A simpler speech from the throne is better appreciated and understood

According to research by linguists Leo Lentz and Henk Pander Maat (Utrecht University), a simpler speech from the throne is better understood and more positively assessed. Lentz and Pander Maat rewrote the 2022 Dutch speech from the throne, leaving the content unchanged but the wording more accessible. Test subjects rated the new version more positively, finding it easier to understand and less distant, but still ceremonial enough. Gaining in understanding. For their rewriting of the Dutch speech from the throne, Lentz and Pander Maat used simpler words and phrases. Occasionally they provided extra explanations for tricky terms, such as 'circular farming'. In an online experiment, 100 test subjects listened to the original speech from the throne and 100 others to the rewrite.
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