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Make text content readable and understandable by using the Lang attribute

Accessibility is a very important topic in design. Ensuring that larger audiences can access the information you are providing, allows for the equal share of knowledge for all people. Elise Roy takes this concept a step further by stating that designing for accessibility optimizes the experience for everyone.  “...more and more I kept running into solutions that were originally made for people with disabilities that ended up being picked up, embraced, and loved by the mainstream” (Roy, 7:49) One powerful example she provided was that Text messaging was originally designed for the deaf. I think that is a great example of how designing for disability can improve the experience for everyone. “What if we changed our mindset? What if we started designing for disability first… when we design for disability first we often stumble onto solutions that are not only inclusive but are also often better than when we design for the norm” (7:13) Roy’s approach turns designing for accessibility into a tool we can all use to improve our design solutions.    

If we use this blog as an example, there are many ways to improve its accessibility. I think a good place to start is to focus on the readability by following the WCAG standards. For this post I will focus on the language of the page.      

 

Guideline 3.1 – Readable: Make text content readable and understandable.

3.1.1 Language of Page - Level A

The default human language of each Web page can be programmatically determined.


According to the w3.org the objective of this technique is to identify the default language of a document by providing a lang attribute on the html element. Identifying the language of the document is important for a number of reasons: (How to Meet WCAG, n.d) 

  • It allows braille translation software to substitute control codes for accented characters, and insert control codes necessary to prevent erroneous creation of Grade 2 braille contractions.
  • Speech synthesizers that support multiple languages will be able to orient and adapt to the pronunciation and syntax that are specific to the language of the page, speaking the text in the appropriate accent with proper pronunciation.
  • Marking the language can benefit future developments in technology, for example users who are unable to translate between languages themselves will be able to use machines to translate unfamiliar languages.
  • Marking the language can also assist user agents in providing definitions using a dictionary.


It took a little digging to figure out how to add this to my Bloggers HTML. Luckily there are a few articles and forums that helped me figure out how to find the Blogger HTML. On the main page you can click "theme" then access the drop down next to the customize button. Here you will find "edit html" as one of the options. 



Now you can add lang="en" to the HTML that will allow the various page readers to pick up the intended language. 



   
Now, take a deep breathe, pray that you didn't just some how break the internet and click "save". 


It seems like everything is still working on my site so I am happy that I was able to add that snippet of code without causing any problems. On the W3.org site there are several guidelines on the topic of readability alone. Just implementing this one change was a challenge for me and it was not quick or easy. The degree of difficulty as well as the amount of research involved gives me a new appreciation for designing with accessibility in mind.

Work Cited: 


Roy, Elise, When we design for disability, we all benefit, Ted X Mid Atlantic.   
    



 


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