ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Intelligibility (communication)

Intelligibility is a big word that means how easy it is for people to understand each other when they talk. Just like how we sometimes don't understand what grown-ups are saying because they use big words or talk too fast, sometimes people have a hard time understanding each other because of things like accents or different languages.

Think about it like playing a game of telephone, where you whisper a message to someone and they pass it along until it gets back to you. If the message changes too much along the way or someone can't hear it clearly, then it's not very intelligible. Similarly, when we talk to each other, we want to make sure that the message we're trying to convey is received clearly and accurately.

Intelligibility can be affected by different things, like how we pronounce our words or the way we use grammar. For example, if someone says "I ain't got no money" instead of "I don't have any money," it could be harder for someone who speaks a different dialect or language to understand them.

So, when we are communicating with others, we need to make sure we are speaking clearly and using language that is easy to understand to improve our intelligibility and make sure everyone can understand each other.