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Re: lang attribute for foreign words found in MerriamWebster's dictionary?

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From: Moore,Michael (DARS)
Date: Apr 21, 2015 2:39PM

You don't need to use a lang attribute on words that have been adopted/appropriated by the native language of the page. Thus for an English page with the <html lang="en"> designation you would not want to have <span lang="fr">resumé</span>. To do so would probably cause the screen reader to pronounce it in a manner that was unintelligible to a native English speaker.

Mike Moore
Accessibility Coordinator,
Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services

-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Mike Warner
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 3:31 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: [WebAIM] lang attribute for foreign words found in Merriam Webster's dictionary?

Hi again,

as I'm going though the WCAG Checklist, I saw this:

Individual words in another language that could be understood incorrectly or not at all are marked up using the lang attribute.

What if the foreign words are in common English dictionaries? We don't use many, mainly in our art and culture courses, and the words all have accessible glossary spans next to them.

Thanks,
Mike