Simple English for everyone | Yukiko Nakayama | TEDxKyotoUniversity

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

"Ideas worth spreading" shouldn't be limited by the belief that we must
all speak complicated, high-level English. Simple English can sometimes
be the most powerful. Ms. Yukiko Nakayama will show you how confident,
simple English opens up many more opportunities of communication than
uncertain, advanced English.

Ms. Yukiko Nakayama is the representative director of U-ENGLISH
corporation. She also works as a full-time lecturer at Japan Society for
Technical Communication (JSTC), and as a part-time lecturer in the
engineering departments of various universities in Japan, including
Kyoto University. She has passed the Grade-1 EIKEN Test in Practical
English Proficiency and the Level-1 English Technical Writing Test,
including an honorable mention award from the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Her job focuses on the revision
and translation of technical manuscripts as well as patents. She also
teaches technical English at various companies, universities, and
technical colleges, and has written textbooks on the subject.​

Hello, everyone.

I came here today to talk
about simple English that anyone can use.

I am a non-native speaker of English.

I couldn't speak English,

I couldn't write English,

but now I can communicate to you

what I am doing and why it is important.

In fact, I can write
about difficult things.

My job is to describe technologies.

I write about LEDs, smartphones,
or other complicated structures.

Simple English, meaning speaking
or writing clear and plain English,

has changed my communication

and changed my entire career.

My talk today is for all
the non-native speakers of English,

including Japanese,

and those who are natives
may also find my talk interesting

by watching how non-natives struggle,

and how your advanced English

or our complicated English

can be broken down
into simple and clear English.

Let me start from my story.

Back in 1993, I was
at the university in Kyoto.

I was bored, depressed,
and I had no bright future.

I studied English,
but I couldn't speak English,

and life was not what I expected.

After university, I entered
a company producing chemicals,

and I did some translation
from Japanese into English,

but I was still bored and depressed.

I had no fun at work.

I couldn't write good English,
and life was difficult.

In the year 2000, I changed jobs
and became a patent translator.

I started to write about technical stuff.

I started to write
about inventions on LED lamps

or smart keys for your automobiles

or copying machines, digital cameras.

Very technical stuff.

In the process of writing
all those technical things,

I started to realize

that I don't need any
advanced or complicated English.

What I need is simple
and plain, easy English

to describe difficult things.

I started to read books
on what is called "technical writings,"

and I liked their ideas.

They say, for example:

"Use the active voice.
Put statements in positive form.

Use definite, concrete language.

Omit needless words.
Avoid fancy words."

I liked their idea.

So, for example, instead of
"The gas does not have any odor"

- odor meaning "smell" -

I wrote "the gas is odorless,"

by using the positive form.

"It is interesting to note
that there are seven steps

that must be completed in order
to make a successful presentation."

I wrote:

"To make a successful presentation
seven steps must be completed."

This revision actually follows
one of my favorite style manuals.

They say to omit empty phrases

such as "it is interesting to note that."

Interestingly, they think that
"it is interesting to note that"

is an empty phrase.

That interested me.

(Laughter)

They say, "Avoid any unnecessary words,"

and they say, "Write economically
by using single words."

Many of you here may want to use,
for example, "in order to"

in your speaking or writing,

but then they say
that you should use only "to."

I liked their idea.

I'll give you another example.

This is a piece of writing
from my student, last week.

He wrote: "According to a recent study,

it has been shown that stress -

people are stressful these days -

can be a trigger of Alzheimer's disease."

Excellent.

Advanced and grammatically
correct English.

But then I rewrote:

"Recent research shows

that stress can trigger
Alzheimer's disease."

In the process of this writing,

I started to see a bright light.

I studied hard, worked hard,
and within a year,

I passed a first level
technical writing test in Japan.

Luckily, I was awarded by the Ministry
of Education, Culture, Sports,

Science and Technology, in Japan.

I was lucky.

Then things started to change.

I became a chief instructor at the Japan
Society of Technical Communication, JSTC.

I worked as a patent translator
on a freelance basis for ten years.

I published two books:

one on the basics of technical writing

and the other on patent translation.

Last year I founded a company in Kyoto.

Until the year 2000,

I was depressed and confused

and even felt hopeless.

I had never even dreamed of writing books,

and I had no way
of speaking in front of people.

Simple English changed me.

Simple English motivated me.

I never gave up.

Simple English changed my entire life.

I am here hoping that spreading
this idea will help people.

Now, I want to share with you
one tip for simple English.

Very easy, anyone can use this tip.

If you have your headsets on
for simultaneous translation,

you can try taking them off,

and try finding the beauty
or the power of simple English.

So, let's begin.

Use verbs!

Verbs meaning "words to express action."

"Smile" or "eat" or "run".

Verbs are powerful, so use dynamic verbs
rather than static ones.

For example, instead of
"I am a teacher of English,"

say, "I teach English."

Instead of "I belong to a soccer team,"

say, "I play soccer."

Instead of "It is difficult for me
to speak in front of many people,"

say, "I cannot speak
in front of many people".

Instead of "The number of non-natives
at TedxKyoto University,

or in the entire world,

is greater than the number of natives,"

you can also say,

"Non-natives outnumber natives,"

by using only three words.

See: subject, verb, and an object.

Somebody does something.

I also use the active voice
whenever possible.

The active voice meaning
that the subject is the doer of an action;

the passive voice meaning that the subject
is a receiver of an action.

Compare the two sentences here:

"In the year 2011, I was sad;

Tohoku was hit by the great earthquake,"

or "In the year 2011,
the great earthquake hit Tohoku."

You can see the active voice
is more direct, clearer,

and uses fewer words.

In this process of revising,

black clouds in my head,
in my mind, disappeared altogether,

and my life got better.

I thought I should tell this idea

to anyone who has
less confidence in their English.

You know, according to a survey
conducted by the British Council,

72% of business people in Japan think
they lack confidence in their English.

90% of my students say
they lack confidence in their English.

From the year 2006,

I go anywhere to teach
this simple English to anyone,

including business people,

translators and engineers,

and students at the universities.

I like them.

I also teach at Kyoto University as well.

I encourage them
to write or present their ideas

or their technologies in simple English.

Amazingly they learn very quickly.

Their confident smiles
after the course moved me.

They said simple English
changed their communication.

You see, they look super happy.

This is my final message to you:

try using simple English.

Talk to people around you,

especially if you have
a lunch break after this session.

Introduce yourself in simple English.

Again, you don't have to say:

"I am a student at Kyoto University,
I belong to a polymer department,"

or "I work for a manufacturing company
for diesel engines.

I am, by the way, an engineer."

It's difficult.

So, just say, "I study polymers,"
or "I develop diesel engines."

Also, talk to speakers
here at TedxKyoto University.

You'll find them around, talk to them.

Again, you don't have to say,

"I was interested in your talk,"
or "I found your idea great."

You don't have to say that.

You can also say,
"Your talk interests me,"

by using a subject, verb, and an object.

You can also say, and I hope
you would say to me as well,

"I like your idea."

Thank you very much.

(Applause)