Straight talking: guide promotes plain English
The aim of the guide, produced by the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), is to help provide more effective communication to the 500,000 Irish people with literacy and numeracy difficulties.
Author Dr Katherine Zappone, a lecturer in the school of Hebrew, Biblical and Theological Studies at Trinity College, has compiled an A to Z - almost - of everyday terms used in civic and political life.
From absentee ballots - voting by post - to xenophobia (fear of or hostility to foreigners), it provides simple explanations of terms that prove more double Dutch than simple English for many citizens.
“It is aimed particularly at people working in Government, political organisations and the voluntary sector who are involved with active citizenship,” a NALA spokesperson said.
“But it is also a resource for members of the public, helping to create a greater understanding of the jargon relating to many aspects of citizenship,” he said.
The booklet - A Plain English Guide to Active Citizenship - will also be distributed to libraries and VECs around the country.
It is being launched in Dublin this morning at the beginning of National Adult Literacy Awareness Week.
The 36-page guide includes more than 400 definitions but is not intended to be a complete dictionary of citizenship phrases.
“Instead, it is meant to be an evolving publication with contributions and additions,” the NALA spokesperson said.
These include political, civil, social and economic rights and it is hoped the guide will help promote social inclusion.
The campaign is supported by the 2005 European Year of Citizenship Through Education project, which is co-ordinated through the Department of Education-funded Curriculum Development Unit at the City of Dublin VEC.
