Ben Myers 🦖

📝 I wrote a thing!

Markup hacks for overriding screenreader pronunciations can get… pretty iff-y. So what's a dev to do instead? #accessibility #a11y
https://benmyers.dev/blog/overriding-screenreader-pronunciations/

The Curious Case of “iff” and Overriding Screenreader Pronunciations

Markup hacks to override screenreader pronunciations can get a little iffy. Here's some techniques to try instead.

Ben Myers
Jul 31, 2023 at 2:59pmWeb
Show threadBen Myers 🦖Jul 31, 2023
Huge thanks to @5t3ph, @eric, and @hi_mayank for reading through my draft and providing some great feedback!
Show threadEthan MarcotteJul 31, 2023
@ben This is *fantastic*, Ben. Thank you for writing it.
Show threadBen Myers 🦖Jul 31, 2023
@beep Ah, thank you so much, Ethan!
Show threadTyler StickaJul 31, 2023

@ben I was completely unaware that ”iff” was ever used as an abbreviation for ”if and only if” until this article.

I wonder how many times I’ve read it and assumed it was a typo?

Show threadBen Myers 🦖Jul 31, 2023
@tylersticka For sure! In this case, I think it tends to be used pretty much just within formal logic/mathematics spaces, so you may never have seen it at all! But for that reason, it's maybe one of the edge-casiest edge cases, which made pretty interesting to use as the core example here.
Show threadTyler StickaJul 31, 2023
@ben Absolutely!
Show threadLaura LangdonJul 31, 2023
@ben This former math prof who’s now learning #a11y loves this article to bits. 💜
Show threadBen Myers 🦖Jul 31, 2023
@LauraLangdon Ahh, I'm glad you liked it!
Show threadRichard BairwellAug 1, 2023
@ben What happens in screen readers if the iff is marked up as an <abbr>? (since <acronym> is no longer valid). Does it read it out letter by letter and/or read out (if included) the title= contents?
Show threadRichard ZachAug 1, 2023
@ben Thanks so much! I already made an #accessibility page https://forallx.openlogicproject.org/html/A4.html so that SR users can easily compare the pronunciation of #logic symbols with how they should be pronounced (since I guess trying to get screen readers to pronounce ⊢ as "proves" and not "right tack" is a losing proposition). I just have to find myself a Windows machine and a Mac (and some time) and test it out with JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver
Appendix D Notes on accessibility ‣ Appendices ‣ forall x: Calgary. An Introduction to Formal Logic‣ Appendices ‣ forall x: Calgary. An Introduction to Formal Logic

Show threadBen Myers 🦖Aug 1, 2023
@rrrichardzach Hey, glad it helped! I learned some things writing this, too.
Show threadRicky OnsmanAug 1, 2023
@ben You wrote a very, very good thing!
Show threadBen Myers 🦖Aug 1, 2023
@onsman Thank you so much!