This week’s article is dedicated to Candice Burt, an experienced practitioner of applied simplified English, who has decided to bring her considerable expertise to the TCLoc Master’s program for the 2018 academic year.
Candice has made a significant name for herself in the global plain language industry, and now teaches others to cut needlessly complicated terms from legal and technical discourse, rendering such documents more understandable to the average person.
Her career
She has been working as an attorney from 1997, after being accepted into the South African court system. She soon made her way to the UK, where she would have a fateful encounter with a confused client. This formative experience would lead her to seriously rethink the way legal language is used, prompting a deep passion for clear, transparent, and simplified English.
In addition to an illustrious legal career, Candice joined Clarity in 2004, becoming its South African representative and, a decade later, becoming president of the organization. This proudly South African professional has certainly done her country proud.
During this time, Candice co-founded Simplified, a company specializing in the production of simplified legal documentation. She also dedicated herself to teaching others how to simplify impenetrable legal and technical discourse. Simplified is currently based in the UK, but has a significant presence in South Africa.
Besides teaching, Candice is also a plain language activist, and has lobbied the South African government for effective plain language guidelines in the county’s various laws. Through Simplified, she participates in Plain Language Day each year with the aim to bring plain language awareness more broadly.
Involvement at TCLoc
The TCLoc Master’s program is certainly enriched by her presence and our latest intake of students is keen on practicing their plain language muscles. This is a historic year for the TCLoc Master’s, since the class of 2018 is the biggest one the program has ever taken in. We look forward to imparting detailed technical communication skills to these eager individuals.
We would therefore like to wish Candice good luck with her work at TCLoc. Welcome Candice!
Sources:
- http://www.simplifiedcommunication.co.uk/index.php/candice-burt/
- https://mastertcloc.unistra.fr/
