The accessibility of emoji

I’ll be honest: I generally haven’t given emoji—and how they’re announced by screen readers—much thought. In my mind, this is the kind of thing that’s already solved by the existing tools.
But yesterday, I stumbled onto this amazing deep dive by Steve Faulkner from a few years ago on how they actually work…
Unicode symbols do not have inbuilt text alternatives. They are exposed in the browser accessibility tree as a text symbol.


This content originally appeared on Go Make Things and was authored by Go Make Things

I’ll be honest: I generally haven’t given emoji—and how they’re announced by screen readers—much thought. In my mind, this is the kind of thing that’s already solved by the existing tools.

But yesterday, I stumbled onto this amazing deep dive by Steve Faulkner from a few years ago on how they actually work…

Unicode symbols do not have inbuilt text alternatives. They are exposed in the browser accessibility tree as a text symbol.

The text alternatives for Unicode symbols are usually contained within a text file in screen reading software’s program files directory.

And there are differences between screen readers in how they’re announced. Consider this emoji: 😁.

  • JAWS and Narrator announce grinning face with smiling eyes
  • NVDA and VoiceOver announce beaming face with smiling eyes

Do the differences matter? Probably not.

But if you want to learn more about how screen readers handle emoji, go read Steve’s article in full. It’s really interesting!

🎉 Preorder Getting Sh!t Done today and get 40% off! Be more productive, get more done, and feel more in-control of your work and life. Click here to learn more.


This content originally appeared on Go Make Things and was authored by Go Make Things


Print Share Comment Cite Upload Translate Updates
APA

Go Make Things | Sciencx (2024-09-18T14:30:00+00:00) The accessibility of emoji. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2024/09/18/the-accessibility-of-emoji/

MLA
" » The accessibility of emoji." Go Make Things | Sciencx - Wednesday September 18, 2024, https://www.scien.cx/2024/09/18/the-accessibility-of-emoji/
HARVARD
Go Make Things | Sciencx Wednesday September 18, 2024 » The accessibility of emoji., viewed ,<https://www.scien.cx/2024/09/18/the-accessibility-of-emoji/>
VANCOUVER
Go Make Things | Sciencx - » The accessibility of emoji. [Internet]. [Accessed ]. Available from: https://www.scien.cx/2024/09/18/the-accessibility-of-emoji/
CHICAGO
" » The accessibility of emoji." Go Make Things | Sciencx - Accessed . https://www.scien.cx/2024/09/18/the-accessibility-of-emoji/
IEEE
" » The accessibility of emoji." Go Make Things | Sciencx [Online]. Available: https://www.scien.cx/2024/09/18/the-accessibility-of-emoji/. [Accessed: ]
rf:citation
» The accessibility of emoji | Go Make Things | Sciencx | https://www.scien.cx/2024/09/18/the-accessibility-of-emoji/ |

Please log in to upload a file.




There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.

You must be logged in to translate posts. Please log in or register.