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Re: Proper Unicode or html entity for negative sign

for

From: David Farough
Date: Mar 14, 2023 10:10AM

I will be interested to hear what you determine for this situation.
There is a date and number processing option in jaws that may deal with this issue.
This is the description of the options available.
Unfortunately there is no mention for negative numbers.
Use this list to determine how numbers are read. Select Controlled by Synthesizer to have the current synthesizer determine how numbers are read. This is the default setting. Select Single Digits to read numbers as a series of single numbers. For example, "123" is read as one two three. Select Pairs to read numbers as a series of paired numbers. For example, "1050" is read as "ten fifty." If the number has an odd number of digits, JAWS reads the first digit as a single digit and pairs the rest. For example, "123" is read as "one twenty three." Select Full Numbers to always reads numbers as complete numbers. For example, "123" is read as "one hundred twenty three."

There is also a setting that can be used if numbers contain dashes.
Description:
When selected, numbers that contain dashes without spaces are read as individual digits. Telephone number formatting, where a dash is preceded by and followed by a digit, is an example of this type of number string. This check box is used in conjunction with the Number Processing combo box. This means that JAWS processes numbers based on the current selection in the Number Processing combo box. This check box is selected by default.
-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > On Behalf Of Patrick H. Lauke
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2023 11:30 AM
To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Proper Unicode or html entity for negative sign

On 14/03/2023 15:21, Elizabeth Thomas wrote:
>
> Does anyone know the correct Unicode or HTML entity for the negative sign (e.g., to represent the number negative 19)? The context is a negative number used in a sentence; it’s not in a mathematical expression or equation.
> I know I could use the hyphen, but that will be ignored by many technologies because it’s wrong and that’s not what hyphens are for. Consequently, I don’t think it will be clear to some people that the number is negative.
> I could use Unicode entity 2212, but that looks super weird and I’m not sure that’s correct because that’s for the minus operator.
> Is there another entity I can use that will be read correctly by AT like a screen reader? Or is the Unicode entity 2212 the correct character for this use case? Or Is hyphen minus (002D) the correct entity? (I’m definitely not using the en dash, which is for ranges as it means “to” or “through”).

In theory, the regular "-" (U+002D, hyphen-minus) is perfectly valid as
a negative/minus sign. However, screen readers will often treat this as
just a hyphen, and not announce it (the same way they don't announce
general punctuation, unless explicitly set to do so), unless their
heuristics kick in to instead treat it as a minus sign.
https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.compart.com%2Fen%2Funicode%2FU%2B002D&data%7C01%7Cdavid.farough%40cfp-psc.gc.ca%7Cf4cf4875afb94dc842ef08db24a0f164%7C961b30aad4394bc7b6749c4a389b0be3%7C0%7C0%7C638144045894235785%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdatavT4Ud4cwTcDZs8QhFQZO%2BnOvyMEt1z0CYpbsslu2m0%3D&reserved=0

You could indeed try "−" (U+2212 minus sign), which also maps to &minus;
HTML entity, but suggest testing in AT if this has the desired effect.
https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.compart.com%2Fen%2Funicode%2FU%2B2212&data%7C01%7Cdavid.farough%40cfp-psc.gc.ca%7Cf4cf4875afb94dc842ef08db24a0f164%7C961b30aad4394bc7b6749c4a389b0be3%7C0%7C0%7C638144045894235785%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=yeNmYQ5jgcD0lTL4TSarYddl5ODIWt7Fwm5F%2Be%2BtpBw%3D&reserved=0

P
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Patrick H. Lauke

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