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SC 3.1.2 lang exception: proper names

for

From: Wolfgang Berndorfer
Date: May 2, 2019 2:34PM

Hi especially non-English native speakers,



SC 3.1.2 takes out *proper names* from the obligation to attribute phrases,
when phrase language differs from the language of the page. But why and
when?



I didn’t find any further information in the W3C understanding section or in
the archives of this discussion list, except for following small hint in the
W3C understanding section:

https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-other-lang-id.html#meanin
g-other-lang-id-188-head

“Providing language markup on proper names to facilitate correct
pronunciation by screen readers (future link)”



So I ask You for correction and comments to my following thoughts:



1. The pronunciation of the proper name through synthesized speech should
sound similar to the pronunciation of the name in broadcast media in the
default language of the document.



German language radio stations commonly pronounce the name of English or
French persons in an English or French way. French radio stations on the
other hand pronounce any name usually in a French way. This is what
listeners are used to and should hear from their speech engine.



For example the name of the former French president, François Hollande, on
German stations always was pronounced like it would have been in French. So
no screen reader user would know, whom it’s about, if “Hollande” was
pronounced via German sythesizers. And for the English community on the
other hand: Who is the man who is pronounced in German like Shwurzenega?



So what stays from the exception for proper names in 3.1.2?:



2. Proper names need no lang-attribution, if the pronunciation between
habitual and synthesized listening only differs in nuances of accentuation
or intonation.



Thanks for input!



Wolfgang