Easy-to-understand language beyond the written wor(l)d: the challenges of making audiovisual media easy to understand

Much research has been developed since the turn of the century on how to make audiovisual content accessible, within the framework of Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility Studies. Access services such as subtitling, audio description, audio subtitling or sign language interpreting, among others, have been the object of substantial research. Following technological developments -from analogue to digital, hybrid or immersive--, research has provided relevant insights on the best strategies to be used to make access services understandable and enjoyable. Beyond the specific features of access services, research has also approached production and delivery aspects. These investigations haven often followed user-centric methodologies with the ultimate aim of fulfilling user needs. When referring to easy-to-understand language (from Easy-to-Read, or Easy Language, to Plain Language), the emphasis has traditionally been on the written text. It is only recently that easy-to-understand language has begun to be considered in the audiovisual realm. In our digitized society, though, it makes sense to ask ourselves: How can we create audiovisual content that is easier to understand? How can we adapt audiovisual content that is easier to understand? And how can we create audiovisual access services that are easier to understand? These three questions will be at the core of my presentation, which will report on my experience as main researcher in the EASIT project and on the findings obtained through the research carried out by a consortium made up of universities, user representatives and broadcasters. My presentation will focus on various aspects: the terminological challenges, the current situation in Europe in terms of practice and training, the challenges of creating easy-tounderstand access services, the importance of research and training, and the relevance of standardisation. These discussions will be contextualized in the wider framework of Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility Studies, with a special emphasis on the research carried out by TransMedia Catalonia research group