Language
Study: Bundestag speeches more understandable than expected
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) speaks at the general debate in the Bundestag. photo
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Plain language or technical jargon – how clearly do the members of the Bundestag speak? Scientists at the University of Hohenheim have now investigated this.
There are no formal barriers to understanding, said communication scientist Frank Brettschneider. “The packaging is such that access to the contents is not denied.” This is a positive result. However, there is still room for improvement among the lower third of MPs.
96 speeches from the Bundestag budget week in September last year were examined. Formal comprehensibility was examined using criteria such as word and sentence lengths as well as sentence constructions. Foreign words, technical terms and anglicisms also make it difficult to understand. In addition, long-standing readability formulas were included. The “Hohenheim Comprehensibility Index” developed from this ranges from 0 points (difficult to understand) to 20 points (easy to understand).
According to these criteria, the most understandable speech of the budget week was given by Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), who received a score of 19.2. With a score of 8.2, Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) performed worst. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) got a score of 14.3, which corresponds to 57th place, and opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) got a score of 13.0, which corresponds to 71st place.
Bundestag President Bärbel Bas welcomed the investigation, which came about at the suggestion of Deutschlandfunk Nachrichten. “The result challenges us to get to the heart of complex issues in an even more understandable way – without becoming polemical or irrelevant,” the SPD politician told the German Press Agency.