Excerpt translation of Verse Poetry

[Tiffanie Dumont]

The project that I am doing right now has an excerpt of The Canterbury Tales Selection I that has been translated. On the left side (page 96) is the translated part on the right side (page 97) is the actual poetry. In a situation like this would I just transcribe the left page then the right page or do I show a comparison line by line? And where the actual poetry is verse and the translated portion is not, do I still format it as verse? I have attached the pages that I referenced.

Thanks!

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[Charles Mize]

I am going to ask the full committee to assist with this. It poses unusual challenges. The current Braille Formats Code states that Old English is a foreign language [BF 1.16.2]. It is through fonts and formatting that the languages other than English are made distinquishable in Category 2. I will have an answer before the end of the weekend.

[Charles Mize]

The format described below is a suggestion. No specific rules directly address this situation. Transcribers fall back on their experience and industry tradition in situations that do not fit neatly within the codebooks. If you choose the method below or follow a different option, be consistent and describe the format in a clear transcriber’s note.

Old English is considered a foreign language. Review the Guidelines for Braille Transcription of Languages Other Than English (approved May 2022). All codebooks are available on the BANA website.

Print (from your sample) shows English on the left-hand page (p. 90) and the Old English on the right-hand page (p. 91). The lines are written in one-level verse.

1. Use combined print page numbering. Retain the combined print page numbering for continuation page numbering (90-91, a90-91, etc.)
2. Combine the two writings with a nested format. Transcribe each line of the first language using 1-5 margins. Place the corresponding line from the second language using 3-5 margins.

I do not see any prose in the attached sample. If there are other pages that show word-for-word translation in a slightly different format, try to maintain 1-5, 3-5. Be as consistent as possible. However, you may need to adjust the formatting in later sections of your book. Again, a good transcriber’s note is the key.

I hope this helps.

 

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