- From: Christopher Atkinson <cwa@pipeline.com>
- Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 23:58:21 -0500
- To: <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Two narrow, technical questions: (a) if my base language is EN-US but I have proper names in other languages, should I use <SPAN LANG="xx">Foreign Name</SPAN> to be in compliance with the WAI content recommendation? I have been working under the assumption that I should use LANG where a foreign word would be italicized under print conventions (i.e., non-proper foreign words, but not proper nouns). However, a voice browser is going to mangle a name just as badly as a non-proper foreign word. But if I do use LANG on proper names, I could be flipping among languages multiple times per sentence, or even per name (for example <SPAN LANG="FR">Marie</SPAN><SPAN LANG="IT">de'Medici</SPAN>, <SPAN LANG="NL">Maurits</SPAN> of <SPAN LANG="DE">Nassau</SPAN>). If voice user agents announce the change in language every time this happens, or change the voice used to speak the words, I imagine it could be very annoying to users, perhaps even more annoying than mangled names. I understand that, given the lack of support for LANG in current technology, this is a somewhat abstract question. Still I would like to be prepared for the future and in compliance with the standard in the present. (b) if I include roman numerals in my text, will commonly used voice browsers/screen readers read them as the associated number or as the component letters? For example would a listener hear "Bogislav XIV" as "Bogislav the Fourteenth" or as "Bogislav EX-EYE-VEE"? Is there any difference in reading among: Bogislav XIV Bogislav XIVth Bogislav XIVth. If this is a problem, is there any solution other than writing out the numeral or using arabic numerals (both of which would confuse or annoy users of visual browsers)? Would <SPAN TITLE="the Fourteenth"> do anybody any good? Or even <ACRONYM TITLE="the Fourteenth">? (Yes, <ABBR> is actually correct, but I'm not even going to go there.) I know this is a little off-topic for a policy making list, so if there is a proper list of which I am unaware, I would be grateful if you could forward this there. Thanks for your help,
Received on Sunday, 27 February 2000 00:04:39 UTC