Dan Gergen
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From a UEB point, I can see no restriction on the use of a capitals passage to minimize capital indicators in the example you provided: "4.NF.A.1, 4.NF.A.2, 4.NF.C.6, 4.NF.C.7, 4.MD.B.4."
You would insert the capitals passage indicator where capitals begin: before the letter N in the first symbols-sequence. Punctuation and numbers do not terminate capitals mode in a capitals passage. The capitals terminator is placed after the 4 in the last affected symbols-sequence. (UEB 8.5.3)
Yes, you should observe grade 1 rules if you are transcribing this as a grade 2 (contracted) transcription. There is nothing in the Rules of UEB that indicates you may omit grade 1 indicators for single letters standing alone, letters-sequences that also represent shortforms standing alone or in longer words, or punctuation standing alone that would be misread as a lower wordsign, e.g.: the semicolon in the first paragraph standing alone would be read as the lower wordsign be, or the semicolon embedded between letters-sequences would be read as the bb lower groupsign.
However, if this is a grade 1 (uncontracted) transcription, you would only need to use grade 1 indicators when punctuation is standing alone (except for the period or exclamation mark) or when lowercase letters a-j occur in numeric mode.
Hello Kim,
The italicized title, The Tangled Ties That Bind: is in italics because it is a literary title and should be transcribed as an italicized passage. It is followed by a colon, which means "there's more," which appears to be a subtitle or series name. If this is a centered heading, each line would be a separate text element. Italics are ignored for a centered title. You could use the italics symbol indicator for the "A" if it actually requires emphasis.
Braille Formats 5.3.1 says "Print font attributes may be ignored when they are used for decorative purposes and do not add information for the reader."
But if your example is embedded in a sentence, it should follow print. An italics passage would be used for the title. But what information is the reader getting from the italicized "A" —which is an indefinite article that doesn't appear to require emphasis or distinction.? Not seeing your original text, I am wondering if the A might just be there for visual appeal.
If there is a significant reason for the A in italics, I would terminate the italics passage after the colon and use the italics symbol indicator before A for better readability.
Dan Gergen
Hello Mandy,
We're sorry for the delayed reply. Thank you for your inquiry, which seems to have generated more questions than solutions. The UEB Literary Committee discussed the issue at length concerning the division of a single word pronunciation in parentheses and cited Braille Formats 2016, §1.10.1 which says you do not divide words at the end of a line except for purposes of instruction such as in grammars or spellers.
Pronunciations, whether in parentheses or not, are usually seen in print as either one unhyphenated word, or a syllabified word—where syllables are separated by hyphens or spaces. Whichever way they appear in print, pronunciations should not be divided between lines unless they do not fit on one line. — See Braille Formats §20.2.1c. (§20.3.2c says to follow print when syllabification is not indicated.)
But suppose you have one word without hyphens or spaces that by itself will not fit on one line? For example, the longest word in English is "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" —the name of a lung disease containing 45 letters with only one possible contraction. In this extreme case, the word will need to be divided. But how? Do you use a hyphen that does not appear in print? Or can the line continuation indicator be used?
BANA does not mention any provision in Braille Formats for the rare instance of extremely long words needing to be divided. But the Rules of UEB have examples in §10.13.1 that clearly show hyphens used to divide words "when words need to be divided" —although it also states: "It is preferable that transcribers do not divide words at the end of a braille line. Be aware that the braille authorities of some countries have specific guidelines on word division and such guidelines if available should be followed."
But to answer your first question, —no, you do not use the line continuation indicator (dot 5) to divide a word that will not fit on one line. In Lesson 14.7 of the NFB Literary Braille Course, it states: "A line continuation indicator, dot 5, is used when it is necessary to divide a long electronic address that will not fit on one line. This indicator can also be used in numbers and other symbols-sequences too long for one line. Make the division at a logical break and at a point that is not between two letters or between two digits."
The phrase "other symbols-sequences" is used as a generalization to avoid introducing technical material that is not covered in the NLS literary braille certification course. Line continuation indicators explained in the NLS Instruction Manual are used to divide long numbers or electronic addresses that do not fit on one line. However, UEB Guidelines for Technical Material 2008 in §17.2 explain the use of the line continuation indicator to divide other symbols-sequences, such as in displayed computer notation where exact spacing is critical to the formal syntax involved. Long file path names could also contain other symbols such as numbers and punctuation, such as c:\program_files\abc_corporation1995\utility_programs\quarterIV
Another example would be a series of unspaced "hashtags" or "@tags" that could contain keywords, numbers, emojis, or other symbols that sometimes appear in print unspaced, such as #Rest_Relaxing#EagleRiver546#Fishing4U. The line continuation indicator could be placed anywhere in the symbols-sequence except between numbers or letters.
The only conclusion that we can come to is that single words should not be divided unless the word will not completely fit on one line, But the line continuation indicator should only be used in dividing numbers and computer material that will not fit on one line.
I hope this helps. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.
Hello Mandy,
I am terribly sorry that we did not notice your question in reply to a previous conversation that was started back in May 2016. I hope it isn't too late to offer an answer at this time.
UEB 10.6.2 states, "Use the lower groupsign for "be", "con" or "dis" only at the beginning of a word and only when followed by a letter, a contraction, a modified letter or a ligatured letter." —the emphasis for "only" is mine.
An indicator is defined in UEB §2.1 Terminology as a braille sign that does not directly represent a print symbol but that indicates how subsequent braille sign(s) are to be interpreted.
For typeforms, capitalization, or grade 1, there are four indicators that would apply to a symbol (or single letter), a word (or symbols-sequence), a passage (3 or more symbols-sequences), and a terminator. The terminator, by definition, is also an indicator that stops the effect of another indicator, such as a typeform word, or a typeform passage indicator.
Again, I am sorry to have failed to answer your question earlier. Please don't hesitate to ask any question and I promise we will provide an immediate answer.
Dan Gergen
Hello Veeah,
The question of whether the numeric space should be listed at all is addressed in Braille Formats Appendix G which lists the symbols that are required on the Special Symbols page (SSP) if they are used within a braille volume. The numeric space is not listed. The second list in Appendix G lists symbols that are new with the approval of UEB. These symbols may be included on the Special Symbols list. Again, the numeric space is not listed.
Braille Formats §2.5.1 states that the Special Symbols Page "should list symbols found in the volume that may be unfamiliar to the reader." The numeric space did not exist in the previous code— English Braille American Edition (EBAE) —so it is safe to assume for some braille readers it could be unfamiliar. So whether to list them on the SSP appears to be an agency or the transcriber's decision, —but isn't required.
If you decide to list the numeric space symbols, note that UEB §6.6 does not show dot 5 standing alone. Dot 5 is a prefix that comes before many UEB symbols from the opening parenthesis to the long dash. The numeric space is a unit comprised of two cells, —dot 5 followed unspaced by a digit. (Since the numeric space occurs in numeric mode, only the first number in the symbols-sequence is preceded by the numeric indicator.)
There are ten numeric space symbols in UEB 6.6 that have the meaning "space and following digit." The exact description is not prescribed, but each two-cell numeric space symbol appearing in the volume should be listed on the SSP separately with a description meaning "space and following digit" for the specific symbol. Suggestion:
.="b Space followed by 2 -or- .="b Space followed by 2 in numeric mode
I hope this provides some direction. If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Dan Gergen
Hello Christina,Thank you for your question. Hopefully, we can shed some light on the subject.UEB §9.9.1 explains, "When transcribing a typeform passage which extends over more than one text element (e.g. a series of consecutive paragraphs), each text element is preceded by the typeform passage indicator and the typeform is terminated only at the point where the typeform changes."Since you are brailling a list, UEB would consider each text element as a series of consecutive paragraphs. If you want to retain the italics for the entire list, your first, second, and third examples should each be transcribed as italics passages because each example has three or more words. Each line should begin with the italics passage indicator and the terminator is only placed after the last word in each example.A list (paragraph) item in a passage that extends over more than one text element, can be a single word or several words. It can even be an ellipsis that represents an omission —as long as the entire list contains three or more symbols-sequences over more than one line.Your fourth example is not a passage. The list has only two words. Italics word indicators should be used for both words. If there was a third line with one or more words then it would be a passage.(UEB 9.9.1 doesn't present any examples, but the same format is used for capitalized passages that extend over more than one text element. There is a four-paragraph example in UEB 8.5.5.)I hope this answers your question.Yes, contractions may be used, as explained in Braille Formats §21.6.2: "When entry words are shown with syllable breaks, insert the word in contracted form with no syllable breaks at the margin. Follow this (after one blank cell) with the word showing syllable breaks and using contracted braille." There is also a print/braille example: Sample 21-3 Glossary with Diacritics on page 21-30. However, Braille Formats §20.4. Diacritic Pronunciation explains: "20.4d. Do not use contractions when a modifier applies to one of the letters within a contraction."
Braille Formats 20.4.1–20.4.4 along with Samples 20-6 –20-14 provides specific details for diacritic transcriptions. Also, in the Rules of UEB, Section 4.2, you'll find the complete list of modifiers, and examples for their use.—eng and schwa pronunciation symbols are explained in UEB §4.4.
Dan Gergen
The UEB Literary Committee agrees that you should use a transcriber-defined shape indicator followed unspaced by the letter “o” or, as suggested in UEB, use a word or initials, such as “os” meaning “oval shape” or something similar. (UEB §11.7.2)
@$os
Also, if a filled oval appears in a sample ballot, a committee member mentioned that you’d then be able to use the filled shape indicator. (GTM §14.2)
@_$os
We hope this provides some direction.
Dan Gergen
This was quite a challenge for the UEB Literary Committee but one of our members located a resource from the Australian Braille Authority that has the original Duxbury Braille Translator Producer’s Manual (2011) that you may or may not have tried. It does contain keyboard shortcuts in braille as you requested and notes a 3/25/2021 webpage update.
https://printdisability.org/guidelines/duxbury-braille-translator-producers-manual-2011/
The download is available in four formats:
• Print version (pdf 1MB)
• Word version (doc 2MB)
• Large print versions 18pt as text & pdf (zip 2MB)
• Electronic braille BRF files for embossing or to read directly on a braille display (brf zip 75kb)
• Duxbury Braille Translator version (dxp zip 30kb)</p>
I looked at the braille version and found the keyboard shortcuts in Appendix 10. Each shortcut also included the DBT format codes.Mind you, the manual is dated 2011 but the shortcuts might be updated. At least it's a starting point to bring the list up to date by matching the entries to the shortcuts in the Duxbury Help files. They might even match the latest DBT 12.5 SR3 upgrade.
We hope this helps.
Dan Gergen
Good morning Taylor,
Thank you for your recent question concerning the "in" lower groupsign in "1-in." for the abbreviation inches. The UEB Literary and Technical committees agree with your claim that the "in" lower groupsign may be used based on the references you cited.
§10.6.8 and §10.6.10 would apply in this example. The hyphen terminates grade 1 mode when set by the numeric indicator. As a result, the "in" groupsign followed by the period should be used. Both are in the lower cell but connected through the hyphen in the sequence to the upper dot 4 of the numeric indicator.
Dan Gergen, Chair
UEB Literary CommitteeHello Vicki,
Thank you for your question. The UEB Literary Committee discussed your inquiry and consulted a formats expert. The formatting and rules for the Transcriber's Notes page is explained in Braille Formats Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2016 in §2.6.1. The Rules of UEB leave most formatting decisions to the local braille authority.
As you know, the Transcriber's Notes page is where you explain the use of other codes or guidelines used in your transcription as well as any altered formats or omitted items from the print version. It's not uncommon to have nothing to explain—but in braille transcribing, there is always a first time.
There are no instructions found in §2.6 that direct you to include a blank Transcriber's Notes page to indicate there is nothing to explain. You may exclude the page from your transcription.
If you need further clarification, please let us know.
Dan Gergen, Chair
UEB Literary CommitteeThank you for providing a sample of what you are transcribing. It helps us in discussing a proper reply but also introducing a topic for discussion that many transcribers may not know about.
We consulted a Braille Formats expert and discussed BF §16.11 Keying Technique for Marginal Labels. The expert confirms that you are following the rules correctly for marginal labels. §16.11.1.g describes a very unusual use for braille grouping indicators.
To answer your original question, based on the UEB rules for "standing alone," the "it" alphabetic wordsign is not permitted since the grade 1 indicator and the opening braille grouping indicator do not appear on the list of punctuation and indicators that may precede a letter or letters-sequence to be considered as standing alone. [UEB §2.6.2]Thank you again for your very interesting question. If we can help with any other problem, please don't hesitate to ask an expert.
Dan Gergen, Chair
UEB Literary CommitteeHello and thank you for your question which was discussed with members of the UEB Literary Committee. We hope our reply is helpful.
You are correct, grouping indicator symbols as defined in UEB §3.4.1 are not on the list of punctuation and indicators in §2.6.2 that may precede a letter or letters-sequence to be considered as standing alone. Grade 1 indicators are also not on the list. Other opening print grouping signs, such as parentheses, brackets, and curly brackets, in addition to the opening transcriber's note indicator, are listed in 2.6.2.
As such, the grade 1 indicator followed unspaced by the opening general grouping indicator—neither of which are listed in §2.6.2—prevents the word "It" from standing alone. The second braille example should be used.
The symbols-sequence example you provided would usually need to be preceded unspaced from the symbol it applies to. The purpose in using braille grouping indicators according to UEB §3.4.1 is to ensure that the preceding braille symbol or indicator applies to all the symbols enclosed by the braille grouping indicators.
This means that a symbol —not space—would be preceding the opening grouping indicator. To be considered as standing alone, with or without those listed symbols in §2.6.2 it must be preceded by a space. "It" is preceded by the grade 1 indicator and the opening grouping indicator.
We would be very interested in knowing why your transcription requires the braille grouping indicators. Examples like this are valuable resources for all transcribers who look for answers in the "Ask an Expert" forums. Would you mind sending an image of the print example you are working on? It may shed some light on other possibilities
Dan Gergen, Chair
UEB Literary Committee
