Multilingual Ebooks and Their Accessibility for Assistive Technologies
Multilingual Ebooks and Their Accessibility for Assistive Technologies
Ebook accessibility is key to comfortable use of ebooks by people who use assistive technologies. Editors and publishers can improve ebook accessibility a lot by using the right editorial techniques and by formatting EPUB files correctly. In this article, we focus on language problems and multilingual ebooks and tell you how to make sure an ebook’s content is displayed correctly.
Setting Ebook Language and Assistive Technologies
Screen readers and other assistive technologies recognize a text’s language through theEPUB file’s metadata and language markers in the code. If the language is not indentified correctly, programmes might read the text incorrectly, e.g. speech synthesisers might mispronounce words.
How to correctly define a file’s language in the EPUB format?
Declaring language in metadata
In an EPUB file, a book’s language should be declared in the <metadata> section of an OPF file, e.g.:
xml
<dc:language>pl</dc:language>
If a book is in English, use en, for German – de, etc.
Language markers in text
The xml:lang attribute can be used in a text to mark parts written in another language:
html
<p xml:lang="fr">Bonjour, comment ça va?</p>
This way, screen readers can switch over to the speech synthesiser corresponding a given language.
Separating languages in multilingual ebooks
If a book is written in more than one language, you should:
- Use separate xml:lang markers for each part of the text.
- Add a list of languages used in a book to EPUB metadata (if possible).
Alphabets and scripts
Ebooks need to function correctly for different writing systems, especially if they contain languages which use scripts other than the Latin script, such as Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese, etc.
- You should make sure that fonts rooted in an EPUB file work with all characters which are used.
- The EPUB 3 format supports Unicode and should display different alphabets correctly, but you may encounter some limitations in older versions of EPUB.
Multilingual Ebooks - Problems
How to manage multilingual books in one EPUB?
Most multilingual ebooks are translations, language courses or scientific publications which contain text in multiple languages on a single page. This is how to make them work correctly:
Mark the language correctly in HTML
Each part in another language should be clearly marked:
html
<div xml:lang="es">¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?</div>
<div xml:lang="en">Hi! How are you?</div>
These markers enable modern screen readers to switch over to another language .
Use correct styles for languages read from right to left (RTL)
Languages like Arabic or Hebrew require the dir="rtl" setting in order to be correctly displayed in screen readers:
html
<p xml:lang="ar" dir="rtl">مرحبابكفيكتابناالإلكتروني</p>
Make sure the speech synthesiser reads all languages
Some systems do not read rare languages and, because of that, screen readers might not be able to read them. If this is the case, you should add an audio file as an alternative.
Further Advice for Editors
1. Test your ebook on various ebook readers
In order to make sure that speech synthesisers read a language code correctly, use screen readers available on the market, like: talkback (devices which run on Adroid), VoiceOver (Mac, Iphone), NVDA or JAWS (Windows) to make sure if languages are detected correctly.
Check how switching between languages works in different EPUB-reading apps.
2. Use the EPUB 3 standard
EPUB 3 offers better accessibility support than older versions. As it works with HTML5 and ARIA, it is easier to control how text is read by assistive technologies.
3. Add a sound layer (optional)
Consider adding an audio version where each language is pronounced correctly. For the EPUB 3 standard audio files compliment text.
Reading Multilingual Ebooks Using a Refreshable Braille Display
A refreshable braille display is a device which displays braille characters, making it possible for blind individual to read without using sound. However, in the case of multilingual ebooks, one faces challenges which should be taken into account when preparing a publication.
A refreshable braille display works with screen readers which are able to:
- Read an ebook’s language code and adjust the table of braille characters to a given language.
- Process text and send it to the display, where the content is displayed as round-tipped pins
- Automatically switch between languages if an ebook’s code uses xml:lang attributes.
E.g.: If a text contains a passage in English marked:
<p xml:lang="en">Hello, how are you?</p>
A refreshable braille display working with a screen reader should switch over to the English braille table.
Reading Multilingual Ebooks in Braille Script – Challenges
Nowadays, screen readers and refreshable braille displays work with many languages. However, some problems still occur:
Different braille standards
Each language might have its own braille script standard (e.g. simplified or full braille). E.g. in German and in Polish special characters are coded differently, which might be a problem when switching between languages suddenly.
Lack of support for rare languages
Some languages, especially less popular ones, might not have their own braille tables. If a publication contains such languages, readers might encounter problems when reading it.
Smooth switching between languages
Frequent language changes (e.g. in bilingual books or anthologies) might cause a refreshable braille display to change tables very often which hinders smooth reading.
Special characters and punctuation
In different languages punctuation or special characters may be coded differently which might lead to misinterpretation if the text is not marked correctly in the EPUB code.
How to Facilitate Reading Multilingual Ebooks in Braille?
Below you will find some advice on how to make multilingual electronic books easy to access for braille monitors as well.
In order to make an ebook more user-friendly, editors should:
- Clearly mark languages in the EPUB code using xml:langl.
- Avoid switching between languages in short intervals if not necessary.
- Test ebooks on refreshable braille displays using screen readers.
- Add footnotes explaining abbreviations or non-obvious characters, especially in specialised texts.
A well-prepared multilingual ebook is a powerful tool for blind readers which enables them to fully enjoy literature, science and culture – regardless of what language a publication was written in.
A real treasure, especially for people learning foreign languages.
Reading bilingual text written in braille enables one to follow correct spelling and punctuation. It is a priceless educational tool, especially for blind people, who do not have visual stimuli. For sighted individuals, reading advertisements, movie titles, text on everyday things etc. is an additional form of language learning (something they might be unaware of).
Multilingual publications are also very important for scholars and translators. They enable specialists to work directly on a text, comparing original versions to translations.
Similarly, people who use literature in a foreign language are able to read original versions of works, which matters, especially in the case of poetry or classical literature.
Bibliography:
https://www.continualengine.com/blog/ensuring-accessibility-for-pdfs-in-multiple-languages/
https://www.hurix.com/blogs/how-to-create-e-books-with-accessibility-features/
The article was created in close collaboration between the Polish Foundation for the Blind and Visually Impaired "Trakt” and Have a Book.
Translated by Aleksandra Kallas
Monika Zarczuk-Engelsma
Monika Zarczuk-Engelsma was born in the Lublin region, and her early years were connected to a school for the blind in Kraków. She graduated from the Academy of Podlasie with a degree in Polish Philology, and then continued her education at the University of Gdańsk, obtaining a diploma in postgraduate studies in Partnership Marketing and Public Relations. This closely aligned with the position she was entrusted with at one of the non-governmental organizations in the Tricity area.
As part of expanding her professional experience, Monika participated in projects teaching computer skills to blind individuals, conducted training on volunteerism, tried her hand at copywriting, took part in the European Union’s European Voluntary Service project, and also secured an internship at the European Economic and Social Committee. Monika is now the office manager of the Polish Foundation for the Blind and Visually Impaired "Trakt.”
In her daily life, she uses Braille but also readily takes advantage of modern technology, such as an iPhone equipped with VoiceOver, a screen-reading laptop, a talking thermometer, and a bathroom scale that announces measurements in a clear female voice. Thanks to these tools, Monika achieves a high level of independence and is able to live the way she enjoys—actively and engagingly, meeting new people, working, reading books, and pursuing hobbies such as playing chess, board and card games, cooking, and traveling (she has already visited over 30 countries).
Currently, she is also raising two wonderful children, taking care of two already adult cats, and running her dream home with a garden.