The Prime Symbol

This website uses the mathematical prime symbol (′) to indicate counterclockwise rotations. Most screen reading software announces this symbol as “prime” by default. For screen readers that don’t, the following information might be helpful.

VoiceOver on iOS

By default, VoiceOver on iOS incorrectly treats the prime symbol as an apostrophe and doesn’t announce it. Follow the steps below to create a new punctuation group that includes the correct announcement of the prime symbol.

  1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Settings, Accessibility, VoiceOver, Verbosity, Punctuation.
  2. Find and select Add Punctuation Group.
  3. You will be prompted to choose a punctuation group to base your new group on. Select Some. 
  4. Change the default name of your new punctuation group, or skip this step to use the default name, “Group 1.”
  5. Swipe down through the list of Custom Replacements until you find Prime, Apostrophe. Select it.
  6. Select the Replace button, then find and select the Back button.
  7. Return to the Punctuation screen.
  8. Near the top of the screen, find the Active Punctuation Group button and select it. Change your active punctuation group to the new punctuation group you just created, e.g., “Group 1.”

After these steps, VoiceOver should correctly announce the mathematical prime symbol as “prime.”