Specialized English sounds the same as Special English, and it almost is the same. Both use a 1500 word core vocabulary, short sentences, and slow delivery (about 90 words per minute). Special English was used from about 1959 by Voice of America. Specialized was written in the late 1990's, independently of Voice of America. The basic design is identical, but there is a slight difference in the vocabulary, and Specialized is more international. VoA is a federal US government department, so it doesn't make Special English programs for anything other than VoA's own use. Specialized English was designed by the civil society, and the developers try to make programs for several purposes. The developers of Specialized felt they should choose a name to show both the similarity and the difference.