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MAQNIFY – sites worth seeing. de

MAQNIFY offers translation into easy language

Dominic Fischer | March 2022

Make your tour more inclusive and barrier-free.

Language is an integral part of our daily lives and feels quite natural to most people. But for some people, language can also be a major barrier - whenever it is too complicated or contains too many foreign words.

Language also forms the basis of the MAQNIFY city tours and - as a spoken version - the basis of the MAQNIFY audio guides. In order to make this offer more inclusive and barrier-free, MAQNIFY now offers a translation into easy-to-understand language.

Why is inclusion important?

Inclusion means that every person is considered a full member of society and can participate. It also means that everyone can use tourism services - no matter what they look like, what language they speak or whether they have an impairment.

Barrier-free offers make this possible and should actually be a matter of course. Nevertheless, they often represent a special feature, although everyone benefits from accessibility. A wheelchair ramp, for example, also makes things much easier for prams and walkers. It is the same with language. The simpler a text is written, the more people it can reach and the more inclusive it is.

With its digital tours and audio guides in plain language, MAQNIFY wants to make an active contribution to more accessible tourism offers.

What are Easy Language and Simple Language?

Easy and simple language are easier to read and understand. This makes them more suitable for people with disabilities, people who have problems with reading and writing, or people who are just learning German.

This is how Leichte Sprache and Einfache Sprache differ:

Easy language

Simple language

  • Language and content are simplified
  • Language level A1 - A2
  • Very short sentences (approx. 8-10 words)
  • Fixed rules
  • Additional offer
  • Example sentence: Do you have any questions? Then call.
  • Language is simplified
  • Language level A2 - B1
  • Short sentences (approx. 12-15 words)
  • Rather recommendations
  • Can replace source text
  • Example sentence: If you have any questions, please call.

To give you a concrete idea of the differences, here is a sample text:

Source text

Welcome to the hill-climbing town of Teterow

Teterow is the geographical centre of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and is embedded in landscape and nature reserves in the heart of Mecklenburg Switzerland. The town was founded around 1235 and today belongs to the Rostock district. Since 1990, the town has developed into a business location for small and medium-sized enterprises as well as for companies in the biomedical and biotechnology sectors. It is one of the 18 medium-sized centres in the state. Touristically, Teterow, situated on the lake of the same name, is a pearl. Guests can look forward to holidays and recreation in unspoilt nature. Motorsport fans are attracted by the Bergring - Europe's most beautiful grass racecourse.

Text in easy language

Welcome to the town of Teterow!

Teterow is a town in the federal state of

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Teterow is about 50 kilometres from the

from the city of Rostock.

Teterow lies in the middle of

Mecklenburg Switzerland.

That is why it is called Mecklenburg Switzerland:

Around Teterow it is hilly.

There are many green meadows.

And there is a lot of forest.

And many beautiful lakes.

That's why some people say:

It looks like Switzerland here.

The town of Teterow has existed since 1235.

Today, about 8,300 people live there.

Teterow lies on a lake. The lake is called:

Lake Teterow

The lake is very beautiful. You can swim there. Or go boating.

The town of Teterow is also very beautiful. There are many old houses, for example. And a lot of nature around the town.

The Bergring

In Teterow there is the Bergring.

The Bergring is a race track.

There are car races, for example. And there are motorbike races.

The special thing about the race track is that there is grass on it.

So the race track is not tarred.

Many people think:

The Bergring is the most beautiful grass racetrack in the whole of Europe.

How does the integration of Easy Language or Simple Language into a MAQNIFY tour work?

From now on, you can book the "Easy Language" language package for every MAQNIFY tour. Your textual content will then be translated into easy language by our certified translation partner. To ensure the quality and comprehensibility of the texts, the following additional measures take place:

  • Proofreading by a second translator for easy language
  • Review by a review group, i.e. several people with learning difficulties and other cognitive impairments

We then integrate the translation into your tour, like an additional foreign language. Of course, audio tours in plain language can also be offered.

If you wish to use simple language, we recommend that you have the German version of the tour written in simple language. We will be happy to help you with this.

Funding opportunities

The translation into plain language is an additional investment in your offer. The positive thing for you is that many of these services are eligible for funding and are subsidised. This means that your own financial resources do not represent a barrier to a barrier-free offer. Feel free to contact us!