1.4.4 isn't clear to me with respect to ellipsizing. I have text on a page that can ellipsize when zooming and this is considered a failure of 1.4.4.
I did find this which does have an ellipsized example with a corresponding link to expose the complete text, which is considered a passed example.
https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/act/rules/59br37/proposed/
Therefore, when the text ellipsizes if you provide an accessible tooltip (shown on hover, focus, and on a single click on a touch device) does this now pass 1.4.4?
Furthermore, can I assume that if the text at 100% is ellipsized and then stays ellipsized as you zoom then this would not be a failure providing an accessible tooltip was provided.
Understanding SC 1.4.4:Resize Text explicitly mentions:
[…] truncation is acceptable if the component's full content is available on focus or after user activation and an indication that this information can be accessed, is provided to the user in some way besides the fact that it is truncated.
An ellipsis is a form of truncation, in which visual content is lost.
Understanding SC 1.4.12: Text Spacing explicitly mentions the Use of ellipses:
- a mechanism is provided to reveal the truncated text on the page (for instance, the text appears on focus or on activation)
- where the ellipsis is part of a section of content which includes a link, the truncated text is revealed on the linked page
So I would argue that as long as you manage to create a really accessible tooltip, you should be covered. This includes clear markup of the tooltip trigger and the tooltip box to stay open on hover, and close on Escape.
For links or dialogs, this would not be necessary, if the full contents are revealed on activation (press).
A way better pattern for content is to provide a shorter text during content creation and not be confronted with a space issue. Given space, web authors tend to place empty words at the beginning of texts, then resulting in useless truncated versions.