Linguagem simples e defensoria pública: uma busca por direitos, deveres e acesso à justiça no Brasil.

Abstract

In an attempt to foster the search for citizenship, understanding of rights and duties, and increased access to justice in Brazil, this paper aims to discuss the simplification of language and the concept of Plain Language in the Brazilian public organizations, more specifically in the Federal Public Defender's Office, so that the information provided to the population is easily and clearly understood. The use of specialty languages, such as legal and bureaucratic, for a public with low levels of education and a high rate of functional illiteracy, reinforces social exclusion by hindering access to information and full citizenship. According to the bibliographic study carried out, it is possible to show the simplification of language, through the use of Plain Language, as an option for sociolinguistic variation, considering the level of education and functional literacy of the target audience. Sociolinguistics was used for the theoretical basis, with authors such as Uriel Weinreich, William Labov and Marvin Herzog, adding Functionalist Theory, with Systemic-Functional Linguistics, to justify the need to use the grammatical standard in force to simplify the language of public organizations. Authors such as Marcos Bagno, Carlos Alberto Faraco and Dante Lucchesi were used in the section on Language and Power, while Lothar Hoffmann was also the author chosen for the debate on Specialty Languages, with a focus on Legal Language, Bureaucratic Language and Plain Language. Specifically in the section on Plain Language, the academic works of Heloísa Fischer, Liana Paraguassu and Clarisse Corrêa de Mattos Rodrigues were used, as well as materials collected during the research. As part of an exploratory study, we also carried out a documentary survey of Plain Language practices in the Judiciary, Executive and Public Defender's offices, as well as specific projects in other social spaces; in addition to mapping academic studies on this subject. Within the framework of qualitative research, this work is identified as a case study, considering the analysis of readability and textual complexity of three materials made available to the public by the Federal Public Defender's Office. Finally, the research provided an indication of the textual complexity of the Federal Public Defender's Office's materials, which could initially subsidize the adoption of Plain Language in the institution's materials and systems.