What would be nice is if JavaScript had a built-in way to do what I can do in Ruby with:

> I18n.interpolate('Hi, %{name}', name: 'Fred')
=> "Hi, Fred"

But to be fair, I18n comes from i18n library, so JS could just as easily (and I'm sure does) have a library that does the same thing.

Update: Actually, you can do this in plain Ruby (so why do we even need I18n.interpolate?):

main > "Hi, %{name}" % {name: 'Fred'}
=> "Hi, Fred"

main > ? String#%

From: string.c (C Method):
Owner: String
Visibility: public
Signature: %(arg1)
Number of lines: 9

Format---Uses str as a format specification, and returns the result
of applying it to arg. If the format specification contains more than
one substitution, then arg must be an Array or Hash
containing the values to be substituted. See Kernel::sprintf for
details of the format string.

   "%05d" % 123                              #=> "00123"
   "%-5s: %016x" % [ "ID", self.object_id ]  #=> "ID   : 00002b054ec93168"
   "foo = %{foo}" % { :foo => 'bar' }        #=> "foo = bar"

I guess that built-in version is fine for simple cases. You only need to use I18n.translate if you need its more advanced features like I18n.config.missing_interpolation_argument_handler.

what is plain language This government site describes the rationale for plain language and more importantly provides some tools for using it. Plain language can be useful when writing text for e-learning products, among other things; this is a useful site to review. There is a list of resources as well. rating 4/5

Here is an example Plain Language Summary created for one of David Sommer's own articles.

Maximize publication impact by all stakeholders coordinating their efforts

What is it about?

In this paper I explore the idea that in order to maximize a publication's impact, everybody needs to play their part - authors, co-authors, publishers, institutions, societies and funders. The author is the common factor that links all of these organizations and groups, so their thinking must shift towards creating a culture of discoverability, encouraging the organizations they work with to help generate impact. The author becomes the conductor, leading the orchestra of players. Why is it important?

The case for authors taking responsibility for maximizing the impact of their research has never been stronger. With over $1 trillion invested in research every year it is surprising to find some studies showing that 50% of articles are never read, and a much higher percentage are never cited. With researchers under increasing pressure from institutions and funders to demonstrate that their research will have impact and be applied, it is critical that researchers do all they can to make sure the right people find, understand and use their work.

See it on Kudos.

Cue Roman Jakobson. In a way, by giving the illusion of mutual understanding, these apps exacerbate the problem. Also, because they do the worst job with rich language work (nuance, subtlety, wordplay, polysemy, subtext…) they encourage a very “sterile” language which might have pleased Orwell like it pleases transhumanists, but which waters down what makes language worth speaking.