General consideration for bilingual services

Declaring the language of page content helps assistive technology and translation services in browsers. Language can be declared globally or on specific tags.

Global declaration sets the page language and tells assistive technology and the browser what language should be used when reading the page content and code.

Specific tag declaration tells assistive technology and the browser that the content of the tag is not in the same language as the global declared lang.

List of Language code reference

Global declaration examples

HTML pages

Declare language inside the html tag using the the lang attribute.

Code

<html lang="fr">

XHTML pages

Declare language inside the html tag using the the lang and xml:lang attribute.

Code

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">

Specific tag declaration examples

The lang attribute can be added to any HTML tags.

Example

Les renseignements personnels que vous fournissez en ligne pour le Permis de loterie à billets pour des prix d’une valeur inférieure à 4 000 $ sont recueillis au titre de la loi sur l’accès à l’information et la protection de la vie privée de la Nouvelle-Écosse (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) et de la loi sur la régie du jeu Gaming Control Act)

Code

<p>Les renseignements personnels que vous fournissez en ligne pour le Permis de loterie à billets pour des prix d’une valeur inférieure à 4 000 $ sont recueillis au titre de la loi sur l’accès à l’information et la protection de la vie privée de la Nouvelle-Écosse (<i lang="en">Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act</i>) et de la loi sur la régie du jeu (<i lang="en" >Gaming Control Act</i>).</p>

Example

English

Code

<a href="content-page-template.html" hreflang="en" lang="en">English</a>

Other language declaration attribute examples

The hreflang attribute specifies the language of the link destination.

Text in code and hidden text

All English text that is in the HTML code needs to be translated when translation of a service is required. This inlcudes attributes like alt, content and aria-label, or hidden content like a "Skip to main content" link and error messages for a form field.

Examples of `alt` attribute

<img src="/sns/img/plaque-immatriculation-portant-drapeau-acadien-sm.png" alt="Plaque d’immatriculation portant le drapeau acadien" width="110" height="55">

<area shape="rect" coords="0,0,82,126" href="sun.htm" hreflang="en" alt="Soleil">

Example of `content` attribute

The content attribute for meta tags contains text that is not visible on the screen, but is readable by assistive technology, browsers, and search engines. The content attribute is often overlooked and not translated.

<meta name="description" content="Liste à jour des fermetures du gouvernement provincial."/>

<meta name="dcterms.title" content="Fermetures, annulations et changements aux services"/>

Examples of `aria-label` attributes

An aria-label attribute is an invisible label where a visible label can't be used.

<nav id="navigation" class="ribbon" role="navigation" aria-label="Navigation principale">

<button aria-label="Fermer" onclick="document.getElementById('box').style.display='none';" class="close-button">X</button>

<nav class="skip-links" aria-label="Passer au contenu principal">

<section aria-label="Navigation du calendrier" class="Calendar-nav">

<button id="previous" class="Calendar-nav--button Calendar-nav--button--unavailable" type="button" aria-label="Le mois précédent" tabindex="-1"> </button>

<button id="next" class="Calendar-nav--button" type="button" aria-label="Le mois prochain">❯</button></section>

Examples of Hidden content

Some text is hidden from being displayed on the screen. This text could be used for help keyboard-only users navigate a page, like in the example of Skip link.

Examples of Error message

Show an error message when there is a validation error. In the error message explain what went wrong and how to fix it.

Examples of Error message.

Links

On French pages, all links should have French text for the title attribute and a language declaration for hreflang attribute. The hreflang attribute should set to the language of content targeted by link. The lang should only be used when the language of the hypertext is different than the global declared language.

If the target it French use hreflang="fr".
- If the hypertext is in English add lang="en" to the a tag.
If the target it English use hreflang="en" and "en anglais seulement" should be added to the title attribute and hypertext.
- If the hypertext is in English add lang="en" to the a tag.

Examples of a French target

<a href="https://beta.novascotia.ca/fr/enonce-de-confidentialite" hreflang="fr" title="Énoncé de confidentialité">Énoncé de confidentialité</a>

Examples of a English target with French `title` and hypertext

<a href="https://beta.novascotia.ca/contact/health-and-wellness#DHW-MSI-01" hreflang="en" title="le Service d’inscription et de demande de renseignements du MSI (en anglais seulement)">le Service d’inscription et de demande de renseignements du MSI (en anglais seulement)</a>

Examples of a English target with English `title` and hypertext

<a href="http://www.nshealth.ca/legacy-life" hreflang="en" lang="en" title="Legacy of Life (en anglais seulement)">Legacy of Life (en anglais seulement)</a>

French grammar rules

Capitization

Capitization for French is different than English. In French, names of languages are not capitized. For example, (en français)

Below are some of the French grammar rules from https://www.lalanguefrancaise.com/general/guide-complet-usage-majuscules-francais/.

When to use a upper-case letter?

At the beginning of the sentence.
After a period except in the case of using a period for an abbreviation ("etc.").
After an exclamation point except if it's an interjection.
- Do not put a capital letter after the semicolon.
Only on the first word of a title or subtitle should be capitalized in French (unlike in English).
First names, surnames and nicknames always take a capital letter.
When nouns and adjectives are used as nicknames, they are capitalized.

Punctuation

This is a table of French typographical rules for punctuation. Source: 17 French Typographical Rules.

Please note: For some of the punctuation that requires a space before or after it, you should use the *  code.

* Asterisk

Placement: When it is before a word
Space before: Yes, there is one space before it.
Space after: No space
Example: Sauf dans ce qui *suit
Code: Sauf dans ce qui *suit

Asterisk *

Placement: When it is after a word
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: La date d'expiration* dépend de la date d'application.
Code: La date d'expiration* dépend de la date d'application.

Brackets [

Placement: When it is the opening bracket.
Space before: Yes, there is one space before it.
Space after: There is no space after it.
Example: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur )
Code: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] )

Brackets ]

Placement: When it is the closing bracket.
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] )
Code: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] )

Colon :

Placement: After a word
Space before: Yes, there is one space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] )
Code: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] )

Comma ,

Placement: After a word
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: un passeport, un permis de conduit ou une carte de santé
Code: un passeport, un permis de conduit ou une carte de santé

Decimal comma ,

Placement: In the middle of numbers.
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: There is no space after it.
Example: 55,45 $
Code: 55,45 $

Dash (em) —

Placement: After a word.
Space before: Yes, there is one space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] )
Code: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] );

Ellipsis ...

Placement: When it is at beginning of a sentence.
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: ... tu dois...
Code: ... tu dois...

... Ellipsis

Placement: When it is at the middle or at end of a sentence.
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: ... tu dois...
Code: ... tu dois...

Exclamation mark !

Placement: At the end of a sentence.
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: Attention!
Code: Attention!

Oblique /

Placement: In the between of two words.
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: There is no space after it.
Example: Vitesse maximum : 110 km/h
Code: Vitesse maximum : 110 km/h

Parenthesis (

Placement: When it is the opening parenthesis.
Space before: Yes, there is one space before it.
Space after: There is no space after it
Example: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] )
Code: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] )

Parenthesis )

Placement: When it is the closing parenthesis.
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] )
Code: Par exemple : FINCH — 220867001 (cinq lettres [Finch] + 22 [jour] + 08 [mois] + 67 [année - 1967] + 001 [3 chiffres choisis par l’ordinateur] )

Period .

Placement
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: Vous pouvez utiliser le formulaire « Application for Lottery Permit for Prizes Not Exceeding $4,000 in Value » si vous ne pouvez pas faire la demande en ligne.
Code: Vous pouvez utiliser le formulaire « Application for Lottery Permit for Prizes Not Exceeding $4,000 in Value » si vous ne pouvez pas faire la demande en ligne.

Question mark ?

Placement: At the end of a sentence.
Space before: There is no space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: Est-ce que l'information sur cette page était utile?
Code: Est-ce que l'information sur cette page était utile?

Quotation mark «

Placement: When it is the opening quotation mark.
Space before: Yes, there is one space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: Vous pouvez utiliser le formulaire « Application for Lottery Permit for Prizes Not Exceeding $4,000 in Value » si vous ne pouvez pas faire la demande en ligne.
Code: Vous pouvez utiliser le formulaire « Application for Lottery Permit for Prizes Not Exceeding $4,000 in Value » si vous ne pouvez pas faire la demande en ligne.

Quotation mark »

Placement: When it is the closing quotation mark.
Space before: Yes, there is one space before it.
Space after: Yes, there is one space after it.
Example: Vous pouvez utiliser le formulaire « Application for Lottery Permit for Prizes Not Exceeding $4,000 in Value » si vous ne pouvez pas faire la demande en ligne.
Code: Vous pouvez utiliser le formulaire « Application for Lottery Permit for Prizes Not Exceeding $4,000 in Value » si vous ne pouvez pas faire la demande en ligne.

Semicolon ;

Placement

After a word.

Space before

There is no space before it.

Space after

Yes, there is one space after it.

Example

Assurez-vous de fournir ce qui suit :

une œuvre créative qui porte votre nom;
une confirmation de votre inscription dans une université ou un collège; (reçu pour les frais de scolarité ou lettre du bureau du registraire ou d'un professeur) .

Code

Assurez-vous de fournir ce qui suit :

																	
une œuvre créative qui porte votre nom; 

																	une confirmation de votre inscription dans une université ou un collège; (reçu pour les frais de scolarité ou lettre du bureau du registraire ou d'un professeur) .

Currency

Use the comma as the decimal marker in French texts and place the dollar sign after the numerals. There should a space (use  ) between the numerals and dollar sign.

When the dollar amount has four or more figures use a space ( ) to seperate the numerals in groups of threes.

Source: Symbol for the Canadian dollar in French

Examples

55,45 $

42 987,34 $

English words in French content

Acts or regulations

The majority of the acts and regualtions in Nova Scotia are written (or proclaim) in English. For this reason, the official names are almost never translated. When the official names are in French content, you should use the i tag and the lang attribute.

Example

Toute personne reconnue coupable d'une infraction à la loi sur les embaumeurs et les entrepreneurs de pompes funèbres (Embalmers and Funeral Directors Act) peut être condamnée à une amende maximale de 2 000 $.

Code

<p>Toute personne reconnue coupable d'une infraction à la loi sur les embaumeurs et les entrepreneurs de pompes funèbres (<i lang="en">Embalmers and Funeral Directors Act</i>) peut être condamnée à une amende maximale de 2&nbsp;000&nbsp;$.</p>

Organization or company name

Some organization (private or governmental) will only have an English name and it will not be translated. When that is the case, you should use the i tag and the lang attribute to its name and acronym of the name.

Example

Le directeur du salon funéraire, du crématorium ou de l'entreprise doit être un entrepreneur de pompes funèbres autorisé par le Nova Scotia Board of Registered Embalmers and Funeral Directors (NSBREFD)

Code

<p>Le directeur du salon funéraire, du crématorium ou de l'entreprise doit être un entrepreneur de pompes funèbres autorisé par le <i lang="en">Nova Scotia Board of Registered Embalmers and Funeral Directors</i> (<i lang="en">NSBREFD</i>)</p>

French characters

URL Encoded

Char	Dec	Hex	Entity	Name
À	192	00C0	`À`	A accent grave
à	224	00E0	`à`	a accent grave
Á	193	00C1	`Á`	A accent acute
á	225	00E1	`á`	A accent acute
Â	194	00C2	`Â`	a accent circumflex
â	226	00E2	`â`	a accent circumflex
Æ	198	00C6	`Æ`	AE
æ	230	00E6	`æ`	ae
Ç	199	00C7	`Ç`	C cédille (cedilla)
ç	231	00E7	`ç`	c cédille (cedilla)
È	200	00C8	`È`	E accent grave
è	232	00E8	`è`	e accent grave
É	201	00C9	`É`	E accent acute
é	233	00E9	`é`	e accent acute
Ê	202	00CA	`Ê`	E accent circumflex
ê	234	00EA	`ê`	e accent circumflex
Ë	203	00CB	`Ë`	E tréma (diaeresis)
ë	235	00EB	`ë`	e tréma (diaeresis)
Î	206	00CE	`Î`	I accent circumflex
î	238	00EE	`î`	i accent circumflex
Ï	207	00CF	`Ï`	I tréma (diaeresis)
ï	239	00EF	`ï`	i tréma (diaeresis)
Ô	212	00D4	`Ô`	O accent circumflex
ô	244	00F4	`ô`	o accent circumflex
Ö	214	00D6	`Ö`	O tréma (diaeresis)
ö	246	00F6	`ö`	o tréma (diaeresis)
Ù	217	00D9	`Ù`	U accent grave
ù	249	00F9	`ù`	u accent grave
Ú	218	00DA	`Ú`	U accent acute
ú	250	00FA	`ú`	u accent acute
Û	219	00DB	`Û`	U accent circumflex
û	251	00FB	`û`	u accent circumflex
Ü	220	00DC	`Ü`	U tréma (diaeresis)
ü	252	00FC	`ü`	u tréma (diaeresis)
«	171	00AB	`«`	Quotation mark (opening)
»	187	00BB	`»`	Quotation mark (closing)

General consideration for bilingual services

Global declaration examples

HTML pages

Code

XHTML pages

Code

Specific tag declaration examples

Example

Code

Example

Code

Other language declaration attribute examples

Text in code and hidden text

Examples of alt attribute

Example of content attribute

Examples of aria-label attributes

Examples of Hidden content

Examples of Error message

Links

Examples of a French target

Examples of a English target with French title and hypertext

Examples of a English target with English title and hypertext

French grammar rules

Capitization

When to use a upper-case letter?

Punctuation

* Asterisk

Asterisk *

Brackets [

Brackets ]

Colon :

Comma ,

Decimal comma ,

Dash (em) —

Ellipsis ...

... Ellipsis

Exclamation mark !

Oblique /

Parenthesis (

Parenthesis )

Period .

Question mark ?

Quotation mark «

Quotation mark »

Semicolon ;

Currency

Examples

English words in French content

Acts or regulations

Example

Code

Organization or company name

Example

Code

French characters

Examples of `alt` attribute

Example of `content` attribute

Examples of `aria-label` attributes

Examples of a English target with French `title` and hypertext

Examples of a English target with English `title` and hypertext