Plain Language Translation

Literacy and Community Participation

Prose literacy in Canada is surprisingly low. Prose literacy is the ability to understand and use information from text, like news stories or fiction. This is the basic measure of literacy.

According to Movement for Canadian Literacy, an organization dedicated to increasing Canadian Literacy, 48% of Canadians aged 16 and older have difficulties reading, have few basic reading skills, or are unable to read.

Literacy Alberta cites that 15% of adults in Alberta have difficulty reading even simple materials.

Almost half of all Canadians and 3 out of 20 Albertans are unable to fully participate in the community because of their limited literacy skills. With plain language, we help reduce the number of people who have limited access to the community because of their literacy limitations.

What is Plain Language?

Plain Language is information that is put into simpler, easy to read language. The VRRI has been a leader in advocating for plain language over the past decade. We believe that if anyone is to participate in the community, they must:

• have access to information
• be fully informed about different issues in their life
• understand issues that may arise that would affect them (e.g., health issues, finding a home, etc.)

How does The VRRI help?

Our services in plain language benefit anyone who has difficulty reading. This could include persons with developmental disabilities, individuals learning English as a second language, senior citizens, or anyone else who has or works with people with reading difficulty.

The VRRI develops many different resources in plain language on various topics and provides services to others requiring plain language training or translation. Please explore the website for further information or contact the plain language facilitator at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .