Simplified Technical English

Simplified Technical English (STE) is a controlled language, which was developed by the AECMA (today ASD). A limited word inventory and strict writing rules make sure that this language is unambiguous and intelligible.

STE was originally developed for the production of maintenance manuals for the aircraft industry, but is increasingly used for other fields of application as well.

CONDOK writes your documentation in Simplified Technical English if required or desired. Some central features of STE are:

Limited vocabulary of terms with only one meaning

• Example: "about" – only to be used with the meaning "about a topic", not to be used for "approximately"

Reduction of approved grammatical categories and tenses

• Example: "decrease" – only to be used as a verb, not as a noun
• Example: approved tenses for "get": get, gets, got (not to be used: "getting" or the American form "gotten")

Easily comprehensible and short sentences

• Example: only 20 words per sentence in a procedure
• Example: no passive voice in procedures, reduction of passive voice in descriptive texts