A controlled language-based evaluation approach to ensure image accessibility during web localisation
In spite of recent improvements in non-visual web access, images on the web still present an accessibility barrier to screen reader users. For this population group the presence of inappropriate text alternatives for images, or simply their absence, usually results in a poor web user experience. In this paper, we propose a controlled language (CL) rule-based approach that enables translation professionals to ensure image accessibility during the web localisation process. We describe the set of 40 CL rules we developed and then present the results of the evaluation of a selection of ten rules from the set. During the study, which sought to assess their impact on the appropriateness of text alternatives in French, the ten rules were applied using Acrolinx, a state-of-the-art CL checker. The results of the evaluation suggest that this sub-set of ten rules can help translators significantly improve the level of image accessibility obtained in the localised web product.
References (49)
Access for All. 2011. “Étude 2011 sur l’Accessibilité des Sites Web Suisses. Zurich: Access for All. Accessed June 25, 2015. [URL].
Bredenkamp, Andrew, Berthold Crysmann, and Mirela Petrea. 2000. “Looking for Errors: A Declarative Formalism for Resource-Adaptive Language Checking.
2nd International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation
, Athens Greece. Accessed June 30, 2015. [URL].
Cadwell, Patrick. 2008. Readability and Controlled Language: Does the Study of Readability Have Merit in the Field of Controlled Language, and Is Readability Increased by Applying Controlled-Language Rules to Texts? MA Thesis, Dublin City University, Ireland.
Caldwell, Ben, Michael Cooper, Loretta Reid, and Gregg Vanderheiden (eds). 2008. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Recommendation. Accessed June 30, 2015. [URL].
Doherty, Stephen. 2012. Investigating the Effects of Controlled Language on the Reading and Comprehension of Machine Translated Texts: A Mixed-Methods Approach. Doctoral Dissertation, Dublin City University, Ireland.
Fischer, Detlev, and Tiffany Wyatt. 2011. “The Case for a WCAG-based Evaluation Scheme with a Graded Rating Scale.
Proceedings of the W3C WAI Online Symposium on Website Accessibility Metrics
. Article 7. Accessed June 30, 2015. [URL].
Freitas, Diamantino. 2010. “Accessibility and Design for All Solutions through Speech Technology. In Speech Technology. Theory and Applications, edited by Fang Chen and Kristina Jokinen, 271–299. Berlin: Springer. 

Gerlach, Johanna. 2015. Improving Statistical Machine Translation of Informal Language: A Rule-based Pre-editing Approach for French Forums. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Gibb, Forbes, and Ioannis Matthaiakis. 2007. “A Framework for Assessing Web Site Localisation. The Electronic Library 25 (6): 664–678. 

Gutiérrez y Restrepo, Emmanuelle, and Loïc Martínez Normand. 2010. “Localization and Web Accessibility. Tradumàtica 81: 1–6.
Hardy, Melissa, and Alan Bryman. 2009. The Handbook of Data Analysis. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Harper, Simon, and Alex Chen. 2012. “Web Accessibility Guidelines: A Lesson from the Evolving Web. World Wide Web 15 (1): 61–88. 

Hartley, Anthony, and Cécile Paris. 2001. “Translation, Controlled Languages, Generation. In Exploring Translation and Multilingual Text Production: Beyond Content, edited by Erich Steiner and Colin Yallop, 307–326. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. 

Hickson, Ian, Robin Berjon, Steve Faulkner, Travis Leithead, and Edward O’Connor (eds). 2015. HTML 5.1. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Working Draft. Accessed June 30, 2015. [URL].
Huijsen, Willem-Olaf. 1998. “Controlled Language – An Introduction. In Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Controlled Language Applications – CLAW 98, edited by Teruko Mitamura, 1–15. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie-Mellon.
Ishida, Richard. 2006. “Designing for International Users: Practical Tips. W3C Internationalization Materials Online. Accessed June 30, 2015. [URL].
ISO/IEC TS 20071-11. 2012. “Guidance for Alternative Text for Images. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Geneva: International Organization for Standardization. Accessed June 30, 2015. [URL].
Jiménez Crespo, Miguel Ángel. 2008. El Proceso de Localización Web: Estudio Contrastivo de un Corpus Comparable del Género Sitio Web Corporativo. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Granada, Spain.
Jiménez Crespo, Miguel Ángel. 2009. “Navegación Accesible. In Materiales Multimedia Para Todos. Inclusión y accessibilidad en Educación, edited by Maria Isabel Tercedor Sanchez, 185–204. Granada: Tragacanto.
Jiménez Crespo, Miguel Ángel. 2010. “Localization and Writing for a New Medium: A Review of Digital Style Guides. Tradumàtica 81. Accessed June 15. 2015. [URL].
Jiménez Crespo, Miguel Ángel. 2013. Translation and Web Localization. London: Routledge. 

Kuhn, Tobias. 2014. “A Survey and Classification of Controlled Natural Languages. Computational Linguistics 40 (1): 121–170. 

MacKenzie, I. Scott. 2013. Human-Computer Interaction: An Empirical Research Perspective. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Mata Pastor, Manuel. 2009. “Algunas Pautas para el Tratamiento de Imágenes y Contenido Gráfico en Proyectos de Localización (II). Entreculturas: Revista de Traducción y Comunicación Intercultural 11: 533–569.
McCarron, Shane, Liam R.E. Quin, and Steve Faulkner (eds). 2015. HTML5: Techniques for Providing Useful Text Alternatives. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Working Group Note. Accessed June 30, 2015. [URL].
Mitamura, Teruko. 1999. “Controlled Language for Multilingual Machine Translation. In
Proceedings of Machine Translation Summit VII
, 46–52. Tokyo: Asia-Pacific Association for Machine Translation.
O’Brien, Sharon. 2003. “Controlling Controlled English. An Analysis of Several Controlled Language Rule Sets. In
Proceedings of EAMT-CLAW
, 105–114. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing.
O’Brien, Sharon. 2012a. “Towards a Dynamic Quality Evaluation Model for Translation. JoSTrans. The Journal of Specialised Translation 171: 55–77.
O’Brien, Sharon, and Johann Roturier. 2007. “How Portable are Controlled Language Rules? A Comparison of Two Empirical MT Studies. In
Proceedings of Machine Translation Summit XI
, 345–352. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School.
Ó Broin, Ultan. 2004. “Accessibility Is Just Another Language. Multilingual Computing and Technology. Accessed June 25, 2015. [URL].
Petrie, Helen, Christopher Power, David Swallow, Carlos A. Velasco, Blaithin Gallagher, Mark Magennis, Emma Murphy, Sam Collin, and Keren Down. 2011. “The Value Chain for Web Accessibility: Challenges and Opportunities.
Proceedings of the Accessible Design in the Digital World (ADDW) Workshop
. Lisbon, Portugal. Accessed June 15, 2015. [URL].
Porro, Victoria, Johanna Gerlach, Pierrette Bouillon, and Violeta Seretan. 2014. “Rule-based Automatic Post-processing of SMT Output to Reduce Human Post-editing Effort.
Proceedings of Translating and the Computer 36 (TC36)
. Accessed June 15, 2015. [URL].
Pym, Anthony. 2011. “Website Localization. In The Oxford Handbook of Translation Studies, edited by Kirsten Malmkjær, and Kevin Windle, 410–424. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rodríguez Vázquez, Silvia. 2015a. “Unlocking the Potential of Web Localizers as Contributors to Image Accessibility: What Do Evaluation Tools Have to Offer?
Proceedings of the 12th Web for All (W4A) Conference
. New York: ACM Press. 10.1145/2745555.2746662.
Rodríguez Vázquez, Silvia. 2015b. “Exploring Current Accessibility Challenges in the Multilingual Web for Visually-Impaired Users.
The 24th World Wide Web (WWW) Conference 2015 Companion Volume
. Accessed June 15, 2015. [URL]. 
Rodríguez Vázquez, Silvia, and Jesús Torres del Rey. 2012. “A Communicative Approach to Evaluate Web Accessibility Localisation Using a Controlled Language Checker: The Case of Text Alternatives for Images. Localisation Focus
. The International Journal of Localisation 11 (1): 27–39.
Rodríguez Vázquez, Silvia, Pierrette Bouillon, and Anton Bolfing. 2014. “Applying Accessibility-Oriented Controlled Language (CL) Rules to Improve Appropriateness of Text Alternatives for Images: An Exploratory Study.
Proceedings of the 9th Language Resources and Evaluation Conference
. Reykjavik, Iceland. Accessed June 15, 2015. [URL]
Rodríguez Vázquez, Silvia, and Sabine Lehmann. 2015. “Acrolinx: A Controlled-Language Checker Turned into an Accessibility Evaluation Tool for Image Text Alternatives.
Proceedings of the 12th Web for All (W4A) Conference
. New York: ACM Press. 10.1145/2745555.2746676.
Saldanha, Gabriela, and Sharon O’Brien. 2014. Research Methodologies in Translation Studies. Manchester: Routledge. 

Roturier, Johann. 2006. An Investigation into the Impact of Controlled English Rules on the Comprehensibility, Usefulness and Acceptability of Machine-Translated Technical Documentation for French and German Users. Doctoral Dissertation, Dublin City University, Ireland.
Roturier, Johann. 2015. Localizing Apps. New York: Routledge.
Tang, Lisa. 2012. Producing Informative Text Alternatives for Images. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Tercedor Sánchez, Maribel. 2010. “Translating Web Multimodalities: Towards Inclusive Web Localization. Tradumàtica 81. Accessed June 15, 2015. [URL].
Tercedor Sánchez, Maribel, and Miguel Ángel Jiménez Crespo. 2007. “Accesibilidad, Imágenes y Traducción Técnica. In II Congreso AMADIS (Accesibilidad a los medios audiovisuales para personas con discapacidad), 129–140. Madrid: Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad.
Tercedor Sánchez, Maribel, and Juan Antonio Prieto Velasco. 2009. “Aprender Con Imágenes. In Materiales Para Todos. Inclusión y Accessibilidad en Educación, edited by Maria Isabel Tercedor Sanchez, 67–86. Granada: Tragacanto.
Cited by (3)
Cited by three other publications
Abu Doush, Iyad, Khalid Sultan, Mohammed Azmi Al-Betar, Zainab Almeraj, Zaid Abdi Alkareem Alyasseri & Mohammed A. Awadallah
2023.
Web accessibility automatic evaluation tools: to what extent can they be automated?.
CCF Transactions on Pervasive Computing and Interaction 5:3
► pp. 288 ff.

Vázquez, Lucía Morado & Silvia Rodríguez Vázquez
2023.
Health Websites for All. In
Translation Technology in Accessible Health Communication,
► pp. 175 ff.

Rodríguez Vázquez, Silvia
2016.
Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference,
► pp. 1 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 30 december 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.