Test: Pronunciation of “site map” and variations

Last updated: May 8, 2007

Notes

During website testing, I have noticed that some common compounds (words formed from two or more words) can be spoken strangely by screen readers. One such example is when "site map" is compounded to become "sitemap", which can be pronounced "sit-uh-mup" or "sit-i-mip" by screen readers. This test aims to discover how different screen readers cope with the word and to suggest remedies for problems that arise.

Tests

1. sitemap
2. site map
3. website map

Results

The test cases above were pronounced by screen readers in the following ways.

JAWS 8

1. sit-uh-mup
2. site map (as expected)
3. website map (as expected)

JAWS 7.10

1. sit-i-mip (needs checking)
2. site map (as expected)
3. website map (as expected)

It is worth noting that using "website map" may be preferable to "site map" to avoid mishearing it as "side map", which obviously makes little sense.

More notes and results to follow shortly.