The Minimal Language Approach

Foundations, Contributions, and Practice

Abstract

The “minimal language” approach is an adaptation of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage, designed to address communicative challenges in fields where effective communication is crucial. A minimal language vocabulary consists of the 65 semantic primes of NSM, 200–300 semantic molecules, and a small number of context-specific words (Goddard 2021a). It is a research-based take on simplified language for heightened accessibility and cross- translatability. Minimal language promotes the idea that easily translatable texts are also easy to understand, because cross- translatable words represent the concepts most “basic” to human language (Wierzbicka 2020). The approach has gained traction over the last few years, with application in fields such as language teaching (cf. Sadow 2021), science communication (cf. Wierzbicka 2018) and health (cf. Goddard et al. 2021).