Readability level of feature articles in four major dailies of Karnataka

摘要

The print matter carries an aura of sanctity and authenticity which is a powerful weapon in guiding, educating, structuring and leading people for the propitious future. The present day programmes of rural development make use of print media to carry the information on modern technology and to motivate its readers for action. The effectiveness of these printed materials depend largely on the extent to which they are readable. According to UNESCO, a piece of writing is readable if it could be read and understood by the readers for whom it is intended (Anon. 1963). Readability is closely related to the understandability of the message. One cannot understand the material which is not readable. The first readability formula was developed by Lively andPressey (1924) for English language. Since then various formulae have been developed to measure readability in English and other languages. A readability formula is a method of estimating the probable success a reader will have in reading and understanding a piece of writing. It is a predictive device, which provides an estimate of the difficulty of writing without requiring the reader to read it and undergo tests on it (Klare, 1963).