RE: Hawaiian Diacritics

  *   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?

No. The existing WCAG requirement is that the page and any words/passages have appropriate lang attributes.

The ability for ATs to support a specific language is not factored into the requirement (which would lead to a chicken-and-egg problem). The author responsibility does not extend to AT support (at least in the context of these requirements).

If you as an author have properly used the lang attribute on pages and passages, you have met https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/language-of-page.html and https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/language-of-parts

In regards to practical usage, your considerations go beyond the existing authoring requirements. It doesn’t mean you don’t want to try to address, but the discussion will become exploratory. WCAG techniques are not prescriptive, they are merely sufficient. Technical decisions you make may affect how you go about meeting the requirements.

Mike


From: Ryan McCalla <rmccalla@hawaii.edu>
Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 12:38 PM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] 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?
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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<mailto:rmccalla@hawaii.edu>>
Sent: Friday, May 6, 2022 9:50 AM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org<mailto: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<mailto:rmccalla@hawaii.edu> | 808-956-2170