European Accessibility Act: Impact on the Language Industry

The European Accessibility Act (EAA): Impact on the Language Industry | TranslationsInLondon

Why the EAA matters to language teams

The EAA introduces common accessibility requirements for a defined list of products and services sold to EU consumers. If your organisation operates websites, apps, e-commerce, banking flows, transport information, interactive terminals, or digital media in multiple languages, accessibility is now a market access issue—not just a UX nice-to-have.

Bottom line: Translation accuracy alone is no longer sufficient. Language deliverables must be accessible in each target language—semantically correct structure, readable copy, tagged documents, accessible AV assets, and post-localisation QA.

Where accessibility meets language

Websites, apps & e-commerce

Localised UI text must preserve labels, roles and states for assistive tech (screen readers, voice control, switches).
Correct HTML lang and lang-of-part for mixed-language components prevents mispronounced content.
Error messages and help text should be plain-language, concise, and consistent across locales.
Keyboard, focus, contrast and reflow issues often emerge after translation (text expansion); plan post-localisation checks.

Documents & PDFs

Deliver tagged PDFs and accessible Office files: headings, lists, table structure, reading order, alt text, document language metadata.
Avoid “flattened” or rasterised text in exported PDFs; ensure selectable text remains intact after localisation.

Audio-visual content

Subtitles for dialogue and SDH captions for accessibility (speaker IDs, non-speech sounds).
Transcripts in each target language aid search, compliance, and users who prefer text.
Audio Description (AD) scripts and mixes may be required for certain media; consider dialect/terminology for Gulf audiences.

Customer support & service information

Multilingual help centres and chat flows must be usable with assistive technologies and written at appropriate reading levels.
Provide clear contact alternatives where voice calls are a barrier; ensure those channels are accessible in each language.

Standards in play (and why linguists should care)

Standard	What it covers	Language-impact highlights
EN 301 549	EU ICT accessibility requirements (web, software, docs, hardware); references WCAG 2.1 AA.	Accessible documents after translation; software/app strings; kiosk/terminal instructions; conformance notes.
WCAG 2.1 AA	Web content guidelines (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust).	Language of Page/Parts, headings/labels, error identification, consistent navigation and link text per locale.
PDF/UA	Accessible PDF specification.	Tagged structure, alt text, reading order, language metadata for each translated PDF.

If your dev team already tests against WCAG, include post-localisation accessibility QA (A-QA) and PDF tagging review in the same release pipeline.

What changes for the language industry

Deliverables expand: accessible PDFs, transcripts, SDH captions, AD scripts, Easy Read versions, and multilingual accessibility statements join the standard scope.
4-eye becomes the floor: translator + independent editor, with accessibility sensitivity (headings, labels, alt text) baked into review.
Engineering collaboration: file formats and CMS exports must preserve semantic structure through TMS/CAT and DTP tools.
Terminology & style shift: glossaries include plain-language options; microcopy patterns avoid ambiguity across languages.
Pricing & SLAs: quotes include A-QA, PDF remediation, caption spec, and assistive-tech spot-tests (NVDA/JAWS/VoiceOver).
Vendor skills: captioners, AD writers, PDF/UA specialists, and accessibility reviewers complement linguists and PMs.

Risks of poor accessibility (and how language work reduces them)

Common failure modes: untranslated alt text, placeholder-only forms, missing language attributes, inaccessible PDF exports, captions that omit non-speech audio, and post-translation layout breaks causing loss of labels or focus.

Compliance risk: complaint-driven investigations and country-level enforcement.
Market access risk: public sector and enterprise buyers increasingly mandate accessible content in all languages.
Brand risk: inequitable experiences damage trust and conversion in target markets.

Mitigation: treat accessibility as a localisation quality dimension—plan, budget and test for it exactly as you do for accuracy and tone.

Quick checklists by role

Content designers & writers

Use descriptive, consistent link text (avoid “click here”).
Front-load key info; avoid culture-bound idioms; set target reading level.
Define alt-text rules per locale (what to translate vs. retain).
Make error messages explicit; don’t rely on colour alone.

Linguists & editors

Respect heading hierarchy and labels; verify language metadata.
Check truncation after expansion (German/French) and RTL layout needs (Arabic/Hebrew).
Ensure captions meet SDH spec where required (speaker IDs, cues).

PMs & engineers

Plan time/budget for A-QA and PDF remediation after translation.
Keep text live (no rasterised or outlined text in exports).
Automate locale lang switching and test with assistive tech.
Capture accessibility in briefs: deliverables, standards, testing, and statement updates.

Procurement & legal

Ask vendors for EN 301 549/WCAG alignment and sample accessible files.
Include NDA and data-handling, with accessibility conformance notes in SoWs.

Copy-paste RFP clauses (language deliverables)

Supplier must deliver localised digital content that passes WCAG 2.1 AA checks
for language-dependent criteria, and provide tagged PDFs (PDF/UA-aligned) per locale.

Captions must be SDH where specified, including speaker labels and non-speech audio cues.
Provide transcripts and, where required, Audio Description scripts in each target language.

Post-localisation accessibility QA (A-QA) is required for critical user journeys
(registration, checkout, authentication). Include spot-tests with NVDA or VoiceOver
and a short conformance note describing any known limits and remediation plans.

A phased plan to reach and maintain compliance

Inventory: list all public-facing pages, flows, documents and media per language; map risk to revenue/usage.
Prioritise: fix high-risk journeys first (checkout, onboarding, banking, transport info).
Fix the source: structure English masters for accessibility; create localisation kits (strings, alt-text guidance, caption specs).
Localise & remediate: produce tagged PDFs, captions, transcripts and AD in parallel with translation.
Test: run A-QA and assistive-tech spot-checks post-localisation; log and triage issues.
Publish: update multilingual accessibility statements and provide accessible contact channels.
Monitor: add accessibility checks to every release to prevent regression.

Conclusion: Accessibility is now a core part of language work

The European Accessibility Act reshapes not only technology but multilingual communication. For UK, EU and international organisations, this means translations must be accessible, structured and testable across languages. Treating accessibility as a localisation quality dimension reduces compliance risk, improves user experience and opens markets.

At TranslationsInLondon, we build accessibility into every deliverable: translation, website localisation, accessible PDFs, and captions & transcripts. Ready to turn compliance into an opportunity?

Talk to our accessibility team

Email us: info@translationsinlondon.com

Prefer a checklist? Download our internal EAA Content Readiness Kit or contact us for a tailored audit.

The European Accessibility Act Is Now Live: What It Means for the Language Industry