Rule VII, Section 31e(7) Clarification

[Chris Clemens]

I want to get clarified on Rule VII, Section 31e(7) of the official literary braille code, English Braille American Edition (EBAE), 2007 update, which says:

“If a slash occurs between capitalized abbreviations or other sequence of capitalized letters, repeat the capital sign following the slash. Likewise, repeat the italic sign when a slash occurs between two words in italic type.”

When the slash occurs between two emphasized words, the rule is very clear. The single emphasis indicator is repeated after the slash. The example given in the 2007 BANA update is: “_dog/_cat.”

Based on the rule and the example given for two words connected by a slash, it is safe to conclude that the slash terminates the effect of the emphasis indicator. But what about the example, with four emphasized words before the slash, given under the same section of the BANA update for EBAE :
“__Put out the dog/cat/_rabbit”?

The double emphasis indicator is not closed before the word “dog” and the emphasis indicator is not repeated following the first slash before “cat,” which shows that the effect of the double emphasis indicator goes through the slash. The double emphasis indicator is closed before the word “rabbit,” after the last slash.

Is this an error? Would you please clarify this?

[Anonymous]

Good question!
A lot of people have trouble this.

The confusion is easily cleared up one simple question.
Are we talking about what terminates a single emphasis indicator or a double emphasis indicator.
A single emphasis indicator is terminated by a space, dash or slash.
A double emphasis indicator is NOT terminated by punctuation or composition signs.
This is not clearly explained in EBAE. You can find this referenced in the Literary Lesson Manual Section 15.1b.

Even though EBAEs Rule VII deals with Numbers and Roman Numbers, section 28e deals with more than numbers. There may not be a clear explanation but the example does shows the proper usage of a double emphasis indicator when a slash mark appears within the series of 4 or more words.

Unfortunately the rules and guidelines are not clear in several areas, so we are left to make the best decision we can, based on the information that we have available at the time. The best explanation I can offer you is that the new updates treat information on each side of the slash as a separate word or unit - so [u]his/hers[/u] is 2 words or units not one. With this in mind, it would stand to reason that, [u]Is this his/hers?[/u] Would be four words or units not three. And the rules for using single or double emphasis would apply.

I hope this helps
Saralyn

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I inadvertently mentioned the wrong rule it really should be
Rule VII Section 28e(7).
Hope this will clarify.

[Chris Clemens]

Thank you for the correction, but the answer is still the same.

[Author]

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