How to Make PDF Alt Text Read in French with NVDA Screen Reader
Question details
The user needs to configure Adobe Acrobat and NVDA so that French alternative text on PDF images is read aloud with correct French pronunciation instead of broken English.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Reading an accessible PDF document containing French alternative text using the NVDA screen reader.
- Observed behavior
- When hovering over the image, the alt text is read in perfect French, but when using the document reading mode, the NVDA screen reader reads the French alt text using broken English pronunciation.
Ensure you have Adobe Acrobat Pro installed to edit advanced PDF tags and verify that your NVDA screen reader has a French synthesizer voice package downloaded and enabled on your system.
Configure PDF Document and Tag Language in Adobe Acrobat
Setting the language metadata at both the document level and the individual tag level ensures the screen reader knows exactly which regional voice to use during continuous reading.
Hover text often relies on system UI settings, which is why it might sound correct while the actual document reading mode relies strictly on the embedded PDF accessibility tags. Updating the metadata fixes this discrepancy.
Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro, go to File > Properties, and select the 'Advanced' tab. At the bottom under 'Reading Options', set the Language dropdown to 'French'.
Go to View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes and click on 'Tags' to open the document's tag tree on the left sidebar.
Expand the tag tree to find the <Figure> tag that contains your French alternative text.
Right-click the <Figure> tag, select 'Properties', navigate to the 'Tag' tab, and change the Language dropdown to 'French'. Save the PDF.
Enable Automatic Language Switching in NVDA
Ensure NVDA is configured to respect the embedded language tags within the PDF document so it switches voices dynamically.
Easily Create Accessible PDFs with WPS Office
Avoid complex PDF tag troubleshooting by ensuring your source document is correctly configured from the start. WPS Office allows you to easily add alternative text to images, set correct proofing languages, and seamlessly export accessible PDFs.
- 1. Insert your image: Open WPS Writer, create your document, and insert your image by clicking Insert > Picture.
- 2. Add Alternative Text: Right-click the inserted image, select 'Picture Properties', navigate to the 'Alt Text' tab, and type your French description.
- 3. Set the document language: Go to the Review tab, click on 'Language', and set the document's proofing language to French.
- 4. Export to PDF: Click Menu > Export to PDF to generate a document with accessibility features natively embedded.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does NVDA read PDF hover text correctly but document text in broken English?
Hover text often relies on the system or application UI language context. However, when a screen reader uses the document reading mode, it strictly follows the language metadata embedded within the PDF's structural tags. If those tags are missing or set to English, the screen reader uses an English voice to read French words, resulting in broken pronunciation.
How do I install a French voice for NVDA on Windows?
NVDA uses the speech synthesizers installed on your Windows operating system. To add a French voice, go to Windows Settings > Time & Language > Speech, click 'Add voices', select French, and install it. NVDA will automatically detect the new voice upon restart.
Can I set different languages for different parts of a single PDF?
Yes. In Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can open the Accessibility Tags pane, right-click any specific tag (such as a paragraph, span, or figure), select Properties, and set a specific language for just that element. This allows screen readers to switch languages mid-document.
