Sprachliche Strategien zur Förderung eines höheren Verständlichkeitspotenzials – unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Neutralisierung von Merkmalen
Linguistic Strategies for Enhancing Comprehensibility Potential – With Special Consideration of Feature Neutralization

Summary/Abstract: This contribution examines understandable language and the strategies that aid in clear communication or facilitate comprehension when receiving information. It distinguishes between comprehensibility as a potential and understanding as its concrete realization. Additionally, it is methodologically essential to differentiate between the perspective of the producer (sender’s viewpoint) and that of the recipient (receiver’s viewpoint). Understanding of the interactions between these perspectives forms the basis for a subject-specific interpretation. The modern trend is shifting from the study of text comprehension to the study of language intelligibility. The paper addresses the following subtopics: – Standardization of comprehensibility: The international standard for plain language and its significance, – Linguistic tools for comprehensibility: Strategies that enhance cognitive processes, – Neutralization of features: Commonly employed strategies to improve the potential for comprehensibility. The goal is to examine key tools for more effective communication, such as written-oral hybridization, and to illustrate how these can be applied across different contexts. The author’s innovative contribution lies in adapting the theoretical concept of feature neutralization – originating from inter- and intralingual translation studies – to comprehensibility research. Particular emphasis is placed on how linguistic and communicative strategies can be systematically interconnected to reach a broader audience. Relevant research on comprehensibility is driven by recent language policy, linguistic, and legislative initiatives promoting “accessible languages,” particularly within intersocietal discourses. Such developments highlight the growing societal importance of the topic.

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