7 percent of the population have difficulty understanding complex texts – even though German is their native language.
This is why scientists have worked out a few rules. If you follow them, words and sentences become simpler and clearer: this is plain language.
But what actually happens when people who have difficulty reading are given the opportunity to create their own booklet with language?
Together with our illustrator Rosa, we were guests at Lebenshilfe Dresden e.V. We arrived with colorful paper and countless suitcases full of felt-tip pens, stamps, adhesive tape and stencils. Five participants of very different ages had already found their places. The first task was to fold and cut an A4 sheet of paper to create a booklet with four pages, i.e. eight surfaces. And describing this in words is of course more difficult than being shown how to do it: fold it three times crosswise, once lengthwise, then unfold it again and cut open the inside folded edges. If you then skillfully push the sheet together, the booklet almost folds itself. Rosa calls this a “zine” workshop, which comes from the English word for magazine.
And then the designing began! Antje thought about it. Andreas immediately knew what he needed, namely the very large letter stamps A, U, T and O. And on the fifth page he drew a dainty, angular vehicle. A Nissan? I ask. No, a Trabant, of course! The last three pages have the letters E, I and S and a small colorful ice cream cone. That’s an ice cream that you can take with you in the car, a car ice cream. In his second booklet, Andreas then drew a streetcar, bus, house and apple – and gave the book the title “Holiday trip”.
The fact that Patrick said right at the beginning that he couldn’t write shouldn’t be left at that. Together with us, he created his very own ABC, which he was very proud of at the end. He wrote a word for every letter he could think of: B for bear, E for disgusting, W for “Wlke” (why does it actually need the “o” when it’s clear that it means a cloud?).
But you can also draw with letters! Under Rosa’s guidance, Katrin stamped a cat’s face out of letters and then a mouse to go with it. Peter did something similar and stamped a butterfly out of countless K’s. Maybe because the K looks a bit like it has two wings? Then he drew flowers that the butterfly visits. Because that’s exactly how it is in reality, he explains to me. He formulates the story in beautiful, careful handwriting – and asks me whether imprint is written with a double S? Because, of course, that can’t be missing. First edition: June 2024.
Birthe Mühlhoff
In Germany, around 6.2 million people have difficulties with reading and writing. This corresponds to around 7.5% of the population. There are also people who prefer easy language in order to better understand information. Easy language is aimed at people with learning difficulties, people with little knowledge of German and anyone who wants complex information to be easier to understand.
Dresden spricht …
Workshops, tours, writing and printing workshops under the motto “Dresden speaks many languages”
Period
03-12.2024
Porject coordination
Yvonn Spauschus (Projektleitung)
Yulia Vishnichenko · Moussa Mbarek · Nadine Wölk · Rosa Brockelt · Yuliya Firsova · Martin Mannig (workshop leader)
Rosa Brockelt · Rosa Hauch · Falk Goernert · Birthe Mühlhoff (moderation, documentation)
Adina Rieckmann · Lydia Hänsel (tourguides)
Inge · Mahsa · Karin (voluntary help)
Cooperation partners
JugendKunstschule Dresden – Standort Passage, Omse e.V., Nachbarschaftshilfeverein, Stadtteilverein Johannstadt e.V., Malteser Hilfsdienste e.V., Jugendhaus LILA as well as Chinesisch-Deutsches Zentrum e.V., Lebenshilfe Dresden e.V., GEH8 Kunstraum und Ateliers e.V., Umweltzentrum Dresden – ABC Tische and many more
Supported by
The project is funded by the State Ministry for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. This measure is co-financed with tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon state parliament within the framework of the state programme Integrative Maßnahmen.
