Glossary

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Audio Enriched Links(also: AEL, Audio Link Preview)

A JAWS screen reader extension that provides spoken previews of linked web pages before a blind user follows a hyperlink. When activated on a focused link, the system fetches the destination page in the background and speaks a summary including the page title, its relationship…

Audio Feedback(also: Auditory Feedback, Sound Feedback)

Information conveyed to a user through sound in response to an action or event within a system. Audio feedback encompasses a wide range of techniques including earcons (short abstract sounds), auditory icons (sounds that resemble real-world events), speech output, and…

Audio Fiction(also: Audio Vignette, Audio Scenario)

A speculative design research method that uses pre-recorded audio dialogues to present fictional scenarios depicting interactions with hypothetical future technologies. Audio fictions combine descriptions, dialogue, and sound effects to create immersive design probes that help…

Audio Formatting(also: Audio Rendering)

The process of converting structured electronic documents into audio output that conveys not just textual content but also the logical structure and formatting of the original document. Audio formatting uses synthesizer parameters such as pitch, stereo positioning, speaking…

Audio Game(also: Audiogame, Audio-Based Game, Accessible Game)

A video game designed primarily or entirely around audio output rather than visual graphics, making it accessible to players who are blind or have visual impairments. Audio games use techniques such as 3D spatial audio, sound effects, text-to-speech, and musical cues to convey…

Audio Guide(also: Audio Tour, Audio Description Tour, Museum Audio Guide)

A portable or installed audio system that provides spoken descriptions, narratives, or contextual information about exhibits in a museum, gallery, or cultural venue. Audio guides range from traditional handheld devices with numbered stops to smartphone apps with…

Audio HTML Access(also: AHA, AHA Framework)

Audio HTML Access (AHA) is a framework of principles for choosing sounds to use in audio-based HTML interfaces, developed by Frankie James at Stanford University in the late 1990s. The framework provides structured guidelines for selecting audio cues to represent web document…

Audio Icon(also: Auditory Icon, Earcon)

A non-speech sound used in a user interface to represent an object, action, or event, analogous to how visual icons represent concepts graphically. Audio icons use everyday sounds that have a natural association with what they represent (e.g., a crumpling sound for deleting a…

Audio Interface(also: Auditory interface, Sound-based interface)

An interface that conveys information through sound — including speech (text-to-speech), earcons, beeps, spatialised audio, and sonification of data streams. Audio interfaces dominate mainstream accessibility technology for blind users (screen readers, navigation apps such as…

Audio Interference(also: Audio Conflict, Speech Conflict)

Audio interference in a digital accessibility context is the overlap of two or more sound streams in a user's environment such that one masks another — most commonly, auto-playing media audio on a webpage drowning out a screen reader's synthesized speech. Because most consumer…

Audio Localization(also: Sound Localization, Auditory Localization)

The ability to identify the location of a sound source in space using auditory cues such as interaural time differences (the slight delay between sound reaching each ear) and interaural level differences (volume variations between ears). Audio localization is a critical skill…

Audio Probe(also: Fictional Audio Probe)

A research method using pre-recorded audio scenarios to ground discussion in qualitative studies. In accessibility research, audio probes present fictional but realistic use cases to participants, enabling them to react to concrete scenarios rather than abstract concepts. This…

Audio Production(also: Audio Engineering, Sound Production)

The process of creating, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering audio content using specialized software and hardware. For blind and low-vision users, audio production presents unique accessibility challenges because professional digital audio workstations (DAWs) like Logic…

Audio Separation(also: Source Separation, Audio Unmixing)

The process of isolating individual audio sources from a mixed audio signal—for example, separating speech from background music, sound effects, and ambient noise. Audio separation enables selective control over different audio components, allowing users to keep speech while…

Audio Tone(also: Auditory Cue, Earcon)

Non-speech audio signals used to convey information such as the presence, location, or status of objects or interface elements. In accessibility contexts, audio tones can supplement or replace verbal descriptions, similar to how screen readers like JAWS use different sound…

Audio description(also: AD, Described video, Video description)

Narration added to a media soundtrack that describes important visual information — such as actions, characters, scene changes, and on-screen text — that cannot be understood from the main audio alone. Audio description makes video and live performance content accessible to…

Audio game(also: Audiogame, Sound-based game, Accessible game)

A digital game designed to be played primarily or entirely through audio, without requiring visual information. Audio games use spatial sound, earcons, music, voice narration, and other auditory cues to convey gameplay information, environments, and interactions. They range from…

Audio-Based Interface(also: Audio Interface, Auditory Interface)

A computer interface that uses sound as the primary means of conveying information and supporting interaction, rather than visual display. Audio-based interfaces are essential for blind and visually impaired users and may employ speech output, environmental sounds, musical…

Audio-Based Navigation(also: Audio Navigation, Auditory Navigation)

A navigation approach that uses audio output — typically synthesised speech, spatial audio cues, or sonification — as the primary means of providing wayfinding information to users. Audio-based navigation systems are particularly important for blind and visually impaired people,…

Audio-Based Virtual Environment(also: Audio Virtual Environment, Sound-Based Virtual World, Auditory Virtual Environment)

An audio-based virtual environment is a computer-generated interactive space that uses sound — including 3D spatial audio, stereo effects, and environmental audio cues — as the primary channel for conveying information about the virtual world, enabling navigation, orientation,…

Audio-First Design(also: Audio-Centric Design, Sound-First Design)

A design approach that prioritizes audio as the primary interaction modality rather than treating it as a secondary alternative to visual interfaces. Audio-first design is particularly relevant for creating accessible educational content and AI tools for people with vision…

Audio-Haptic Feedback Layering(also: Multimodal Feedback Layering)

A design technique for managing multiple concurrent non-visual feedback signals by strategically prioritizing, staggering, and adjusting audio and haptic cues to prevent sensory overload. Techniques include audio cutting (interrupting lower-priority sounds when urgent cues are…

Audio-Language Model(also: ALM, Audio LLM)

A multimodal artificial intelligence model that jointly processes audio signals and natural language text, enabling it to generate detailed textual descriptions of audio content, answer questions about sounds, and reason about auditory scenes. Audio-language models like…

Audio-Reactive Visuals(also: Sound-Reactive Displays, Audio-Visual Feedback)

Visual display systems that respond in real time to audio input, translating sound properties such as frequency, amplitude, pitch, and rhythm into light, color, and movement. In accessibility contexts, audio-reactive visuals serve as a sensory substitution channel for d/Deaf and…

Audio-Spatial Mapping(also: Auditory-Spatial Mapping, Sound Spatialization)

A technique that uses sound properties such as pitch, volume, panning, and spatialization to represent spatial information non-visually. In accessibility contexts, audio-spatial mapping helps blind and low vision users build mental models of physical or virtual spaces by…

Audio-Tactile(also: Audio-Tactile Interaction, Audio-Haptic)

An interaction paradigm that combines tactile (touch-based) and auditory feedback to convey information. Audio-tactile systems pair physical surfaces, such as raised maps or 3D-printed models, with location-triggered audio output so that touching a specific area plays a…

Audio-Tactile Interface(also: Audio-Haptic Interface, Multimodal Tactile Interface)

A user interface that combines tactile (touch-based) interaction with auditory feedback to convey information that is otherwise visual. Audio-tactile interfaces are widely used in accessibility to make graphical content such as charts, maps, and diagrams accessible to blind and…

Audio-Video Synchrony(also: AV Sync, Lip Sync, Audio-Video Synchronization)

The temporal alignment between audio and video streams in multimedia content or real-time communication. When audio and video are not properly synchronized, the mismatch can significantly impair speech understanding for people with hearing loss who rely on lipreading to…

Audio-Visual Entrainment(also: AVE, Brainwave Entrainment)

Audio-visual entrainment (AVE) is a therapeutic technique that uses rhythmic light and sound stimuli to influence brainwave activity, guiding the brain toward specific frequency states associated with relaxation, focus, or reduced anxiety. The technique has been demonstrated to…

Audio-tactile interface(also: Audio-tactile system, Talking tactile)

An interactive system that combines physical tactile surfaces with electronic audio feedback, providing spoken labels, descriptions, or sonified data when the user touches specific areas of a tactile graphic or map. Audio-tactile interfaces reduce the cognitive load of tactile…

Audio-to-Haptics Translation(also: Audio-haptic translation, Audio-to-vibration conversion)

A class of techniques that convert audio signals — either recordings of real-world interactions or AI-generated sounds — into vibrotactile patterns that can be rendered through actuators embedded in phones, tablets, wearables, or specialized haptic displays. Because the…

Audiobook(also: Audio Book, Talking Book)

A recording of a book or other text being read aloud, providing an alternative to visual reading. Audiobooks are an important accessible format for people with visual impairments, dyslexia, or other print disabilities. They typically feature human narration with emotional voice…

Audiogram(also: Hearing Test Chart, Pure-tone Audiogram)

An audiogram is a graph of a person's hearing thresholds measured across a range of frequencies — typically 250 Hz to 8 kHz — plotted separately for each ear. Thresholds are expressed in decibels hearing level (dB HL) relative to the expected threshold of a young, healthy ear,…

Audiophotography(also: Audiophotograph, Audio Photograph, Sound Photograph)

A medium proposed by Frohlich and Tallyn in which a photograph is packaged together with an associated audio recording — typically ambient sound captured at the moment of the shutter, a spoken caption added afterwards, or both. For accessibility practice the audiophotograph is a…

Audism

Systemic discrimination and prejudice against deaf and hard of hearing people, rooted in the belief that hearing and spoken language are inherently superior to deafness and sign language. Coined by Tom Humphries in 1975, audism operates at individual, institutional, and societal…

Auditory Channel Conflict(also: Audio Channel Competition, Auditory Interference)

A situation where multiple audio streams compete for a user's attention through the same sensory channel, reducing comprehension and increasing cognitive load. For blind and visually impaired users who rely on screen readers, auditory channel conflict is a significant barrier in…

Auditory Comprehension(also: Listening Comprehension)

The cognitive and linguistic ability to understand spoken language in real time, including recognising words, parsing grammar, holding clauses in working memory, and integrating meaning across sentences. Frequently impaired in people living with aphasia, age-related hearing…

Auditory Description(also: Audio Description, Spoken Description, Verbal Description)

The practice of providing spoken narration that describes visual information, making content accessible to people who are blind, have low vision, or benefit from auditory reinforcement of visual content. Auditory description has evolved from pre-recorded narration for film and…

Auditory Display(also: Audio Display, Auditory Interface)

The use of sound to convey information, data, or interface state to users. Auditory displays encompass a range of techniques including sonification, earcons, auditory icons, and speech output. In accessibility, auditory displays are critical for providing non-visual access to…

Auditory Feedback(also: Audio Feedback, Auditory Display)

The use of sound — including tones, sound effects, earcons, and speech — to convey information about system states, user actions, or environmental changes. In accessibility, auditory feedback serves as a non-visual channel for communicating information that is typically…

Auditory Filtering(also: Selective Listening, Cocktail Party Effect)

The neurological ability to selectively attend to specific sounds while suppressing or ignoring background noise. Many autistic individuals and people with sensory processing differences experience difficulties with auditory filtering, making it challenging to follow…

Auditory Graph(also: Audible Graph, Sonified Chart)

A non-visual representation of data that uses sound properties such as pitch, volume, duration, and timbre to convey the values and patterns typically shown in visual charts and graphs. Auditory graphs are an important assistive approach for making data accessible to people who…

Auditory Icon(also: Audio Icon)

A non-speech sound used in a user interface that represents an object, action, or event by mimicking its real-world sound — for example, the sound of crumpling paper to indicate deleting a file, or a camera shutter sound for taking a screenshot. Auditory icons rely on causal…

Auditory Interface(also: Audio Interface, Aural Interface, Non-Visual Interface)

A user interface that conveys information and accepts input primarily through sound rather than visual displays. Auditory interfaces range from simple screen reader output to complex auditory environments using spatial audio, earcons, speech synthesis, and sonification. In…

Auditory Map(also: Audio Map, Sonic Map)

An auditory map is an audio-based representation of geographical information designed to enable blind and visually impaired users to access and understand spatial environments without relying on vision. Auditory maps use combinations of speech, auditory icons (representative…

Auditory Masking(also: Sound Masking, Acoustic Masking)

A perceptual phenomenon where the presence of one sound makes it difficult or impossible to hear another sound. Masking occurs when sounds share similar frequencies or when a louder sound overwhelms a quieter one. In accessible design, understanding auditory masking is essential…

Auditory Menu(also: Audio Menu, Speaking Menu)

A user interface menu that conveys its content and structure through audio rather than visual display. Auditory menus typically use text-to-speech to read menu item names and may incorporate non-speech sounds such as earcons, spearcons, or tones to provide contextual information…

Auditory Perception(also: Auditory Processing)

The ability to interpret and make sense of sound information received through the ears, including distinguishing between similar sounds, recognizing patterns in rhythm and pitch, and processing the temporal characteristics of audio signals. Differences in auditory perception are…

Auditory Processing(also: Auditory Processing Disorder, Central Auditory Processing)

The brain ability to interpret and make sense of sounds, particularly speech. Auditory processing difficulties—which commonly co-occur with ADHD—can make it challenging to distinguish speech from background noise, process rapid speech, and maintain attention to spoken content.…

Auditory Satisfaction

The overall positive emotional and cognitive response users experience after engaging with audio content, encompassing contentment with auditory features, narration style, and technical quality. In accessible media research, auditory satisfaction is measured across dimensions…