Dollar signs and hyphens

[Barbara]

On math worksheets, would you use Nemeth indicators for a dollar amount such as: Ruth saved $5.43.

If you have a range of numbers do you use the Nemeth indicators? example:  14-17

Thank you.

Barbara

[kdejute]

Barbara,

Thank you for your question.

The value $5.43 should be transcribed in Nemeth Code (see #3 on page 2 of the Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts). Similarly, any number that is paired with a dollar sign should be transcribed in Nemeth Code.

A range of numbers like "14-17" should not be transcribed in Nemeth Code.

–Kyle

[Cheryl Walcutt]

The hyphen and negative sign in nemeth is the same.  How does the reader determine which sign is being used.

For example (problem taken from the online NFB  provisional lesson 2):  Plants thrive in soil that measure from 5.5-7.0 on the pH scale.

Taken in context I would know it was a hyphen, but other examples may not be as clear.

Thanks for your insight 🙂

[kdejute]

Cheryl,

That's a considerate follow-up question.

In fact, in many print environments the hyphen and negative sign are the same. Both the print and the braille reader must use context and experience to determine whether the symbol they're reading is a minus or a hyphen.

Section 45 of the Nemeth Code (on page 51 of the "green" book) says, "§45 Hyphen: The hyphen is represented by the same sign of ink print as the minus sign. Since the corresponding braille symbols also coincide, a minimum of decision-making in this regard is required of the transcriber.  ..."

–Kyle

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