WCAG (Level AAA) SC 3.1.6 Pronunciation (w3.org)
Issue description
WCAG 3.1.6, “Pronunciation” focuses on making web content more accessible to people with cognitive or learning disabilities, as well as those who rely on assistive technologies like screen readers. It addresses the challenge of understanding words that might be difficult to pronounce or that have unusual pronunciations.
Many websites contain words that can be challenging to pronounce, such as:
- Technical terms: Jargon or specialized vocabulary that might be unfamiliar to many users.
- Proper names: Names of people, places, or organizations that have unusual spellings or pronunciations.
- Foreign words: Words or phrases from other languages.
- Acronyms and abbreviations: Acronyms and abbreviations that are not commonly known.
These words can pose difficulties for:
- Cognitive disabilities: Users with cognitive disabilities might have difficulty decoding or remembering the pronunciation of unfamiliar words.
- Learning disabilities: Users with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, might struggle to sound out or pronounce words with unusual spellings.
- Screen reader users: Screen readers might mispronounce words if they don’t have information about their correct pronunciation.
WCAG requirements
This guideline recommends that a mechanism for identifying specific pronunciation of words is available. This can be achieved through:
- Pronunciation guides: Provide a pronunciation guide for unusual or difficult words, using phonetic transcription or audio recordings.
- Dictionary links: Link the word to an online dictionary that provides pronunciation information.
Benefits
- Improved comprehension: Users can understand the content more easily if they know how to pronounce the words correctly.
- Reduced ambiguity: It clarifies the pronunciation of words that might have multiple pronunciations or be pronounced differently in different contexts.
- Enhanced accessibility: It makes the content more accessible to users with cognitive or learning disabilities and those who rely on assistive technologies.
Essentially, this guideline promotes clarity and accessibility by ensuring that the pronunciation of potentially challenging words is clearly indicated, making the content more accessible to a wider audience.
Related requirements
The following WCAG source criteria are often related to this as well. They can provide additional insights into specific challenges you may be encountering.
- WCAG (Level A) SC 3.1.1 Language of Page
- WCAG (Level AA) SC 3.1.2 Language of Parts
- WCAG (Level AAA) SC 3.1.3 Unusual Words
- WCAG (Level AAA) SC 3.1.4 Abbreviations
- WCAG (Level AAA) SC 3.1.5 Reading Level
Who this issue impacts
Follow the links for additional information on user impairments:
Suggestions for remediation
Remediating WCAG 3.1.6 “Pronunciation” involves providing a mechanism for users to understand the pronunciation of words that might be difficult or have unusual pronunciations. Here’s how:
Provide pronunciation guides
- Phonetic transcription: Use phonetic transcription to indicate the pronunciation of the word. You can use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or a simpler pronunciation guide.
- Example: “The word ‘hyperbole’ (hahy-pur-buh-lee) means exaggeration.”
- Audio recordings: Provide audio recordings of the word being pronounced correctly. This can be especially helpful for words with complex pronunciations or foreign words.
Link to dictionary entries
- Online dictionaries: Link the word to an online dictionary that provides pronunciation information, such as Merriam-Webster or Wiktionary. This allows users to easily look up the pronunciation and hear an audio recording if available.
Consider user needs
- Cognitive disabilities: Ensure that the pronunciation guides or annotations are clear, concise, and easy to understand.
- Assistive technology compatibility: Test the implementation with screen readers to ensure that the pronunciations are conveyed correctly.
Use ruby annotations
- Pronunciation hints: Use the HTML
<ruby>element to provide pronunciation hints alongside the word. This is particularly useful for languages with complex writing systems, such as Chinese or Japanese.- Please note that this function is not compatible with all browsers. Learn to Markup East Asian Character’s Pronunciation with HTML Ruby Tag (YouTube)
- Example:
HTML
<ruby>
福 <rp>(</rp><rt>fuku</rt><rp>)</rp>
</ruby>Testing
- Screen reader testing: Test the page with a screen reader to ensure that the pronunciations are conveyed effectively.
- User testing: Conduct user testing with people with cognitive disabilities or learning disabilities to get feedback on the clarity and usability of the pronunciation aids.
Example
If your website uses the word “onomatopoeia,” which has an unusual pronunciation, you can:
- Provide a pronunciation guide: “Onomatopoeia (on-uh-mat-uh-pee-uh) is the formation of a word…”
- Link to a dictionary: “Onomatopoeia (see dictionary pronunciation) is the formation of a word…”
- Use ruby annotations: (This would be more suitable for languages with non-Latin scripts)
By implementing these techniques, you can ensure that all users, regardless of their language background or cognitive abilities, can understand the pronunciation of potentially challenging words, improving accessibility and comprehension.
