Easy-to-read in Romania: current status and future perspectives in a European context

Marcela Fărcașiu; Daniel Dejica; Simona Șimon; Annamaria Kilyeni

doi:10.35824/sjrs.v5i2.23692

Authors

Marcela Fărcașiu Politehnica University of Timișoara https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8390-4608
Daniel Dejica Politehnica University of Timișoara https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5074-5228
Simona Șimon Politehnica University of Timișoara https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5927-5362
Annamaria Kilyeni Politehnica University of Timișoara https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0197-335X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35824/sjrs.v5i2.23692

Keywords:

Easy-to-Read (E2R), people with reading disabilities, Train2Validate (T2V), accessibility, Easy-to-Read guidelines

Abstract

As the European Union’s Strategy for people with disabilities has been extended to 2030, emphasising the need for these people’s social inclusion, which also comprises accessibility to different information and documents, Romania has to align its legislation and best practices in order to solve its problems concerning this topic. Therefore, this paper focuses on an important aspect of social inclusion, namely Easy-to-Read (E2R) language, which is paramount for the disabled people’s access to information, culture and education. It starts by presenting the concept of Easy-to-Read across Europe, its perception and implementation by various countries, to finally delve into the current situation of Easy-to-Read in Romania. By looking at the analysis and reports on the previous governmental strategies regarding people with disabilities (and especially reading disabilities, for the purpose of this paper), it can be said that Romania still faces challenges in this respect and needs to work on making documents and information accessible by first creating E2R guidelines and then implementing them in printed documents (e.g. adapted textbooks, healthcare leaflets) as well as in the electronic information (e.g. government websites). The paper also traces some future perspectives concerning Easy-to-Read in Romania, namely the Train2Validate “Professional training for Easy-to-Read facilitators and validators” (T2V) project, an Erasmus+ programme, a collaboration between various European countries, that Romania is part of, which goes one step further into helping people with reading disabilities and creating professional roles for them, i.e. facilitators and validators, in order to integrate them on the employment market. Moreover, this research will hopefully raise awareness of the importance of conducting other studies on creating Easy-to-Read guidelines and on simplifying the text according to the different target groups of people with reading disabilities or difficulties and to different text types.

Author Biographies

Marcela Fărcașiu, Politehnica University of Timișoara

Marcela Alina Fărcașiu, PhD, is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Communication Sciences at Politehnica University of Timișoara and a freelance translator. She teaches Culture and Civilisation, Writing Skills, Legal Translation and English for Digital Media. She holds a PhD in courtroom discourse, has authored two books and has written many academic papers and reviews. She has also been a freelance translator for over 20 years and has worked with many national and international translation agencies. She has also translated three books for RAO publishing house and has subtitled many films and documentaries for AXN, E! Entertainment, and other TV stations.

Daniel Dejica, Politehnica University of Timișoara

Daniel Dejica, PhD, phil. hab., Head of Department (2012-2015), Dean (2016-present), is Professor of translation studies at Politehnica University of Timișoara, Romania. His research interests include translation theory and methodology, LSP translation, and discourse analysis for translation purposes. Daniel Dejica was a member of the Advanced Translation Research Center (ATRC) team at the University of Saarbrucken, Germany and a member of the Doctoral Studies Committee of the European Society for Translation Studies. He has been co-editing the Proceedings of the Professional Communication and Translation Studies conference, organized at Politehnica University of Timișoara since 2001; he has also been a member in the editorial boards of other international peer reviewed journals including ConneXions: International Professional Communication Journal (New Mexico Tech), MuTra Journal (University of Saarbrucken), or The European English Messenger (ESSE - European Society for the Study of English). In 2016 he co-edited with Gyde Hansen, Peter Sandrini and Iulia Para the volume Language in the Digital Era, published by De Gruyter. He is also the coordinator of the Translation Studies book series at Politehnica Publishing House, and together with Muguraș Constantinescu and Ela Vîlceanu, coordinates the publication of A History of Translations into the Romanian Language, at the Publishing House of the Romanian Academy.

Simona Șimon, Politehnica University of Timișoara

Simona Șimon, PhD, is Associate Professor at the Department of Communication and Foreign Languages at Politehnica University of Timișoara, where she teaches Interpreting, Pragmatics, and Oral and Written Communication. She holds a doctoral degree in Philology from the West University of Timișoara. Her research interests are in the field of applied linguistics, genre studies, interpreting, translation, advertising and teaching. She is member of the editorial board of four academic journals, assistant editor for an academic journal, member of the scientific board of two academic journals and a publishing house as well as scientific reviewer of three books and many scientific articles submitted for publication in top-ranked international journals. Simona Șimon authored the book The Persuasive Function of Written Advertisements (2014), three chapters in edited volumes (2007, 2016, 2020), co-authored four dictionaries (2018), co-edited a book (2018) and a student journal (2021). She has also published numerous scientific articles, five book reviews and several translations.

Annamaria Kilyeni, Politehnica University of Timișoara

Annamaria Kilyeni, PhD, is Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Communication Sciences, Politehnica University of Timişoara, Romania, where she teaches Terminology, English for Specific Purposes and English Grammar. She holds an MA in Terminology and Translation Studies, and a PhD in English Linguistics (awarded upon defence of a thesis on the rhetorical presence of the feminine body in contemporary advertising) from the West University of Timişoara, Romania. She has researched and published regularly in the fields of terminology, ESP, applied cognitive linguistics and discourse analysis in prestigious journals both in Romania and abroad. Her publications include a bilingual English – Romanian dictionary in the field of architecture and urban planning (co-authored by G. Ciobanu), and several books and book chapters in thematic volumes. She has also participated in many national and international conferences, as well as in terminology, interpreting and translation summer schools, workshops and round tables, and she has been part of several research projects.

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Easy-to-read in Romania: current status and future perspectives in a European context

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DOI:

Keywords:

Abstract

Author Biographies

Marcela Fărcașiu, Politehnica University of Timișoara

Daniel Dejica, Politehnica University of Timișoara

Simona Șimon, Politehnica University of Timișoara

Annamaria Kilyeni, Politehnica University of Timișoara

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