Glossary

Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.

11 results found in plain language.

Controlled Language (Controlled Natural Language, CL)
An explicitly defined restriction of a natural language that specifies constraints on vocabulary, grammar, and style to improve clarity, consistency, and machine processability of text. In accessibili…
Controlled Language (CL, Controlled Natural Language)
A restricted subset of a natural language that limits vocabulary, grammar, and style to reduce ambiguity and improve clarity and consistency in writing. In accessibility, controlled language rules can…
Easy Language (Easy-to-Read, Leichte Sprache, Easy Read, Einfache Sprache)
A simplified form of written language designed to make information accessible to people with reading difficulties, including those with intellectual disabilities, prelingual hearing impairments, learn…
Easy Read (Easy-to-Read, Easy Language, Plain Language for Cognitive Accessibility)
A method of presenting written information in a way that is accessible to people with intellectual disabilities, learning difficulties, or low literacy. Easy Read uses short sentences, common everyday…
Flesch Reading Ease (Flesch Readability Score, Flesch Score, FRE)
A readability formula developed by Rudolf Flesch in 1948 that rates text on a 100-point scale based on average sentence length and average number of syllables per word. Higher scores indicate easier-t…
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (Flesch-Kincaid, FKGL, Flesch-Kincaid readability)
A readability formula that estimates the U.S. school grade level required to comfortably read a given English text, based on average sentence length and average syllables per word. Developed for the U…
Functional Literacy (Functional illiteracy)
The level of reading and writing skill needed to handle everyday tasks — filling out forms, reading medication instructions, understanding a utility bill, using a web service. Adults below this thresh…
Health Literacy (Digital Health Literacy, eHealth Literacy)
The degree to which individuals can obtain, process, understand, and act on health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. In the digital context, health literacy extends…
Plain Language (Plain English, Clear Language, Simple Language)
Plain language is communication that is clear, concise, and well-organized so that the intended audience can easily find, understand, and use the information. In accessibility, plain language is essen…
Readability (Text Readability)
The ease with which written text can be read and understood, determined by factors including vocabulary complexity, sentence length, grammatical structure, and text organisation. Readability is distin…
Text Complexity (Linguistic complexity, Text difficulty)
The degree to which a piece of writing demands advanced reading skills to comprehend, driven by factors such as vocabulary frequency, syntactic structure, sentence length, passage organisation, and ba…