TalkBack should not speak "button" BEFORE contentDescription regardless of grammatical convention (function over form)

[GoogleCodeExporter]

The latest TalkBack has for the longest time been speaking the word "button" 
before the contentDescription tag for languages like Russian, Bulgarian.

This is probably not a bug, but a convention adopted by TalkBack, but it needs 
to change, because it is robbing TalkBack users in those languages of the 
precious time between a swipe and getting actual meaningful info.

This is a perfect example of emphasizing form over function.

As it stands in Russian, Bulgarian (and probably other languages), a user has 
to wait nearly a SECOND to get a meaningful feedback over buttons.

This makes is impossible to design interfaces for blind users (in these 
languages) where just swiping across buttons gives a "feel" to the user which 
button it was (because of the first 100 microsecond of the button's name).

In our effort with the single app we make for TalkBack users, we try to make 
adjacent buttons have radically different names, so that after some time the 
user will just know which button it was just from it's initial sound as they 
swipe over buttons.

This approach is completely trashed when there is a guardian "button" standing 
over every utterance by TalkBack.

This needs to change, and is probably the single biggest problem right now with 
TalkBack (for those languages).

For context: TalkBack in English is fine, because it speaks the word button at 
the end (thankfully).

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION:

And this points to a possible solution - to completely scrap the usage of 
"button" - so that TalkBack no longer tacks on "button" the end of every 
contentDescription (as happens for English).  And this will solve the problem 
for Russian, Bulgarian etc. as well then.  WITHOUT the political hand-wringing 
that the decision over what is grammatical would have entailed.

So just drop the "button".

Because for developers who are actively setting contentDescription tags, this 
is a pain in the ass - but acceptable since "button" is spoken at the end.

With TalkBack ON, also there is a complexity to the UI design, where some 
elements do not currently stop the touch event going through to elements below. 
 So for our apps, we wind up using Button or ImageButton for things which don't 
have to be buttons.  This is to ensure the usage is smooth and fast.

However, we pay the cost of having the "button" tacked on at the end (for 
English) - which is fine since users have already moved on to something else 
before that usually.

SUMMARY
Just move "button" or element being spoken to the end of the utterance.  Or 
make it an option in TalkBack so users can remove the speaking of the element 
type.

Original issue reported on code.google.com by stereoma...@yahoo.com on 11 Nov 2015 at 2:13

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Evidently this request is not without precedent.  It seems on Windows Phone 
they had a solution for this, so something similar could be adopted to give 
flexibility to users.

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/eyes-free/w1xygcHMoYA/ySdHP6NiBQAJ
Quote:
Personally, I wish this was controllable from Talkback itself.  Would be nice 
to have a setting that said Read Element Before, Read After, or don’t Read.
Only Windows screen readers seem to have this, iOS doesn’t, neither does 
Droid.
End of Quote.

Original comment by stereoma...@yahoo.com on 11 Nov 2015 at 3:50

[GoogleCodeExporter]

There probably IS a need to hear the button or UI element first - esp. for 
blind developers.

However, for expert users, there should be an option in TalkBack settings to 
(as the previous quote suggests):
- Read Element Before
- Read After
- Don't Read

It seems Windows screen readers have something like this, while iOS does not.

Android should have this flexibility.

Thanks.

Original comment by stereoma...@yahoo.com on 11 Nov 2015 at 8:32