Is an ampersand accessible?
We have changed all instances of ampersands into ‘and’ for accessibility reasons. Screen readers and other accessibility devices have a difficult time recognising the ampersand.
How does a screen reader read &?
A screen reader uses a Text-To-Speech (TTS) engine to translate on-screen information into speech, which can be heard through earphones or speakers. A TTS may be a software application that comes bundled with the screen reader, or it may be a hardware device that plugs into the computer.
What symbols can screen readers read?
You can use such punctuation as periods, commas, semi-colons, colons, parentheses, brackets, quotation marks, dashes, exclamation points, question marks and some others. JAWS is the most likely of the screen readers to read these kinds of punctuation marks. NVDA is the least likely.
Can screen readers read special characters?
For accessibility purposes, it is important to note that some screen readers and other assistive technologies cannot read certain symbols. Kurzweil simply says, “Question mark,” for many symbols, while NVDA ignores some altogether, including various arrow symbols and others that are commonly used for math equations.
Where is the ampersand used?
The ampersand can be used to indicate that the “and” in a listed item is a part of the item’s name and not a separator (e.g. “Rock, pop, rhythm & blues, and hip hop”). The ampersand may still be used as an abbreviation for “and” in informal writing regardless of how “and” is used.
Can you use ampersand in ALT text?
Ever wondered if you should use sentence case, title case, or all lowercase for your alt text? But your alt text should be in sentence case, except for acronyms. 2. Capitalize those acronyms — but remove ampersands.
What is a screen reader accessibility?
A screen reader is a piece of assistive technology that is frequently used by person with visual impairments or learning disabilities. Some screen readers allow the user to preview information, like the navigation bar or all the headings on a page, and skip the user to the desired section of the page.
Do screen readers read HTML?
Screen readers can’t “read” images. Instead they read the alternate text provided through the HTML tag. This alternate text should give an accurate and clear description of the image’s contents. If there is no alternate text provided, the screen reader will read “graphic”.
Do screen readers read brackets?
Screen readers read most punctuation by default, such as parentheses, dashes, asterisks, and so on, but not all screen readers choose to read the same pieces of punctuation. Some do not read asterisks by default, for example.
Can screen readers read asterisk?
The asterisk character is not read out loud by many screen readers. Even if they were read out loud, the user would hear “asterisk” and not know why it was being read aloud.
What is an ampersand in HTML?
An ampersand (sometimes referred to as the “and” symbol) is a special character that requires special coding when being used on a website or blog. To display the ampersand symbol, you can use either the HTML entity number or the entity name.
What is web accessibility?
Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. More specifically, people can: perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web. contribute to the Web.
What is the meaning of Ampersand?
Definition of ampersand : a character typically & standing for the word and : a character {amp} that is used for the word and : a character & standing for the word and
What are the international standards for web accessibility?
The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative ( WAI) develops technical specifications, guidelines, techniques, and supporting resources that describe accessibility solutions. These are considered international standards for web accessibility; for example, WCAG 2.0 is also an ISO standard: ISO/ IEC 40500.