{
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    "title" : "A happy compromise between people-first and plain language |Digital.gov",
    "description": "A happy compromise between people-first and plain language",
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    {"kicker" : "<no value>","title" :"A happy compromise between people-first and plain language","deck" : "Applying people-first standards with plain language in mind","summary" : "Find out how the National Institute of Corrections is using people-first plain language in its communications. See what words and phrases they’re changing.","date" : "2023-03-07T12:31:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"celia-a-terrazas" : "Celia A. Terrazas"},"topics" : {
        
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "communication" : "Communication",
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "plain-language" : "Plain language",
            "social-media" : "Social media",
            "user-experience" : "User experience"
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  "A title card with black text for the blog post title: A happy compromise between people-first and plain language, and the summary line: Applying people-first standards with plain language in mind. There digital.gov logo is at the bottom left, and multi-colored small circles on the right.", "width" :
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      "filename" :"2023-03-06-a-happy-compromise-between-people-first-and-plain-language.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2023/03/2023-03-06-a-happy-compromise-between-people-first-and-plain-language.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2023/03/2023-03-06-a-happy-compromise-between-people-first-and-plain-language.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2023/03/2023-03-06-a-happy-compromise-between-people-first-and-plain-language.md","slug" : "a-happy-compromise-between-people-first-and-plain-language","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2023/03/07/a-happy-compromise-between-people-first-and-plain-language/","weight" : "1","content" :"\u003cp\u003eIt’s not impossible to use people-first and plain language at the same time. And before you ask, they’re not contradictory, either.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s fairly simple. Identify someone as a person first, and then put the descriptor you need to mention afterward.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring her presentation at the \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/event/2022/08/24/2022-federal-plain-language-summit/\"\u003e2022 Federal Plain Language Summit\u003c/a\u003e, Donna Ledbetter, a technical writer and editor with the National Institute of Corrections of the Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons, said that plain language and people-first language are “not opposing concepts, but rather, it’s a union; a partnership.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"box \"\u003e\n  \u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/static/plain-language-summit-plain-language-and-people-first-a-pioneering-union.pptx\"\u003eView the slides (PowerPoint presentation, 23.3 MB, 24 pages)\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePlain language requires us to omit needless words. If you need four words to describe a person, that’s OK. People-first language is still plain when the words are all necessary and people know what they mean.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-is-people-first-language\"\u003eWhat is people-first language?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople-first language is about word choice and being thoughtful about how you choose to describe someone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“We want to think about the person before we think about the other defining characteristics of that person,” Ledbetter said.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable class=\"usa-table usa-table--borderless\"\u003e\n  \u003ccaption\u003eHere are some \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/Preferred_Terms.html\"\u003eexamples of people-first language from the CDC\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/caption\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n      \u003cth scope=\"col\"\u003eInstead of:\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003cth scope=\"col\"\u003eUse:\u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003eInmate, offender, convict\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003eJustice-involved individual, person in custody, person in prison, person who was formerly incarcerated\u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003c/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003eThe disabled\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003ePeople with disabilities\u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003c/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003eMentally ill\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003ePeople with a mental illness\u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003c/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003eThe homeless\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003ePeople experiencing homelessness\u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003c/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003eDrug user, addict\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003ePerson with a substance use disorder\u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003c/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003eDiabetic\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003ePerson with diabetes\u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003c/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003ePoor people\u003c/th\u003e\n      \u003ctd\u003ePeople with lower incomes\u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"why-should-i-use-people-first-language\"\u003eWhy should I use people-first language?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople-first language is a way to show in your communication that you are respectful of the people who are directly affected by your words.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt: \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eacknowledges people’s ability to change, \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ehelps the community recognize them as human beings, and \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ealso affects the way children see their parents — and themselves.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLedbetter points out that the shift in language at the National Institute of Corrections was “many years in the making.” After much discussion and considering all the factors, they decided that the effects words can have on people — especially in the justice system, where words can imply that people are “bad” or “evil” — were too great to ignore.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Any small thing that we can do to turn the needle to help people have a better life, to help children to have better futures, we thought it was important enough to do,” Ledbetter said. “So, we did.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"ok-im-in-how-do-i-do-it\"\u003eOK, I’m in. How do I do it?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026ldquo;Be the change you want to see,\u0026rdquo; Ledbetter said.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e7 concrete actions you can take:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake it part of the agency’s culture by ensuring everyone in the organization is responsible for incorporating people-first language, whether it’s in the name of a program or a technical document that’s hundreds of pages.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake it part of your style guide.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWrite it into contracts to require any vendors and contractors to follow the plain language, people-first style.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf a document does not use people-first language, send it back to the writer and ask them to edit it to comply with the style guide.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHold informal trainings such as brown bag lunches, one-on-one conversations, and phone calls.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHold formal trainings during your agency’s monthly staff meetings or annual training.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eModel the language in your own writing and speaking.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-if-i-get-pushback\"\u003eWhat if I get pushback?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLedbetter said she knew it was going to be a cultural shift, especially for people who have been using the old words for decades. Some people still continue to use the old language, she said.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf co-workers in your agency push back and continue to use the old language, let them. Focus on modeling the behavior and language you want others to adopt.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}