The main contribution of this paper is to discuss in depth the issues related to the design of computer interfaces for users with language limitations. Language limitations are found to various degrees in different users because of their age or health. In this paper, one of the largest applications of human-computer interaction, the Internet, is explored. This paper will discuss syntactic and semantic language limitations in brief and their implication on human computer communication. A number of solutions are offered that will lead to intelligent interfaces that facilitate not only visual needs of the user, but also their language needs. Keywords: Language Limitations, Interface Design, Internet, Hypertext 3 1. MOTIVATION The main motivation for this paper comes from previous work done by several researchers in the areas of language, psychology and communication. In the broad area of Human Computer Interaction (HCI), one of the main aim is to facilitate the communication link betwe...

In this paper we review the special linguistic needs of language disordered users who are potential users of the world wide web hypertext system. For the web to be a true information highway, there must be facilities to enhance the comprehension of those users who have special requirements, and who will benefit enormously from appropriately aided access to the web. We provide some guidelines for the development of such facilities.

information. Online information is often formatted in a similar fashion to printed information. But are they similar in their effectiveness? The present study investigates the effect of information format on user's preference and reading time when people read online information or printed information. The study tested one, two and three-column formats. This study involved forty two participants from three main adult age groups: young (18-40 years), middleaged (40-65 years) and seniors (65+ years). The overall mean age was 50.0 years (S.D. = 20.44 years). Participants were divided into two reading groups: online and on paper. A balanced number of participants from each age group was assigned to each reading treatment. There was no significant difference in the reading speed and preference between different column formats. In agreement with findings from previous studies, reading on paper was 10-30% faster than reading online. The paper concludes with suggestions to designers of online information. As previous studies showed, some action needs to be taken to improve reading speed, such as using bigger font size or high contrast between the text and the background.