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Plain Language Translation

Chosen Sections

My Community

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People participate in the life of the community:

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  • What kinds of things do you do in the community (shopping, banking, church, synagogue, mosque, school, hair care)? How often? 

  • What kinds of recreational or fun things do you do in your community (movies, sports, restaurants, special events)? How often?

  • How do you know what there is to do? 

  • Who decides where and with whom you go? 

  • Is there anything you would like to do in your community that you don’t do now? What do you need to make this happen? 

  • What supports do you need to participate as often as you’d like in community activities?

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My Goals

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People choose personal goals:

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  • How do you want your life to be in the future?

  • What is important to you to accomplish or learn?

  • Whom do you talk with about your future?

  • What are your hopes and dreams for yourself?

  • What assistance (if any) do you need to make these things happen?

Version #1

My Community

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People participate in the life of the community:

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1. What places—such as the grocery store, bank, or hair salon—do you visit? How frequently do you visit?

2. What enjoyable activities, such as going to the movies, sporting events, or dining out, do you enjoy doing in your community? How frequently do you perform these?

3. How do you find out about local events and activities?

4. Who assists you in choosing your destination and companion?

5. Is there anything in your community that you would like to accomplish but are currently unable to do? What would enable you to accomplish it?

6. What sort of assistance would you require in order to participate in community events as frequently as you'd like?

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My Goals

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People choose personal goals:

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1. How do you see your life progressing in the future?

2. What important thing do you want to learn or achieve?

3. With whom do you usually discuss your long-term goals?

4. What goals do you have for the years to come?

5. Do you need any help to carry out your plans?
 

Version #2

My Community

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People participate in the life of the community:

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1. What places—such as the grocery store, bank, or hair salon—do you visit? How many times do you visit?

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2. What activities, such as going to the movies, sporting events, or dining out, do you enjoy doing in your community? How many times do you do these?

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3. How do you find out about events and activities nearby?

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4. Who helps you in choosing where to go and who to go with?

 

5. Is there anything you wish you could do in your community but don’t right now? What would help you make it happen?

 

6. What kind of help would you need to do community activities as many times as you'd like?
 

My Goals

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People choose personal goals:

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1. What do you want your life to look like in the future?

 

2. What’s something important you’d like to do or learn?

 

3. Who do you usually talk to about your long-term plans?

 

4. What dreams do you have for yourself for the years ahead?

 

5. Is there any help you need to make these plans happen?

Documentation

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

I read through the different POM sections and picked one from "My Community" and one from "My Goals."

I read the chosen sections in the POM Manual.

Based on the readings, I rewrote the survey questions to make them more specific to the section and easier to understand.

I received feedback when my peers read the survey questions.

Based on the feedback, I modified the questions by changing a few words to make the questions even easier to understand.

Reflection

Understanding the Original Text
1. What were the main ideas or key points you had to communicate from the original survey?

​The main points I needed to communicate from the original survey were the questions which prompted people to talk about their community and goals.


2. Were there any questions or concepts that were particularly difficult to understand in their original form? How did you handle these in your translation?

A lot of the questions from the original survey seemed very vague, which could lead people to give answers in different areas or levels. In my translation, I made the questions more specific based on the readings (sections).

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Challenges in Simplifying Language
1. What challenges did you encounter in trying to simplify the language without losing the meaning or nuance of the original survey?

I was briefly having a hard time thinking of ways to make the questions more specific while still using very basic language which is easy for everyone to understand. Many words I could think of implementing in the questions did not necessarily seem like the most "simple" terms.


2. Were there any terms or phrases that were difficult to translate into plain language? How did you approach these?

A few words, such as "accomplish," were difficult for me to translate into plain language. To help me out, I used a thesaurus online.


Decision-Making in the Translation Process
1. What specific changes did you make to the survey questions (e.g., sentence structure, word choice)? Why did you make those changes?

The main change I made in the survey questions were changing some words to make it easier for very basic English speakers to understand.


2. How did you decide which parts of the survey to simplify versus which to keep as they were? Did any parts of the original survey resist simplification?

In order to decide which parts of the survey to simplify, I asked my grandma (whose first language is not English) to read the questions and point out words or questions she did not understand. I was able to simplify everything she pointed out.


Adhering to Plain Language Guidelines
1. Which plain language principles (such as using everyday words, short sentences, active voice, etc.) were the easiest to apply? Which were the hardest?

The principle which was easiest to apply was using everyday words, because I had a thesaurus to help me out. It seemed hardest to make the sentences shorter because I felt that part of the question/meaning would be lost.


2. Did you find it difficult to balance plain language guidelines with maintaining the integrity of the original content? Why or why not?

I did not particularly find it difficult to balance plain language guidelines because I believe that the meaning from the original survey has still been preserved as I read the refined questions.


Reflections on the Process
1. How did your understanding of the original survey change as you worked through the translation process?

My understanding of the original survey did not necessarily change through the translation process. I translated the survey to match what I was interpreting in the first place.


Feedback and Implementation
1. What feedback did you receive for Version 1? How did you implement that feedback for Version 2?

For Version 1, I received feedback that some of the words I used were not the most basic, so I further refined the questions to use even simpler words for Version 2.
 

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