Easy Language and Plain Language in Germany

This paper investigates the history and current situation of Easy and Plain Language in Germany. The development over the last decade has been breathtaking with its arrival in academia in both research and teaching. We give an overview of the development in Easy and Plain Language research and the translation and interpreting market that was decisively pushed by the developments within the legal requirements. At the moment, we are witnessing a professionalisation of text creation processes with inclusive forms of text production being required by the market, which leads to a vibrant supply and demand situation. After providing an outline of Easy and Plain Language research and academic teaching in Germany, the paper also addresses new conceptual developments: Easy Language Plus offers the possibility to create highly comprehensible yet acceptable texts with the option to tailor them to the needs and expectations of target user groups. We illustrate this development using the example of Sign Language-oriented Easy Language Plus.