Understanding Success Criterion 1.2.5 [Sign Language]
1.2.5 Sign language interpretation is provided for synchronized media. (Level AAA)
Intent of this Success Criterion
The intent of this success criterion is to enable people who are deaf or hard of hearing and who are fluent in a sign language to understand the content of the audio track of synchronized media presentations. Written text, such as that found in captions, is often a second language. [begin change]Because sign language provides the ability to provide intonation, emotion and other audio information that is reflected in sign language interpretation, but not in captions, sign language interpretation provides richer and more equivalent access to synchronized media. People who communicate extensively in sign language are also faster in sign language and synchronized media is a time-based presentation. [1982] [end change]
Specific Benefits of Success Criterion 1.2.5:
People whose human language is a sign language sometimes have limited reading ability. These individuals may not be able to read and comprehend the captions and thus require a sign language interpretation to gain access to the synchronized media content.
Examples of Success Criterion 1.2.5
Example 1. A corporation is making an important announcement to all of its employees. The meeting will be held in the main headquarters and streamed to the Web. A sign language interpreter is provided at the meeting location. The live video includes a full view of the sign language interpreter as well as the person presenting.
Example 2. The same announcement described in example 1 is also Webcast to remote employees. Since there is only one display available for this, the sign language interpreter is shown in the corner of the display.
Example 3. A university is providing an on-line version of a particular lecture by creating a synchronized media presentation of the professor delivering the lecture. The presentation includes video of the professor speaking and demonstrating a science experiment. A sign language interpretation of the lecture is created and presented on the Web with the synchronized media version.
Related Resources
Resources are for information purposes only, no endorsement implied.
National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders: Information on American Sign Language
Techniques and Failures for Success Criterion 1.2.5 [Sign Language]
Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this success criterion. The techniques listed only satisfy the success criterion if all of the WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements have been met.
Sufficient Techniques
G54: Including a sign language interpreter in the video stream
Providing a new page that has the video with the sign language interpretation of the audio track (future link)
G81: Providing a synchronized video of the sign language interpreter that can be displayed in a different viewport or overlaid on the image by the player using one of the following techniques
Common Failures Identified by the Working Group
The following are common mistakes that are considered failures of Success Criterion 1.2.5 by the WCAG Working Group.
(No failures currently documented)
Additional Techniques (Advisory) for 1.2.5
Although not required for conformance, the following additional techniques should be considered in order to make content more accessible. Not all techniques can be used or would be effective in all situations.
(none currently documented)
Key Terms
- sign language interpretation
translation of one language, generally a spoken language, into a sign language
Note: True sign languages are independent languages that are unrelated to the spoken language(s) of the same country or region.
- synchronized media
audio or video synchronized with another format for presenting information and/or with time-based interactive components