The National Patterns of Language Cultivation and Plain Language in Public Service

This study analyses public service media's (radio and television) language cultivation practices and the plain communication of public service institutions with the citizens based on Hungarian and international examples.In response to digitalisation, online surfaces have developed new patterns of transmitting and receiving information: the boundaries between the traditionally distinct genres of radio and television have become blurred.At the same time, the previously valid linguistic normative system has become marginalised, and the regulation of the online media space is also increasingly complex.Public service media must also adapt to differentiated user needs on online platforms.The study chronologically presents the development of public service language use, using the practices developed in the second half of the 20th century.Its methodology is formed by analysing the relevant Hungarian and international academic literature, comparative case studies and the materials of interviews and conference debates.As a linguistic compass, public service media and institutions remain indispensable for 21st-century society.They must preserve normative speech, while also integrating the foreign and technical terms created during globalisation and information technological progress into everyday communication in an accessible manner.