Gloss

We want to encourage users to encounter te reo Māori, even when they are reading English. To do this, we can add Māori words into English text and use the gloss component to provide an in-context definition and pronunciation audio clip.

Figure: The glosscomponent enables us to insert Māori words into English sentences to encourage language learning and aid with tranlsations.

Inserting unfamiliar words into text can (and should) disrupt readers, it is important to use them with care. Some guidelines are:

• Nouns work best.
• Do not start a sentence with a gloss.
• Do not use a gloss in headings or on interactive elements.
• Keep to a maximum of 1 gloss per paragraph.
• If a gloss is used for the word taonga, as an example, all instances of taonga should be in a gloss for the entire interactive.

The intent of the gloss component is to actively encourage Māori language learning for non-Māori speakers. This differs from the language-toggle component which switches the language of the entire interactive, which will be used by fluent speakers.