German questions

[two-three-six]

Hello, I am doing a very short transcription completely in German (a business card to be distributed in Germany). This is my first time working on German braille.

From what I have read, capitalization is mostly ignored. This includes first and last names of people, correct? Abbreviations are sometimes an exception, so for M.Sc. (Master of Science), should I put dots 46 in front of the m and s?

Since the Vollschrift contractions can't cross syllables, I shouldn't use the "st" contraction in assistentin, correct?

I'm using Duxbury, and it's putting a dot 6 in front of Connie. In fully contracted braille, are all words that start with the  letter c preceded by dot 6?

Thanks for any advice!

Greta

[ftb]

Greta,

I'll respond with information that I hope you find useful. If you have further questions, please send along a print sample.

BANA's Provisional Guidance for Transcribing Foreign Language Material in UEB, posed on their website as approved May 2015, indicates that Method 4 can be applied to your business card, as I understand your question. Method 4 uses the full braille code of a specific country, in this case Germany. Method 4 requires the transcriber to be fluent in the specific language and to know the braille code for that language.

I am not qualified to transcribe such material.

I can however, point you to the information you need.

From the Provisional Guidance document mentioned above, if the foreign language braille code includes contractions (e.g. German), then there is an option to use or not use contractions, depending on the expected readership of the braille.

From World Braille Usage (WBU), found on the Perkins.org website, there are three contraction grades in Germany, two of which you might consider (both use contractions): Vollschrift, recommended for younger school children and signage, and Kurzschrift recommended for adults and other schoolchildren.

The 8 Vollschrift contractions are listed on p. 182 of WBU. There is no equivalent braille sign for  capital punctuation listed in WBU.

p. 46 of WBU refers to organizations that can help you. Braille Standards are set by Authority of the German-Speaking Countries (Brailleschriftkomitee der deutschsprachige, BSKDL). For Literary Notation: Das System der deutschen Blindenschrift, 2005.

If you choose not to use contractions, consult Method 3 in the Provisional Guidance document mentioned above, and we'll go from there if you have further questions.

Good luck,

Carol Greer

 

 

 

[two-three-six]

Carol, thank you for taking the time to lay out all that information for me! I used the resources you mentioned, and feel more confident now with the transcription. In the WBU, I did see that the German section continues onto page 183, and that is where the capital indicator is hiding.

Thanks again -- I appreciate your response!

Greta

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