Podcast: Controlled Vocabularies

The Comwell Group has created a podcast series called CommTalk. The September 2006 installment is part one in a three-part series on controlled vocabularies. It features an interview with John Smart of Smart Communications about Controlled English, Simplified English, Plain English and the differences between each. Smart provides some good examples that illuminate the need for controlled vocabularies using real-world disasters, business and scientific snafus, and everyday cultural differences to demonstrate the value of a controlled approach.  He also discusses the impediments to controlled vocabulary development, what you’ll need to learn and purchase to get started, and much more.

For those of you not into podcasts, the folks at Comwell have also provided a written transcript for your reading pleasure.