indented paragraphs

[Chris Clemens]

I have come across portions of text that are indented by different amounts in the textbook I am working on.
I see that Rule 14 (1) of Braille Formats says: "1. Displayed Material. Examples that are displayed, i.e., set off from the body of the text by blank lines, change of margins, reduced type, or special typeface, must be transcribed as follows.
a. A single example or a series of examples must be preceded and followed by a blank line."

This is what I have been doing--skipping a line before and after a paragraph that is indented.
In the pages I have attached, there are parts where a paragraph is indented and then after that another paragraph is indented to a greater degree (2nd level of indentation starts, for example, on page 405 with the sentence "The injury which a stockholder ...".)

How would I indicate this 2nd level of indentation?
All I could think of was to skip 2 lines before this paragraph begins and 2 lines after it ends.
If instead I only skipped one line, wouldn't the reader be confused as to whether the skipped line indicates the end of the paragraph currently being indented or the start of the paragraph being indented to a greater amount than its preceding paragraph?

Thanks for your help on how to handle this issue.

Patricia

[Chris Clemens]

For some reason it's not letting me attach these files. I'll try again here.

[Chris Clemens]

And here's the page of text that follows, if that helps.

[joannavenneri]

Thanks for sending the print. I am going to suggest that the reason you had difficulty is that the file is very big--it's over almost 7 MB for just a single page. This is because it's an .rtf and those tend to be quite large. I suggest that you scan and save the image into .jpg or .pdf. Those will be much smaller and easier to send. I say this because I think I MIGHT need to see additional page. The print layout here is complex and one page only lets me see a small part of it. I'll try with what we have.

Paragarphs are either indented or not regardless of where they are placed on the print page If all the text is at the same left margin, it is a blocked (NOT INDENTED) paragraph. If the first line of the paragraph is indented relative to the rest of the paragraph, it is an indented paragraph. So, there is only one indented paragraph on this page and that is the one starting The injury. I can't tell about the paragraph at the top of the page because I can't see how it begins. I'll assume it is blocked.

All of the remaining paragraphs on this page are blocked. You will have to read your text carefully over many pages to see the pattern in print to determine which is the displayed material. Notice that the rule you cited defines displayed material as that which is set off from the text by a CHANGE IN MARGIN. Those paragraphs are still considered blocked and NOT indented. The display is shown by a blank line before and after.

And NEVER use two blank lines for this purpose. There is no provision for it in the rule and it simply creates a chasm for the reader to get past without imparting any additional information about the text. A single blank line indicates the displayed material and the resumption of regular text. It also indicates the change in format (1-3) that I assume is being used for the numbered items.

Here's a problem. There is a blank line between blocked paragraphs because that's the only way to tell where a pargraph ends and a new one begins. There is a blank line between regular text and displayed material. This means that if displayed material is also blocked, it is not obvious, except by context, in braille. There is really no way to tell in braille except by the content of the material itself. Usually, in print, the reader can tell by visual appearance of the various print indentions. Not always true in braille, at least not currently.

PREVIEW. The new Formats rules, just approved by BANA address this issue. But since those new rules haven't been published yet, and BANA has not announced an implementation date, we use the current rules now.

--Joanna

[joannavenneri]

I understand better now. Thanks so much! I think I was confusing the distinction between "indented" and "change of margins".
If I'm understanding correctly, the displayed material might be considered as displayed due to a change of margins.
Even though the print margin may be an inch from the edge of the page, this paragraph could then either be blocked or perhaps indented. But if it's considered displayed, then I know to skip a line in the braille before the paragraph and after the paragraph.

And it doesn't matter I guess whether the print margin for a paragraph is an inch from the left side of the page or 2 inches, it's all just considered to be displayed in braille.
Perhaps it's not that important for the braille reader to know that print paragraphs may have changes of margins of different amounts. Or maybe there's really no good way to indicate that in the braille.

Patricia

[Chris Clemens]

That's it exactly. Most of the time the distinction between the regular text and the displayed material is pretty clear in braille, just by virtue of the blank line. But in the case of your complex print, that distinction will tend to get lost in the braille, leaving the reader to depend on what the words actually say. The print reader of your book can rely more on relative position, but that is not available to the braille reader.

As mentioned, the new Formats rules will address this in new and interesting ways.

--Joanna

[Author]

Posts