Re: Mixing languages

  *   I know about marking up an entire document (WCAG SC 3.1.1) and parts of
it (3.1.2), but I wonder whether there are any recommendation regarding
the mixing of languages in documents. Probably not in WCAG, but maybe
elsewhere?

I suppose that there could be added a level AAA criteria for not mixing languages on a single page. But to require all types of content to always be in a single language as a level A or AA criteria would not be practical.

And, because of automated translation technology, one could more easily create an assistive technology to translate the parts of the content in the language that the person didn’t understand into a language they preferred. I see this in practice today in Facebook posts in languages that are not in English that I have marked as my preferred language. In other words, Facebook auto-translates the persons posts from what-ever into English automatically for me.

I have auto-captions setting on for any audio playing in Chrome.
Does anyone know of a plug-in for auto-translating content in Chrome?


Regards,

Phill Jenkins
IBM Accessibility, IBM Design
512-791-4517
Slack: #accessibility-at-ibm<3.%09https:/ibm-cio.slack.com/archives/C036P1CTN>
Equal Access toolkit and accessibility checker at ibm.com/able/<https://www.ibm.com/able/>
“Without accessibility, there is no diversity and inclusion”

From: Till Halbach <halbach@nr.no>
Date: Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 4:15 PM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Mixing languages
Greetings,

I know about marking up an entire document (WCAG SC 3.1.1) and parts of
it (3.1.2), but I wonder whether there are any recommendation regarding
the mixing of languages in documents. Probably not in WCAG, but maybe
elsewhere?

For instance, it is not uncommon in Norway that people occasionally
braid single English words into their sentences. Or, I could be refering
from a Norwegian page to an article with only an English title.

So the argument would be that many people are not fluent in foreign
languages, and maybe also that mixing languages increases one's
cognitive load too much, and the reader might become confused. Thus,
this should be avoided.

However, after more than 15 years with user testing, I cannot recall to
have heard a single complaint about this.

Please share your thoughts. Thanks!

--
Best regards,
Till Halbach, seniorforsker / senior research scientist
Norwegian Computing Center / Norsk Regnesentral (NR)  |  http://nr.no/