RE: Definition of Contraction:

Just a small plug

Using a referenced lexicon would make all these type of problems go
away....

All the best
Lisa Seeman
 
Visit us at the UB Access website
UB Access - Moving internet accessibility
 


> -----Original Message-----
> From: w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org 
> [mailto:w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org] On Behalf Of Yvette P. Hoitink
> Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2004 4:23 PM
> To: 'WAI WCAG List'
> Subject: RE: Definition of Contraction:
> 
> 
> 
> Hello all,
>  
> In the examples of contractions I have seen "o'clock", 
> "isn't", etc. Can someone explain to me what accessibility 
> problems are involved in those? I can't see much problems 
> with those. Can someone give me examples of contractions that 
> really limit accessibility? 
> 
> In our language, Dutch, we have some contractions that have 
> been used instead of the full versions for decades, maybe 
> even centuries. Examples: " 's morgens" instead of "des 
> morgens", "zo'n" instead of "zo een". The full word 'des' has 
> all but disappeared from our language, and won't be familiar 
> to people with learning disabilities. 
> 
> For these examples, most people won't even realize that they 
> are contractions and might get confused and even not 
> understand you if you provide the full version. In my 
> estimate, this will be especially true for people with 
> learning disabilities. The contracted versions are the simple 
> versions, providing the full archaic versions won't benefit anyone. 
> 
> It seems to me that there are contractions that would benefit 
> from providing the full version for better understanding, and 
> that there are contractions where providing the full version 
> could be harmful. I don't know that we can come up with a 
> clear definition to separate the two but we have to be 
> careful not to do more harm than good. 
> 
> Yvette Hoitink
> Heritas, Enschede, the Netherlands
> E-mail: y.p.hoitink@heritas.nl
> WWW: http://www.heritas.nl
>

Received on Monday, 17 May 2004 07:25:39 UTC