE SIMMS: Take the word "instruments." For most people, the word brings to mind pianos, guitars and drums. But not for lawyers.

CHRISTOPHER BALMFORD: "If you say it to lawyers, they think about mortgages, and deeds and debenchers because those documents are what's known as legal instruments."

The process of adopting plain language practices is not always easy for an organization, or an individual.

CHRISTOPHER BALMFORD: "It's easy to write the way you've always written, so making the change is hard. It's probably harder to write in plain language because you need to think deeper and harder about what you're saying."

Christopher Balmford says resistance often comes from lawyers who are concerned that changes in their writing could change the meaning of their documents. But he says more lawyers are moving in the right direction in several countries including Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: So imagine you have a document that you want to rewrite using plain language. Where is the best place to begin?

CHISTOPHER BALMFORD: "The very best place to start, and it's the best place to end as well, is to find out what current users of the document think."

This is known as document testing or usability testing, and you can learn more about this process on the Internet. You can also find other resources online and in books to learn about writing in plain language.

In English, for example, using the active voice can make a sentence clearer than using the passive voice. The website plainlanguage.gov gives some examples. Here is a sentence in passive voice: "The lake was polluted by the company." Now here it is in active voice: "The company polluted the lake." Another example: "New regulations were proposed" is passive voice. You can make that into active voice by simply writing: "We proposed new regulations."

Now what about this next sentence -- is it active voice or passive voice? Here it is: "The following information must be included in the application for it to be considered complete." That was passive voice. Here it is rewritten into active voice: "You must include the following information in your application."

Mr. Balmford says using more informative headings, graphics and images can also help make a document easier to understand.

JUNE SIMMS: Annetta Cheek at the Center for Plain Language helped get the Plain Writing Act passed in 2010. She says everyone shares in the responsibility for the clarity of the language they get from their government and businesses.

ANNETTA CHEEK: "Don't just accept bad communication. Complain about it. Say that you think as a customer or a citizen you have a right to clear communication. Demand that those organizations communicate clearly with you."

(MUSIC)

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: In an age of video games and the Internet, storytelling is a tradition that remains entertaining and educational even after thousands of years. Storytelling was first developed to pass knowledge from one generation to another. Storytellers use the human voice as well as facial and body movements to make the spoken word compelling.

LINDA GORHAM: "Hup two three four, hup two three four. You can try it with me; hup two three four, hup two three four..."

JUNE SIMMS: Linda Gorham is a storyteller. Her stories, like this one called The Fat Cat, come alive through sounds, rhythms and the repetition of words.

LINDA GORHAM: "And cat says, I'm a fat cat, a real fat cat and I'm really hungry, how about that, Huh."

In The Fat Cat, a hungry cat is never satisfied. Here, Ms. Gorham is performing the story before more than 100 children in a Virginia community center. Her audience is having fun.

CHILD ONE: "It was very creative. And I never heard of the story before. It sounded very cool."

CHILD TWO: "I did like that you can, like imagine it, instead of looking at the pictures of the book."

Ms. Gorham says storytelling is a powerful teaching tool.

LINDA GORHAM: "I call it teaching without preaching. I don't tell a story and then at the end say now here is what you needed to learn. The message should be in the story. If the story is well crafted, you're going to get it."

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Linda Sullivan is president of the Arts Council of Virginia's Fairfax County. The council organizes storytelling performances for school children throughout the county.

LINDA SULLIVAN: "They learn by being engaged. They are not just being talked to, but asked to respond and participate."

LINDA GORHAM: "I want you to try this with me. Ok, ready? Eyes, nose, cheeky cheeky chin, cheeky cheeky chin, nose eyes. Again--Eyes, nose, cheeky cheeky chin, cheeky cheeky chin, nose eyes."

JUNE SIMMS: Story tellers use numerous tools including, theater, dance, and song.

GALE NEMEC: "Hey what's Up? You can't put us away. We have to celebrate Christmas. Excuse me?

And another stocking says, 'We've been waiting for 11 months.'

And another one says, 'We want to be filled with fruit and candy and toys, make girls and boys..."

Gale Nemec is also a story teller. She too was discovered by Fairfax County schools. She says her stories are like short plays and are heavy on character development.

GALE NEMEC: "If you're doing the witch, you need to change your voice and make her sound rather, oooh, witchy, and figure out what kind of motions and how her body might be. If you're doing a story which is perhaps an angel, I'd work on making it softer and smoother and, Oh, look at that wonderful thing."

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Ms. Nemec says stories can also help children who have learning disabilities. She says one of her stories, about elephants, helped a child who had problems with speech and language.

GALE NEMEC: "So the mommy elephant said, 'uh, what do you think we should do?' And the father elephant said, 'uh, I think we should cross to the other side of the river.' Hearing that kind of thing, the child, he started to understand that he could speak. And he started participating more, and speaking more because he was hearing this storytelling going back and forth."

Gale Nemec says storytelling can not only help with disabilities, it can enrich children's lives.

GALE NEMEC: "There is a bear on the bench wants to say hi. And each time a person passes by him, all they can see is a bear with a grin. He waits for the day when he can wave. I wave..."

Storytelling can teach children how to communicate in an engaging and persuasive way. And that is a skill for life.

(MUSIC)

JUNE SIMMS: Our program was written and produced by Brianna Blake, with reporting by Faiza Elmasry. I'm June Simms.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: And I'm Christopher Cruise. You can find videos about today's program on our website, voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find transcripts and MP3s of our programs, along with podcasts and activities for learning English. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

Related stories:

One group's fight for understandable language

Workplace stories, teen romance top novels of 2010

Jean Craighead George spent her life in the wilderness or writing about it

Maurice Sendak, 1928-2012: his imagination redefined children's literature

(來(lái)源:VOA 編輯:旭燕)

 
中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津版權(quán)說(shuō)明:凡注明來(lái)源為“中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津:XXX(署名)”的原創(chuàng)作品,除與中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)簽署英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津內(nèi)容授權(quán)協(xié)議的網(wǎng)站外,其他任何網(wǎng)站或單位未經(jīng)允許不得非法盜鏈、轉(zhuǎn)載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請(qǐng)與010-84883561聯(lián)系;凡本網(wǎng)注明“來(lái)源:XXX(非英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津)”的作品,均轉(zhuǎn)載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉(zhuǎn)載,請(qǐng)與稿件來(lái)源方聯(lián)系,如產(chǎn)生任何問(wèn)題與本網(wǎng)無(wú)關(guān);本網(wǎng)所發(fā)布的歌曲、電影片段,版權(quán)歸原作者所有,僅供學(xué)習(xí)與研究,如果侵權(quán),請(qǐng)?zhí)峁┌鏅?quán)證明,以便盡快刪除。

中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)雙語(yǔ)新聞

掃描左側(cè)二維碼

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我們這兒都有!

中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)雙語(yǔ)手機(jī)報(bào)

點(diǎn)擊左側(cè)圖標(biāo)查看訂閱方式

中國(guó)首份雙語(yǔ)手機(jī)報(bào)
學(xué)英語(yǔ)看資訊一個(gè)都不能少!

關(guān)注和訂閱

本文相關(guān)閱讀
人氣排行
熱搜詞
 
 
精華欄目
 

閱讀

詞匯

視聽(tīng)

翻譯

口語(yǔ)

合作

 

關(guān)于我們 | 聯(lián)系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版權(quán)聲明:本網(wǎng)站所刊登的中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津內(nèi)容,版權(quán)屬中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)所有,未經(jīng)協(xié)議授權(quán),禁止下載使用。 歡迎愿意與本網(wǎng)站合作的單位或個(gè)人與我們聯(lián)系。

電話(huà):8610-84883645

傳真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn

波多野结衣办公室双飞_制服 丝袜 综合 日韩 欧美_网站永久看片免费_欧美一级片在线免费观看_免费视频91蜜桃_精产国品一区二区三区_97超碰免费在线观看_欧美做受喷浆在线观看_国产熟妇搡bbbb搡bbbb_麻豆精品国产传媒
中文字幕高清视频| 91精品国产一区二区三区香蕉| 日韩欧美国产三级| 亚洲国产aⅴ成人精品无吗| 成人午夜视频免费看| 国产成人免费在线观看视频| 久久久99精品免费观看| 久草热8精品视频在线观看| 深爱五月激情网| 日韩一区二区在线看片| 日韩国产精品大片| 在线视频 日韩| 欧美一区二区日韩| 免费成人av资源网| xxxx日本免费| 久久婷婷色综合| 韩国理伦片一区二区三区在线播放| 无码国产69精品久久久久同性| 精品少妇一区二区三区视频免付费| 天天综合日日夜夜精品| 亚洲欧美视频在线播放| 精品久久人人做人人爽| 激情六月婷婷久久| 99久久精品国产一区| 欧美午夜寂寞影院| 亚洲成人资源网| 好吊一区二区三区视频| 26uuu精品一区二区| 国产一区二区三区电影在线观看| 长河落日免费高清观看| 中文字幕一区二区不卡| 91视频com| 884aa四虎影成人精品一区| 日本不卡视频在线| 精品无码在线观看| 国产欧美一区二区三区在线看蜜臀| 成人激情免费视频| 欧美在线你懂得| 午夜精品福利一区二区三区蜜桃| av男人的天堂av| 国产精品久久久久久一区二区三区 | 欧美喷潮久久久xxxxx| 一级女性全黄久久生活片免费| 深夜视频在线观看| 日韩美女视频在线| 国产精品一区三区| 在线一区二区三区做爰视频网站| 五月激情六月综合| 在线看片中文字幕| 亚洲男人都懂的| 四虎成人免费视频| 久久久91精品国产一区二区精品| 97aⅴ精品视频一二三区| 91精品欧美福利在线观看| 国产美女久久久久| 色噜噜狠狠色综合中国| 日韩—二三区免费观看av| 99久久久无码国产精品不卡| 亚洲精品国产精华液| 日韩一级av毛片| |精品福利一区二区三区| 国产极品一区二区| 国产欧美一区二区在线| 91九色蝌蚪porny| 久久精品夜色噜噜亚洲a∨| 91麻豆视频网站| 日韩美女一区二区三区四区| gogo大胆日本视频一区| 日韩欧美在线观看一区二区三区| 成人在线视频一区| 欧美日韩高清一区| 国产高清在线精品| 宅男在线国产精品| 成人美女视频在线观看| 日韩欧美久久一区| 97精品电影院| 久久综合九色综合欧美98 | 国产精品影音先锋| 欧美日韩国产综合一区二区三区 | 在线成人av网站| 国产精品77777竹菊影视小说| 欧美久久婷婷综合色| 国产高清在线观看免费不卡| 欧美一卡二卡在线观看| 99re亚洲国产精品| 久久久久久久久一| 久久人妻一区二区| 亚洲精品精品亚洲| 欧美美女性生活视频| 日本女人一区二区三区| 在线观看亚洲一区| 国产精品一区久久久久| 欧美一区二区免费| 91免费在线视频观看| 国产精品毛片久久久久久| 白丝女仆被免费网站| 亚洲国产成人精品视频| 日本韩国欧美国产| 国产成人精品网址| 精品国产一区二区三区av性色| 俄罗斯黄色录像| 亚洲码国产岛国毛片在线| 亚洲天堂一级片| 国产综合成人久久大片91| 欧美大片在线观看一区| 97精品人人妻人人| 一区二区三区四区在线免费观看| 国产人妻精品一区二区三区不卡| 国产在线日韩欧美| 久久综合狠狠综合久久激情| 特大黑人巨人吊xxxx| 亚洲成人www| 欧美主播一区二区三区美女| eeuss影院一区二区三区 | 国产精品毛片一区二区| 亚洲va国产va欧美va观看| 欧美性视频一区二区三区| 成人av资源站| 国产精品免费视频观看| 国产精品久久久免费看| 国产一区二区导航在线播放| 久久蜜桃av一区二区天堂| 美女爆乳18禁www久久久久久 | 男人添女人荫蒂国产| 日韩理论电影院| 国产十六处破外女视频| 成人黄页在线观看| 国产精品美女久久久久久久久久久 | 日韩精品一区二区三区四区 | 欧美日韩电影在线| 裸体在线国模精品偷拍| 欧美va亚洲va| 亚洲精品色午夜无码专区日韩| 免费在线观看一区二区三区| 日韩欧美成人午夜| 色婷婷av777| 精品一区二区三区免费毛片爱| 久久天天做天天爱综合色| 四季av中文字幕| 国产精品系列在线观看| 国产精品嫩草影院av蜜臀| 国产盗摄x88av| 91蝌蚪国产九色| 亚洲国产婷婷综合在线精品| 欧美巨大另类极品videosbest| 熟女人妻在线视频| 蜜桃久久久久久| 国产亚洲人成网站| 精品国产视频一区二区三区| 北条麻妃国产九九精品视频| 亚洲精品视频自拍| 欧美一区二区三区啪啪| 舐め犯し波多野结衣在线观看| 国产美女在线精品| 国产精品高潮呻吟| 欧美性高清videossexo| 91av在线免费| 国产精品一区二区果冻传媒| 国产精品成人免费在线| 欧洲生活片亚洲生活在线观看| 性农村xxxxx小树林| 免费人成黄页网站在线一区二区| 国产丝袜在线精品| 91成人在线精品| 亚洲国产精品无码久久久久高潮| 麻豆精品一区二区| 国产精品久久久久久久第一福利| 欧美在线观看视频在线| 91精品国产自产| 国产精品一线二线三线| 亚洲乱码国产乱码精品精可以看| 3d动漫精品啪啪1区2区免费| 最新日韩免费视频| 黑人巨大猛交丰满少妇| 久久精品国产一区二区三区免费看| 国产精品毛片无遮挡高清| 在线观看亚洲精品| 尤物视频最新网址| 99视频精品在线| 日韩专区中文字幕一区二区| 中文字幕精品综合| 欧美美女一区二区在线观看| 日本综合在线观看| 少妇愉情理伦片bd| 精品一区二区在线观看| 亚洲精品免费播放| 精品福利一二区| 在线观看日韩电影| 中文字幕免费视频| 韩国三级丰满少妇高潮| 精品一区二区三区免费视频| 一区二区三区四区高清精品免费观看| 日韩亚洲欧美成人一区| 福利所第一导航| av小说在线观看| 人妻少妇偷人精品久久久任期| 国内久久婷婷综合| 亚洲一区在线观看网站| 国产欧美一区二区三区在线老狼| 91麻豆精品国产91|