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The intersection of (written) digital translation and accessibility: What works, what breaks, and how to fix it

Handouts

Scheduled at 1:45 pm in Mattie Silks on Thursday, November 20.

#41178

Speaker(s)

  • Sean Mccurry, Accessibility Lead, TransPerfect Translations Inc.

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: Intermediate
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Accessibility and translation can work hand-in-hand - if you know what to watch for. This session breaks down how culture, language quirks, and technical details impact accessible content, and gives you the tools to prevent common pitfalls and keep accessibility intact from source to final output.

Abstract

Translation doesn’t break accessibility — people do. In this session, we’ll break down how accessibility and translation should work together, and why they often don’t. This session provides a deep dive into how accessibility and translation interact, covering both technical and cultural dimensions. We’ll explore the difference between localization and true internationalization, and why thoughtful preparation of text, structure, images, colors, and layouts is essential for maintaining accessibility across languages. Finally, we'll dive into key risks to watch out for during the translation process, including loss of alt text, layout reflow issues, character handling problems, right-to-left (RTL) language impacts, and the breakdown of reading order or tab focus. Attendees will learn best practices for preparing content for translation, communicating accessibility needs to language service providers, and validating accessibility in translated outputs. You’ll learn how culture, color, layout, and language quirks collide with accessibility needs — and how to spot the risks before they wreck your project.

Keypoints

  1. Proper preparation directly determines whether accessibility is preserved during translation.
  2. Accessibility has strong potential to be retained across formats during translation.
  3. Most accessibility issues in translation are preventable with knowledge of the process.

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Other, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Sean Mccurry

Sean McCurry leads the accessibility team at TransPerfect, where he focuses on practical, scalable solutions across web, document, and media accessibility. With nearly 20 years in digital development and over a decade in accessibility, Sean’s work blends technical depth with service design; from building multi-modal systems for interpreting statistical charts to developing streamlined workflows for large-scale PDF and company wide support for large organizations. He’s especially interested in the intersection of automation, localization, and accessibility, and regularly collaborates with developers, researchers, and people with disabilities to push new solutions that work globally.

Handout(s)