Technical documentation may not always be perceived as the most exciting aspect of commercial goods. However, little doubt lies in the fact that it stands at the heart of user experience, product safety, and global communication. Whether a user is assembling machinery, troubleshooting a device, or applying a medical solution, instructions must be clear, accessible, and universally understood. Unfortunately, traditional technical English often contains jargon, convoluted structures, and ambiguities that create significant access barriers, especially for non-native speakers or people with cognitive and sensory disabilities. Simplified Technical English (STE), born in the aerospace industry and formalized as the ASD-STE100 standard, provides a robust solution to these challenges by standardizing vocabulary and writing rules to ensure clarity and accessibility.
A Simple Breakdown of Simplified Technical English
Simplified Technical English is a controlled language that restricts the vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure used in technical documents. Its objective is to eliminate ambiguous words, idioms, and unnecessary complexity, making technical instructions easy to understand for anyone, regardless of their background or language proficiency.
How STE Makes Life Easier for the Disadvantaged
Behind the most unassuming simplifications of commercial processes hides the solution to someone else’s insurmountable obstacle. Typewriters, bendable straws, and audiobooks – what do they all have in common? Not many may know, but these are inventions that were meant to benefit the disabled, nowadays bringing comfort to all. Simplified Technical English plays a similar, lesser-known role in the lives of people who need that extra support to complete tasks that pose little difficulty to others.
Simplified Technical English Enhances Comprehensibility across All Audiences
STE’s prioritization of short sentences, basic grammar, and approved words dramatically increases the readability of technical documentation. This helps ensure that information is accessible to everybody, including to first-time users, non-native English speakers, older adults, and those with cognitive challenges.
STE Improves International Understanding
Ambiguity and local idioms are among the biggest obstacles in translating technical documentation effectively. STE resolves these by using globally approved terminology, which reduces the risk of mistranslation and ensures instructions are consistent, regardless of language. This is a decisive advantage for organizations operating internationally, and a recurring theme addressed in the TCLoc Master curriculum, where students learn to apply STE in localization projects for cross-cultural audiences.
Increased Compatibility with Assistive Technology
Clear structure and standard vocabulary make STE-tooled documents ideal for screen readers, text-to-speech systems, and braille conversion devices. These technologies depend on well-structured and predictable language, which Simplified Technical English provides, contributing to inclusivity for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Simplified Technical English Lowers Cognitive Load
Unnecessary complexity can be a major source of exclusion in technical writing. Simplified Technical English reduces this “cognitive load” through direct instructions and predictable phrasing. This makes it easier for people with learning disabilities, attention difficulties, or reduced literacy levels to efficiently access and follow technical instructions.
STE Is Necessary for Meeting Regulatory Demands
In many sectors, clear and accessible documentation is a legal requirement. For example, EU regulations mandate that product manuals be usable by all consumers, not just experts. By adopting STE, organizations can more readily demonstrate compliance and avoid issues stemming from unclear instructions.
Economic Growth Hand in Hand with Accessibility
There is no doubt that we are currently witnessing previously unprecedented economic acceleration and globalization. Henceforth, reaching diverse audiences has become crucial to maintaining economic progress. It is here that Simplified Technical English continues to stand out as a cornerstone of accessible technical communication. By reducing linguistic, cognitive, and sensory challenges, STE helps organizations comply with laws and broaden market reach, while also fulfilling a humanitarian promise: making knowledge and safety accessible to all.
