The Distant Language of Law

Bill Dubay has released his latest issue of Plain Language at Work which includes a discussion of the latest US literacy statistics and how the impact one particular US Supreme Court decision.

Using the Language of Democracy

Almost 50 per cent of American adults have difficulty understanding and using information in documents such as job applications, bus and train schedules, instructions for taking medicine or for operating machinery.

Every citizen has the right to understand the legal processes they are involved in. This includes the proceedings of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Democracy is achieved to the extent that citizens participate in it. Justice is achieved to the extent that citizens understand what is going on in their courts. The courts have to make sure citizens know what is going on. If this is not done, citizens are not truly informed and therefore cannot truly exercise their rights. This often results in a denial of justice. Rights not understood are rights denied...

And...

National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)
11 Million Americans Cannot Read English

On 15 December 2005, the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) released the results of the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). The report compared the results of the 2003 study with the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) of 1992 and produced these findings:

* Five percent of American adults is not literate, totalling 11 million. That number includes those who may be fluent in Spanish or other languages but cannot read English.
* Twenty-nine percent of American adults has only basic reading and math skills...

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