RE: Hawaiian Diacritics

Thanks to all who already provided input on this discussion.



So, is it necessary to code each word with aria-labels and the proper
escape sequence for each Hawaiian letter, even though screen readers will
never pronounce the words correctly? This seems like it would be a
difficult task for pages with more than a few Hawaiian words, especially
for content creators.



Would inserting a <lang=”haw”> before each word/paragraph be enough? Is
that even necessary?



If the Hawaiian content is not marked up at all, is it still ADA compliant
even though screen readers can’t pronounce the words properly?



Thanks,



-Ryan M.



*From:* Ryan McCalla <rmccalla@hawaii.edu>
*Sent:* Friday, May 6, 2022 9:50 AM
*To:* w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
*Subject:* Hawaiian Diacritics



Hello,



What are the best practices around accessibility and mixed language web
content? I know screen readers do not pronounce Hawaiian words correctly.
However, my team at the University of Hawai‘i is trying to compile best
practices and recommendations with regards to the use of Hawaiian language
in digital media. Our Communications Office has put together some
recommendations
<https://www.hawaii.edu/offices/communications/standards/hawaiian-language-considerations/>.
I think we just want to verify that these are indeed the best practices for
making the Hawaiian language accessible on the web.



We appreciate any input on this issue.



Thanks,



*Ryan McCalla (he/him/his)*

IT Specialist, Client Service and Operations Center

Information Technology Services

University of Hawai‘i

rmccalla@hawaii.edu | 808-956-2170