Simplified Technical English has been in the making since the 1930’s when Basic English was developed and introduced in international trade within the British colonies.
Basic English died out quickly, but then in the 1970’s Caterpillar, a manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, introduced Caterpillar Fundamental English, or CFE. It was developed to help reduce translation costs.
In the 1980’s the aerospace industry, an industry that is dependent on international communication, created Simplified English. English has always been the aviation standard and it was used for the maintenance and repair documentation. Simplified English helped to reduce miscommunication with people for whom English is not their native language. In 2013, Simplified English was renamed to Simplified Technical English (STE) to separate it from other controlled language approaches.
Tags: Documentation • simplified technical english • STE • technical documentation • Technical Writing