<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="tip-24.4.css"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="tip-24.5.css"?>
<tippage revision="2002-06-13" xml:lang="en">
  <accesstip>
    <headline>
      Accessibility Tip:
      Identify Language Changes
    </headline>
    <author>
      <name>Kynn Bartlett</name>
      <email>&lt;kynn@idyllmtn.com&gt;</email>
    </author>
    <tipbody>
      <para>
        When a blind user accesses a Web page using a
        screenreader, the screenreader uses a specific
        language dictionary to know how words should be
        pronounced, based on the language of the page.
        If the wrong dictionary is used, the speech
        will be very difficult to understand.
      </para>
      <para>
        If the language changes in the middle of the Web
        page, you need to mark that change with the
        <code>lang</code> attribute, which can be set
        on any HTML tag, but usually on the
        <code>&lt;span&gt;</code> element. This will let
        the screenreader know which language dictionary
        to use when synthesizing speech.
      </para>
      <para paratype="note">
        The XML equivalent of the <code>lang</code>
        attribute is <code>xml:lang</code>.
      </para>
    </tipbody>
    <tipexample>
      &lt;p&gt;
        &lt;span lang="de"&gt;
          Ich bin Berliner.
        &lt;/span&gt; 
        (I am a resident of Berlin)
      &lt;/p&gt;
    </tipexample>
  </accesstip>
</tippage>

