In July 2023, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) ISO/TC 37 committee culminated years of collaborative efforts by publishing the ISO 24495-1 plain language standard. This standard, the result of a broad consensus and recently translated into Spanish, is now within the reach of those who wish to promote clarity in communications.
Developed by plain language specialists (linguists, technical writers, translators, content creators and designers from various countries), this authoritative reference will guide authors in producing texts (printed or digital documents, and scripts for audiovisual and multimedia material) that are clear and accessible to their target audience. Applicable to most written languages, and recently translated into Spanish, the standard incorporates the most recent findings in plain language research and the accumulated practice of specialists in the field.
The implementation of ISO 24495-1 has the potential to improve communication between organizations and citizens, as highlighted by researchers Jorge Franganillo and M.ª Ángeles García Asensio in their article “La claridad como derecho: la aportación de la norma ISO 24495-1 hacia el lenguaje claro”, recently published in the ThinkEPI Yearbook. His analysis highlights the vital role of this expected standard in guaranteeing the right to understand.
Franganillo, Jorge; García-Asensio, M.ª Ángeles (2024). “La claridad como derecho: la aportación de la norma ISO 24495-1 hacia el lenguaje claro”. Anuario ThinkEPI, v. 18, e18e09. https://doi.org/10.3145/thinkepi.2024.e18a09
