diff --git a/app/coffeescripts/models/PublishableModuleItem.coffee b/app/coffeescripts/models/PublishableModuleItem.coffee
index 8acef9cad9e..48129921484 100644
--- a/app/coffeescripts/models/PublishableModuleItem.coffee
+++ b/app/coffeescripts/models/PublishableModuleItem.coffee
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ define [
       published: true
       publishable: true
       unpublishable: true
+      module_item_name: null
 
     branch: (key) ->
       (@[key][@get('module_type')] or @[key].generic).call(this)
@@ -45,10 +46,24 @@ define [
       module: ->           module: @attributes
 
     disabledMessages:
-      generic:          -> I18n.t('disabled', 'Publishing is disabled for this item')
-      assignment:       -> I18n.t('disabled_assignment', "Can't unpublish if there are student submissions")
-      quiz:             -> I18n.t('disabled_quiz', "Can't unpublish if there are student submissions")
-      discussion_topic: -> I18n.t('disabled_discussion_topic', "Can't unpublish if there are student submissions")
+      generic:          -> if @get('module_item_name')
+                             I18n.t('Publishing %{item_name} is disabled', {item_name: @get('module_item_name')})
+                           else
+                             I18n.t('Publishing is disabled for this item')
+
+      assignment:       -> if @get('module_item_name')
+                             I18n.t("Can't unpublish %{item_name} if there are student submissions", {item_name: @get('module_item_name')})
+                           else
+                             I18n.t("Can't unpublish if there are student submissions")
+
+      quiz:             -> if @get('module_item_name')
+                             I18n.t("Can't unpublish %{item_name} if there are student submissions", {item_name: @get('module_item_name')})
+                           else
+                             I18n.t("Can't unpublish if there are student submissions")
+      discussion_topic: -> if @get('module_item_name')
+                             I18n.t("Can't unpublish %{item_name} if there are student submissions", {item_name: @get('module_item_name')})
+                           else
+                             I18n.t("Can't unpublish if there are student submissions")
 
     publish: ->
       @save 'published', yes
diff --git a/app/coffeescripts/react_files/components/PublishCloud.coffee b/app/coffeescripts/react_files/components/PublishCloud.coffee
index 84507f77991..24a2a2502b8 100644
--- a/app/coffeescripts/react_files/components/PublishCloud.coffee
+++ b/app/coffeescripts/react_files/components/PublishCloud.coffee
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ define [
       togglePublishClassOn: React.PropTypes.object
       model: customPropTypes.filesystemObject
       userCanManageFilesForContext: React.PropTypes.bool.isRequired
+      fileName: React.PropTypes.string
 
     # == React Functions == #
     getInitialState: -> @extractStateFromModel( @props.model )
diff --git a/app/coffeescripts/views/PublishButtonView.coffee b/app/coffeescripts/views/PublishButtonView.coffee
index 4a25ef9e8c5..e4d60237663 100644
--- a/app/coffeescripts/views/PublishButtonView.coffee
+++ b/app/coffeescripts/views/PublishButtonView.coffee
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ define [
     publishedClass: 'btn-published'
     unpublishClass: 'btn-unpublish'
 
+    # These values allow the default text to be overridden if necessary
+    @optionProperty 'publishText'
+    @optionProperty 'unpublishText'
+
     tagName:   'button'
     className: 'btn'
 
@@ -55,7 +59,7 @@ define [
 
     addAriaLabel: (label) ->
       $label = @$el.find('span.screenreader-only.accessible_label')
-      $('<span class="screenreader-only accessible_label"></span>').appendTo(@$el) unless $label.length
+      $label = $('<span class="screenreader-only accessible_label"></span>').appendTo(@$el) unless $label.length
 
       $label.text label
       @$el.attr 'aria-label', label
@@ -134,14 +138,14 @@ define [
     renderPublish: ->
       @renderState
         text:        I18n.t 'buttons.publish', 'Publish'
-        label:       I18n.t 'buttons.publish_desc', 'Unpublished. Click to publish.'
+        label:       @publishText || I18n.t 'Unpublished. Click to publish.'
         buttonClass: @publishClass
         iconClass:   'icon-unpublish'
 
     renderPublished: ->
       @renderState
         text:        I18n.t 'buttons.published', 'Published'
-        label:       I18n.t 'buttons.published_desc', 'Published. Click to unpublish.'
+        label:       @unpublishText || I18n.t 'Published. Click to unpublish.'
         buttonClass: @publishedClass
         iconClass:   'icon-publish'
 
diff --git a/app/coffeescripts/views/PublishIconView.coffee b/app/coffeescripts/views/PublishIconView.coffee
index 395c6ebeda6..73bd08c5e1d 100644
--- a/app/coffeescripts/views/PublishIconView.coffee
+++ b/app/coffeescripts/views/PublishIconView.coffee
@@ -11,7 +11,12 @@ define [
     tagName: 'span'
     className: 'publish-icon'
 
+    # These values allow the default text to be overridden if necessary
+    @optionProperty 'publishText'
+    @optionProperty 'unpublishText'
+
     initialize: ->
+      super
       @events = _.extend({}, PublishButtonView.prototype.events, @events)
 
     events: {'keyclick' : 'click'}
diff --git a/app/jsx/shared/PublishCloud.jsx b/app/jsx/shared/PublishCloud.jsx
index 56934a175a1..7adf73446e6 100644
--- a/app/jsx/shared/PublishCloud.jsx
+++ b/app/jsx/shared/PublishCloud.jsx
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ define([
   };
 
   PublishCloud.render = function () {
+    var fileName = this.props.fileName || I18n.t('This file');
     if (this.props.userCanManageFilesForContext) {
       if (this.state.published && this.state.restricted) {
         return (
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ define([
             ref='publishCloud'
             className='btn-link published-status restricted'
             title={this.getRestrictedText()}
-            aria-label={this.getRestrictedText() + ' - ' + I18n.t('Click to modify')}
+            aria-label={`${fileName} is ${this.getRestrictedText()} - ${I18n.t('Click to modify')}`}
           >
             <i className='icon-cloud-lock' />
           </button>
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@ define([
             ref='publishCloud'
             className='btn-link published-status hiddenState'
             title={I18n.t('Hidden. Available with a link')}
-            aria-label={I18n.t('Hidden. Available with a link - Click to modify')}
+            aria-label={`${fileName} is ${I18n.t('Hidden. Available with a link - Click to modify')}`}
           >
             <i className='icon-cloud-lock' />
           </button>
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ define([
             ref='publishCloud'
             className='btn-link published-status published'
             title={I18n.t('Published')}
-            aria-label={I18n.t('Published - Click to modify')}
+            aria-label={`${fileName} is ${I18n.t('Published - Click to modify')}`}
           >
             <i className='icon-publish' />
           </button>
@@ -82,7 +83,7 @@ define([
             ref='publishCloud'
             className='btn-link published-status unpublished'
             title={I18n.t('Unpublished')}
-            aria-label={I18n.t('Unpublished - Click to modify')}
+            aria-label={`${fileName} is ${I18n.t('Unpublished - Click to modify')}`}
           >
             <i className='icon-unpublish' />
           </button>
@@ -97,7 +98,7 @@ define([
             ref='publishCloud'
             className='published-status restricted'
             title={this.getRestrictedText()}
-            aria-label={this.getRestrictedText()}
+            aria-label={`${fileName} is ${this.getRestrictedText()}`}
           >
             <i className='icon-calendar-day' />
           </div>
diff --git a/app/views/context_modules/_context_module_next.html.erb b/app/views/context_modules/_context_module_next.html.erb
index 063b51d42b8..77d406121ba 100644
--- a/app/views/context_modules/_context_module_next.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/context_modules/_context_module_next.html.erb
@@ -115,6 +115,8 @@
           data-course-id="<%= context_module && context_module.context_id %>"
           data-published="<%= published_status == 'published' %>"
           data-publishable="<%= true %>"
+          data-publish-message="<%= t('Unpublished. Click to publish %{module_name}.', {module_name: context_module ? context_module.name : 'module'}) %>"
+          data-unpublish-message="<%= t('Published. Click to unpublish %{module_name}.', {module_name: context_module ? context_module.name : 'module'}) %>"
           title=""
           data-tooltip
           class="publish-icon module <%= published_status %>"
@@ -123,10 +125,10 @@
         </span>
 
         <button
-          aria-label="<%= t('aria_labels.add_item', %{Add Content}) %>"
+          aria-label="<%= t('Add Content to %{module_name}', {module_name: context_module ? context_module.name : 'module'}) %>"
           rel="<%= context_url(@context, :context_url) %>/modules/<%= context_module ? context_module.id : "{{ id }}" %>/items"
-          class="add_module_item_link btn"><i class="icon-plus"></i><span class="screenreader-only"><%= t('links.add_item', %{Add Content}) %></span></button>
-        <button class="btn al-trigger" aria-label="<%= t("manager_module", "Manage module") %>">
+          class="add_module_item_link btn"><i class="icon-plus"></i><span class="screenreader-only"><%= t('Add Content to %{module_name}', {module_name: context_module ? context_module.name : 'module'}) %></span></button>
+        <button class="btn al-trigger" aria-label="<%= t('Manage %{module_name}', {module_name: context_module ? context_module.name : 'module'})  %>">
           <i class="icon-settings"></i><i class="icon-mini-arrow-down"></i>
         </button>
         <ul class="al-options">
diff --git a/app/views/context_modules/_module_item_next.html.erb b/app/views/context_modules/_module_item_next.html.erb
index 347b783cdd1..a649067cfdf 100644
--- a/app/views/context_modules/_module_item_next.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/context_modules/_module_item_next.html.erb
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@
     <% if editable || module_item.nil? %>
       <div class="ig-admin">
         <span
+          data-module-item-name="<%= tag && tag.title %>"
           data-module-type="<%= module_item && module_item.content_type_class %>"
           data-content-id="<%= module_item && module_item.content_id %>"
           data-id="<%= module_item_publishable_id(module_item) %>"
@@ -124,6 +125,8 @@
           data-published="<%= module_item && published_status == 'published' %>"
           data-publishable="<%= module_item_publishable?(module_item) %>"
           data-unpublishable="<%= module_item_unpublishable?(module_item) %>"
+          data-publish-message="<%= t('Unpublished. Click to publish %{item_name}.', {item_name: tag && tag.title ? tag.title : ''}) %>"
+          data-unpublish-message="<%= t('Published. Click to unpublish %{item_name}.', {item_name: tag && tag.title ? tag.title : ''}) %>"
           title=""
           data-tooltip
           class="publish-icon <%= published_status %>"
@@ -134,7 +137,7 @@
         <div class="inline-block cog-menu-container">
           <a class="al-trigger al-trigger-gray" role="button" tabindex="0" href="#">
             <i class="icon-settings"></i><i class="icon-mini-arrow-down"></i>
-            <span class="screenreader-only"><%= t('settings', 'Settings') %></span>
+            <span class="screenreader-only"><%= t('Manage %{item_name}', {item_name: tag && tag.title ? tag.title : 'item'})  %></span>
           </a>
 
           <ul class="al-options">
diff --git a/public/javascripts/context_modules.js b/public/javascripts/context_modules.js
index 7ddec382577..0c7fbe2495e 100644
--- a/public/javascripts/context_modules.js
+++ b/public/javascripts/context_modules.js
@@ -1323,6 +1323,7 @@ define([
       var publishData = {
         moduleType: data.type,
         id: data.publishable_id,
+        moduleItemName: data.moduleItemName,
         moduleId: data.context_module_id,
         courseId: data.context_id,
         published: data.published,
@@ -1376,7 +1377,8 @@ define([
           model: file,
           togglePublishClassOn: $el.parents('.ig-row')[0],
           userCanManageFilesForContext: ENV.MODULE_FILE_PERMISSIONS.manage_files,
-          usageRightsRequiredForContext: ENV.MODULE_FILE_PERMISSIONS.usage_rights_required
+          usageRightsRequiredForContext: ENV.MODULE_FILE_PERMISSIONS.usage_rights_required,
+          fileName: file.displayName()
         }
 
         React.render(PublishCloud(props), $el[0]);
@@ -1389,13 +1391,26 @@ define([
         id: data.id,
         module_id: data.moduleId,
         module_item_id: data.moduleItemId,
+        module_item_name: data.moduleItemName,
         course_id: data.courseId,
         published: data.published,
         publishable: data.publishable,
         unpublishable: data.unpublishable
       });
 
-      var view = new PublishIconView({model: model, el: $el[0]});
+      var viewOptions = {
+        model: model,
+        el: $el[0]
+      };
+
+      if (data.publishMessage) {
+        viewOptions.publishText = data.publishMessage;
+      }
+      if (data.unpublishMessage) {
+        viewOptions.unpublishText = data.unpublishMessage;
+      }
+
+      var view = new PublishIconView(viewOptions);
       var row = $el.closest('.ig-row');
 
       if (data.published) { row.addClass('ig-published'); }
diff --git a/spec/coffeescripts/views/PublishButtonViewSpec.coffee b/spec/coffeescripts/views/PublishButtonViewSpec.coffee
index d574c692f2a..0e3f95883e1 100644
--- a/spec/coffeescripts/views/PublishButtonViewSpec.coffee
+++ b/spec/coffeescripts/views/PublishButtonViewSpec.coffee
@@ -50,6 +50,24 @@ define [
     equal btnView.$text.html().match(/Published/).length, 1
     equal btnView.$el.attr('aria-label').match(/can't unpublish/).length, 1
 
+  test 'should render the provided publish text when given', ->
+    testText = 'Test Publish Text'
+    btnView = new PublishButtonView({
+      model: @publish,
+      publishText: testText
+    }).render()
+
+    equal btnView.$('.screenreader-only.accessible_label').text(), testText
+
+  test 'should render the provided unpublish text when given', ->
+    testText = 'Test Unpublish Text'
+    btnView = new PublishButtonView({
+      model: @published,
+      unpublishText: testText
+    }).render()
+
+    equal btnView.$('.screenreader-only.accessible_label').text(), testText
+
   # state
   test 'disable should add disabled state', ->
     btnView = new PublishButtonView(model: @publish).render()
diff --git a/spec/selenium/quizzes/quizzes_edit_quiz_teacher_spec.rb b/spec/selenium/quizzes/quizzes_edit_quiz_teacher_spec.rb
index c9147c818a1..6390ea77b8c 100644
--- a/spec/selenium/quizzes/quizzes_edit_quiz_teacher_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/selenium/quizzes/quizzes_edit_quiz_teacher_spec.rb
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ describe 'editing a quiz' do
         type_in_tiny('#quiz_description', 'changed description')
         click_save_settings_button
         wait_for_ajax_requests
-        expect(f('#quiz-publish-link').text.strip!).to eq 'Published'
+        expect(f('#quiz-publish-link .publish-text').text.strip!).to eq 'Published'
       end
 
       it 'deletes the quiz', priority: "1", test_id: 351921 do
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ describe 'editing a quiz' do
         end
         f('#quiz-publish-link').click
         wait_for_ajax_requests
-        expect(f('#quiz-publish-link').text.strip!).to eq 'Publish'
+        expect(f('#quiz-publish-link .publish-text').text.strip!).to eq 'Publish'
       end
     end
 
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ describe 'editing a quiz' do
         end
         f('#quiz-publish-link').click
         wait_for_ajax_requests
-        expect(f('#quiz-publish-link').text.strip!).to eq 'Unpublish'
+        expect(f('#quiz-publish-link .publish-text').text.strip!).to eq 'Unpublish'
       end
     end