“Remove, Keep, Define, Arrange.” is a commoning method by Klara Branting Paulsell. It is a way to say the same things in A2 English as in International Art English. International Art English can also be called Art-Speak.
Today, most art is talked about in Art-Speak, which is a kind of English. It uses long and difficult words and sentences. A2 English is the most spoken English in the world. This text is written in A2 English.
A method is a way to do something. Commoning means making something common*. “Remove, Keep, Define, Arrange.” is a commoning method because it makes Art-Speak into A2 English.
People who usually speak in Art-Speak can learn to use A2 English. People who usually speak A2 English can learn to use Art-Speak.
“Remove, Keep, Define, Arrange.” is part of the project “Hitching a Ride to Enough English”. It is part of the School of Commons 10-month peer learning program.
Hitching a Ride can also be called hitchhiking. Hitchhiking is when you ask a stranger to let you ride with them in their car to somewhere they are already going. The price is only a conversation. Usually the conversation is in A2 English. The driver and the hitchhiker have different lives. They ask each other questions, and tell each other things in simple ways. Hitchhiking is a good way to learn how to talk about your work in a simple way.
*See example 1 for more information.
Art-Speak Version
This contribution “Remove, Keep, Define, Arrange.” is a presentation of a method for translating so-called International Art English1 into A2 English, developed by Klara Branting Paulsell, with the project “Hitching a Ride to Enough English” as part of the School of Commons 10-month peer learning program.
The project “Hitching a Ride to Enough English” is an exploration of the difference between functional and embellished language. The thesis of the project is that A2 English is a way of commoning language, that is based on statistics from the English Proficiency Index2. In recent years, English has become the most spoken language in the world, due to its role as a vehicular language. This means that English has taken on a practical role as an informative tool. In contrast, the ubiquity of so-called International Art English (also known as Art-Speak) in many if not all art, design, and other creative institutions, reveals a seemingly obtuse addiction to a labyrinthine use of complex, abstract, and, to be frank, vague language and unnecessarily long and convoluted sentence structures, not to mention words themselves.
The title for the project, “Hitching a Ride to Enough English”, utilizes a useful metaphor to embody the exploration of the juxtaposition between these two literatures, the major and the minor3, the informative and the dense; the vision of the hitchhiker as a witness to the entanglement between speculation and the real - who traverses the territory of conviviality, desire, and the commodification of reciprocity through which both the translator and the language learner must transit.
It is important to note that though the methodological spine of this project rests on the redistribution of attention, and the reduction of arbitrary assemblages of abstraction, as well as a critique of the institutional apparatus that forces this homogeneity of Art-Speak onto its practitioners, that translation into A2 entails, it is by no means a call to replace the one literature with the other. In fact, it is an invitation to both sides of the linguistic dichotomy between A2 and Art-Speak - it is a line of flight that can be followed in both directions, a deterritorialization and a reterritorialization that appears when both versions of a text are left to sit beside one another.
Remove
This contribution “Remove, Keep, Define, Arrange.” is a presentation of a method for translating so-called International Art English into A2 English, developed by Klara Branting Paulsell, with the project “Hitching a Ride to Enough English” as part of the School of Commons 10-month peer.
The project “Hitching a Ride to Enough English” is an exploration of the difference between functional and embellished language. The thesis of the project is that A2 English is a way of commoning language, that is based on statisticsfrom the English Proficiency Index. In recent years, English has become the most spoken language in the world, due to its role as a vehicular language. This means that English has taken on a practical role as an informative tool. In contrast, the ubiquity of so-called International Art English in many if not all art, design, and other creative institutions, reveals a seemingly obtuse addiction to a labyrinthine use of complex, abstract, and, to be frank, vague language and unnecessarily long and convoluted sentence structures, not to mention words themselves.
The title for the project, “Hitching a Ride to Enough English”,utilizes a useful metaphor to embody the exploration ofthe juxtaposition between these two literatures, the major and the minor, the informative and the dense; the vision ofthe hitchhiker as a witness to the entanglement between speculation and the real - who traverses the territory of conviviality, desire, and the commodification of reciprocity through which both the translator and the language learner must transit.
It is important to note that though the methodological spine of this project rests on the redistribution of attention, and the reduction of arbitrary assemblages of abstraction, as well as a critique of the institutional apparatus that forces this homogeneity of Art-Speak onto its practitioners, that translation into A2 entails, it is by no means a call to replace the one literature with the other. In fact, it is an invitation to both sides of the linguistic dichotomy between A2 and Art-Speak - it is a line of flight that can be followed in both directions, a deterritorialization and a reterritorialization that appears when both versions of a text are left to sit beside one another.
Keep
This contribution “Remove, Keep, Define, Arrange.”is a presentation of a method for translating so-called International Art English intoA2 English, developed by Klara Branting Paulsell, with the project “Hitching a Ride to Enough English” as part of the School of Commons 10-month peer learning program.
The project “Hitching a Ride to Enough English” is an exploration of the difference between functional and embellished language. The thesis of the project is that A2 English is a way of commoninglanguage, that is based on statistics from the English Proficiency Index. In recent years, English has become the most spoken language in the world, due to its role as a vehicular language. This means that English has taken on a practical role as an informative tool. In contrast, the ubiquity of so-called International Art English in many if not all art, design, and other creative institutions, reveals a seemingly obtuse addiction to a labyrinthine use of complex, abstract, and, to be frank, vague language and unnecessarily long and convoluted sentence structures, not to mention words themselves.
The title for the project, “Hitching a Ride to Enough English”, utilizes a useful metaphor to embody the exploration of the juxtaposition between these two literatures, the major and the minor, the informative and the dense; the vision of thehitchhiker as a witness to the entanglement between speculation and the real - who traverses the territory of conviviality, desire, and the commodification of reciprocity through which both the translator and the language learner must transit.
It is important to note that though the methodological spine of this project rests on the redistribution of attention, and the reduction of arbitrary assemblages of abstraction, as well as a critique of the institutional apparatus that forces this homogeneity of Art-Speak onto its practitioners, that translation into A2 entails, it is by no means a call to replace the one literature with the other. In fact, it is an invitation to both sides of the linguistic dichotomy between A2 and Art-Speak - it is a line of flight that can be followed in both directions, a deterritorialization and a reterritorialization that appears when both versions of a text are left to sit beside one another.
Define
method - a way to do something.
commoning - making something common. See example 1 for more information.
hitchhiker/hitchhiking - when you ask a stranger to let you ride with them in their car to somewhere they are already going. The price is only a conversation. Usually the conversation is in A2 English. The driver and the hitchhiker have different lives. They ask each other questions, and tell each other things in simple ways. Hitchhiking is a good way to learn how to talk about your work in a simple way.
Remove words and phrases that are not A2. There is no exact definition of what is A2 so you have to just mark all words and phrases that don’t seem easy, simple, and common, to you. You can reference these two lists if you want to:
Keep words you need because they are important for the piece. It may be because there are no simple words for that specific thing, or because it is a proper noun (the name of something), or because that word is important in the context and will help the reader contextualize the text. Also keep important information in the text even if you don’t keep the words it is written in.
Define any words or phrases that are not A2 but you have decided to keep.
Arrange the text so that it starts with the most simple information and ends with the most complex. Use definitions to bridge the gap. Try to keep each sentence simple and remember that it is okay to lose details and aesthetics along the way.
School of Commons (SOC) is a global community-based initiative dedicated to peer learning, and the study and development of self-organized knowledge production—through commons-based methods and practices. Hosted at the Zürich University of the Arts (ZHDK) but the program takes place mostly online.
Remove
Mark all the words that need to be removed because they are not A2 words, or because they are part of phrases that are not A2 phrases. In this example takes place is marked because the phrasal verb could be replaced with a more common one.
School of Commons (SOC) is a global community-based initiative dedicated to peer learning, and the study and development of self-organized knowledge production—through commons-based methods and practices. Hosted at the Zürich University of the Arts (ZHDK) but the program but the program takes place mostly online.
Define
Define the words that need to be kept, even though they are not A2.
peer - people who are on the same level as each other.
commons - something common (adjective) is something that people share - when people have interests in common, it means they care about the same things. It can also mean usual - common knowledge is something most people know.
commons (noun) are the things that everyone owns and can use in a place - like public areas, the air and water, and nature.
community - a group of people who have commons (noun), or have things in common (adjective). Everyone in the group owns the commons and has to decide how to use it, together.
Arrange
Start with the simplest/clearest information. Then summarize the important points by using the specific words. Then define everything that needs to be defined in order to let the reader get all the way to understanding the most important point. Then finish with that point now that the reader is ready for it.
School of Commons (SOC) is a place in the Zürich University of the Arts (ZHDK) and an online space.
It is a community of peers that are from all over the world, that learn from each other by making common.
Something common (adjective) is something that people share - when people have interests in common, it means they care about the same things. It can also mean usual - common knowledge is something most people know.
The commons (noun) are the things that everyone owns and can use in a place - like public areas, the air and water, and nature. A community is a group of people who have commons (noun), or have things in common (adjective). Everyone in the group owns the commons and has to decide how to use it, together.
Peers are people who are on the same level as each other. At the SOC, there aren’t some people who make the rules and others who follow. Everyone is a teacher and everyone is a student, and the things they know are the commons.
Our 10-month peer learning program brings together practitioners, researchers, and activists from diverse backgrounds to learn from one another. The program consists of two phases: the first half is facilitated by the SOC team, while the second half is entirely participant-led, empowering the cohort to shape their own learning experience.
We invite applications from individuals and groups, regardless of their professional backgrounds. Past participants have demonstrated curiosity in sharing knowledge and a commitment to contributing to the common good. Their ongoing research is published on our website and displayed publicly, with all content freely accessible.
Remove
Mark all the words that need to be removed because they are not A2 words, or because they are part of phrases that are not A2 phrases. Notice at this stage how much you have to remove, and remember that sometimes it is actually a good idea to sacrifice some information.
It should be easy for the reader to understand, and that also means that the information should be short and on topic. In this example some of the information explains the program, and a lot of the information is just adding nuance and detail. Consider that nuance and detail can be removed.
Our 10-month peer learning program brings together practitioners, researchers, and activists from diverse backgrounds to learn from one another. The program consists of two phases: the first half is facilitated by the SOC team, while the second half is entirely participant-led, empowering the cohortto shape their own learning experience.
We invite applications from individuals and groups, regardless of their professional backgrounds. Past participants have demonstrated curiosity in sharing knowledge and a commitment to contributing to the common good. Their ongoing research is published on our website and displayed publicly, with all content freely accessible.
Keep
Mark all specific words that need to be kept.
Our 10-month peer learning program brings together practitioners, researchers, and activists from diverse backgrounds to learn from one another. The program consists of two phases: the first half is facilitated by the SOC team, while the second half is entirely participant-led, empowering the cohortto shape their own learning experience.
We invite applications from individuals and groups, regardless of their professional backgrounds. Past participants have demonstrated curiosity in sharing knowledge and a commitment to contributing to the common good. Their ongoing research is published on our website and displayed publicly, with all content freely accessible.
At this point it may be helpful to mark which information you want to keep, even though you will write it in different (easier) words.
In this example, only the most vital information about the program structure is marked.
Our 10-month peer learning program brings together practitioners, researchers, and activists from diverse backgrounds to learn from one another. The program consists of two phases: the first half is facilitated by the SOC team, while the second half isentirely participant-led, empowering the cohort to shape their own learning experience.
We invite applications from individuals and groups, regardless of their professional backgrounds. Past participants have demonstrated curiosity in sharing knowledge and a commitment to contributing to the common good. Their ongoing research is published on our website and displayed publicly, with all content freely accessible.
Define
Define the words that need to be kept, even though they are not A2. In this case, the verb to lead, used in ‘participant-led’, is hard to replace, but is simpler if it is changed to ‘self-led’.
peer - people who are on the same level as each other.
peer learning program - about being a teacher and a student at the same time.
cohort - a group of peers.
participant-led = self-led - To lead is to decide what a group has to do. When the program is self-led, that means that the cohort decides on its own.
Arrange
Start with the simplest/clearest information. Break up the information into one sentence per new piece of information. Order it from simplest to most complex. In this example, this text is on the same page as a lot of projects you can look at - so mentioning the rest of the page is still a good place to end.
The School of Commons (SOC) has a 10-month peer learning program. Each year, 16 participants get chosen to be a part of this program. The participants of the program can be individual people or collectives.
The participants of the program each bring a project to work on.
The program is partly led by the SOC team, and partly self-led by the members of the cohort.
Peers are people who are on the same level as each other. A peer-learning program is about being a teacher and a student at the same time. A cohort is a group of peers.
To lead is to decide what a group has to do. So sometimes, the SOC team leads the program, and when it is self-led, that means that the cohort decides on its own.
Here you can see all the projects that have been part of the peer-learning program, as well as the projects from this year’s cohort.
ISSUES is an annual, peer-led digital publication which serves as the milestone collective public offering for each School of Commons (SOC) program cycle.
ISSUES collates and contextualises the processes, practices and methodologies of each participating project within SOC. Each participating project is invited to contribute to ISSUES in a form and style that is both reflective of, and complementary to their own ways and workings. As such, experimentation and the re-working of traditional publishing modes are encouraged.
For each edition of ISSUES, the SOC cohort collaboratively develops a collective framing bringing together the thematic threads and working methods they have both individually and collectively explored and developed during their 10-month peer-learning journey.
Each edition of ISSUES is coupled with an editorial developed by the SOC team in collaboration with the cohort which adds further layers of contextualisation to the programme and outputs of each SOC offering.
Remove
Mark all the words that need to be removed because they are not A2 words, or because they are part of phrases that are not A2 phrases. Notice at this stage how much you have to remove, and remember that sometimes it is actually a good idea to sacrifice some information.
It should be easy for the reader to understand, and that also means that the information should be short and on topic.
ISSUES is an annual, peer-led digital publication which serves as the milestone collective public offering for each School of Commons (SOC) program cycle.
ISSUES collates and contextualises the processes, practices and methodologies of each participating project within SOC. Each participating project is invited to contribute to ISSUES in a form and style that is both reflective of, and complementary to their own ways and workings. As such, experimentation and the re-working of traditional publishing modes are encouraged.
For each edition ofISSUES, the SOC cohort collaboratively develops a collective framing bringing together the thematic threads and working methods they have both individually and collectively explored and developed during their 10-month peer-learning journey.
Each edition of ISSUES is coupled with an editorial developed by the SOC team in collaboration with the cohort which adds further layers of contextualisation to the programme and outputs of each SOC offering.
Keep
Mark all specific words that need to be kept. Mark which information you want to keep, even though you will write it in different (easier) words.
ISSUES is an annual, peer-leddigital publication which serves as the milestone collective public offering for each School of Commons (SOC) program cycle.
ISSUEScollates and contextualises the processes, practices and methodologies of each participating project within SOC. Each participating project is invited to contribute to ISSUES in a form and style that is both reflective of, and complementary to their own ways and workings. As such, experimentation and the re-working of traditional publishing modes are encouraged.
For each edition ofISSUES, the SOC cohort collaboratively develops a collective framing bringing together the thematic threads and working methods they have both individually and collectively explored and developed during their 10-month peer-learning journey.
Each edition of ISSUES is coupled with an editorial developed by the SOC team in collaboration with the cohortwhich adds further layers of contextualisation to the programme and outputs of each SOC offering.
Define
Define the words that need to be kept, even though they are not A2. In this example, some words are already explained in another text, so it is possible to refer to it, instead of defining them again.
publication - something that is published - which is to make content available to the public. It can be for example a book, an article, or a video.
cohort - See “program” for more information.
peer-led - See “program” for more information.
Arrange
Start with the simplest/clearest information. Break up the information into one sentence per new piece of information. Order it from simplest to most complex.
In this example, the important information that needed to be kept, but written in different words, is not made explicit in the A2 version. The simplified definition of a publication is so simple that it doesn’t define if the publication is traditional or experimental.
It’s important to remember that A2 is a vehicle of commoning and not a nuanced translation. It’s like going from HD to lo-fi; you will lose a lot of details but it is important that the basic information you end up with still aligns with the HD version.
ISSUES is a digital publication that comes out each year, made by each cohort of the School of Commons (SOC) 10-month peer learning program*. Each project in a cohort can add something to ISSUES. ISSUES always has a theme that connects to all the projects.
A publication is something that is published - which is to make content available to the public. It can be for example a book, an article, or a video.