WCAG 3.0 is an active W3C Working Draft in development by the AGWG. Requirements, assertions, the conformance model and reporting tiers are still being developed and may change. The latest published draft is the 10 September 2026 Working Draft; this site follows the editorsโ draft, which also includes exploratory provisions.
Where a language has a form that drops diacritics for proficient readers, the diacritics needed to identify each word's correct meaning are available.
Why It Matters
Without them, a word can be read several ways. Readers who are still learning the language, or who have a reading disability, cannot reliably pick the right one from context.
a human language has a version that removes diacritics for proficient readers.
Notes in the draft
A diacritic is a small mark that is added to a letter or character that changes how it is pronounced or what it means. Diacritics may appear above, below, within, or between letters or characters.
Hebrew and Arabic are examples of human languages that omit diacritics for proficient readers.
Examples from the Draft
Worked examples the W3C editors wrote into the provision itself, not
examples invented here.
The Hebrew word ืืืจ, with three consonants and no diacritics
Without diacritics to represent the vowels, ืืืจ can represent different verb and noun forms of โto say.โ
Readers must rely on context to determine the intended pronunciation and meaning.
The Hebrew word ืึธืึทืจ, with diacritics under two of the three consonants
A diacritic (whose unicode looks similar to an uppercase T) under the ื makes an โahโ sound.
A horizontal mark under the ื makes a short โaโ sound.
Pronunciation: ah-mar
Meaning: โHe saidโ
The Hebrew word ืึนืืึทืจ, with diacritics in front of the first consonant and under another
A mark (that looks similar to a floating comma) in front of the word indicates future tense, masculine.
A dot above the prefix makes an โoโ sound.
A horizontal mark under the ื makes a short โaโ sound.
Pronunciation: yo-mar
Meaning: โHe will sayโ
The Hebrew word ืึนืึถืจ, with a different set of diacritics above one consonant and under another
A dot above the first letter makes an โoโ sound.
Three dots forming a small triangle under the ื make a short โeโ sound.
Diacritics required to identify the correct meaning of each word are available.
:::applies-when
* a human language has a version that removes diacritics for proficient readers.
:::
:::note
A diacritic is a small mark that is added to a letter or character that changes how it is pronounced or what it means. Diacritics may appear above, below, within, or between letters or characters.
:::
:::note
Hebrew and Arabic are examples of human languages that omit diacritics for proficient readers.
:::
:::example
The Hebrew word <span lang="he">ืืืจ</span>, with three consonants and no diacritics
* Without diacritics to represent the vowels, <span lang="he">ืืืจ</span> can represent different verb and noun forms of โto say.โ
* Readers must rely on context to determine the intended pronunciation and meaning.
:::
:::example
The Hebrew word <span lang="he">ืึธืึทืจ</span>, with diacritics under two of the three consonants
* A diacritic (whose unicode looks similar to an uppercase T) under the ื makes an โahโ sound.
* A horizontal mark under the ื makes a short โaโ sound.
* Pronunciation: ah-mar
* Meaning: "He said"
:::
:::example
The Hebrew word <span lang="he">ืึนืืึทืจ</span>, with diacritics in front of the first consonant and under another
* A mark (that looks similar to a floating comma) in front of the word indicates future tense, masculine.
* A dot above the prefix makes an "o" sound.
* A horizontal mark under the ื makes a short โaโ sound.
* Pronunciation: yo-mar
* Meaning: "He will say"
:::
:::example
The Hebrew word <span lang="he">ืึนืึถืจ</span>, with a different set of diacritics above one consonant and under another
* A dot above the first letter makes an โoโ sound.
* Three dots forming a small triangle under the ื make a short โeโ sound.
* Pronunciation: oh-mer
* Meaning: "utterance; saying" (noun)
:::