Prime sign in syntax text

[Chris Clemens]

I'm transcribing a syntax textbook and have come across a prime sign, and double prime sign, which I don't know how to transcribe them. It's not mathematical, and only appears as part of an itemized alphabetical letter.

Here's an example. The prime signs follow after the letters, with one or two prime marks.

(10) a' I have been ...
b' When it comes ...

The underlined strings of words in the primed (10a, b) are constituents. They can be replaced by pronouns.

(10) a" I have been using ...
b" When it comes, he seems ...

[Chris Clemens]

I need to see that actual print page. Please scan the page and post it here.

Thanks.

--Joanna

[Chris Clemens]

Here are two pages of the book, which shows how the prime is used. Thanks.

[Chris Clemens]

There is no provision for the non-math use of the prime sign. I consulted with Lynnette Taylor on this one and we have agreed that the transcriber has to devise a symbol for this. We suggest dot 4p for the single prime and dote4pp for the double prime. I would follow print for spacing since that is the general practice for symbols of this type.

5e' would look be [simbraille]#e;e@p[/simbraille]

These symbols are listed on the Special Symbols page. If there are only a few instances of this in the print, I would list the special symbols in the text right before they are needed. The concern is that the reader may skip over the special symbols page. But if occurring throughout the book, go right ahead and list on the Special Symbols page as prime and double prime. The text also mentions the symbols, so I'm sure the reader will figure this out.

Thanks for the interesting question.

--Joanna

[joannavenneri]

Thank you Joanna! I was thinking of devising something similar, with just the dot 4(s), but will use your technique ... and I have already stressed to this particular student, the importance of reading the Special Symbols page. The author continues to use the prime symbol throughout the text.

Another interesting style she uses ... dropped capitals to indicate grammatical units. See attached. I have decided to include a transcriber note (on the first instance and on the TN page) to include a colon after these dropped letters, in place of the subscript in print. I worded it:

..In print below the unit numbers inside the brackets are subscript in small capital font. A braille colon after each has been added in place of the subscript. Also a braille arrow 1246 25 25 135 is used for a double arrow in print...

Please let me know if I should handle this differently. Thank you!

[joannavenneri]

I'm uncomfortable with substituting unrelated puncutation (a colon) for a change of typeface. I realize this is unusual text and the transcriber must devise, but I always try to avoid tampering with the print. Even if you explain it, you're still altering the print unnecessarily. In this case, I would just use double caps for UNIT. Keep the parentheses, keep the square brackets as in print. You will have followed print and you don't have to explain anything. The braille reader sees the same double caps that the print readers are seeing and I'm sure all the students will ask the teacher what this means! You braille reader is not access the same thing as the print readers. I would just use double caps for UNIT and ignore the subscript position. If absolutely necessary, THAT you can explain in a TN and say the double capped UNIT designations are printed in the subscript position. But I wouldn't even bother with that unless there is some unavoidable significance to it.

--Joanna

[joannavenneri]

Ok, I'll delete the colon, but I'm including a TN prior to the first instance that says:

In Print below, the unit numbers inside the brackets are subscript in small capital font. Also a braille arrow (symbol shown) is used for a double arrow in print.

Is it permissible to add a space between the word UNIT and the following number (UNIT 1 instead of UNIT1)? Because otherwise the student will read UNITABLEA.

[joannavenneri]

ABSOLUTELY have a space between UNIT and the number. Frankly, I didn't see that as unspaced anyway. WORDS and the numbers that follow are assumed to be spaced. It's print symbols (non-alphabetic, non-numeric) that can be tricky to space.

You're the transcriber and that means you're the boss. But I do think the TN is over-describingg and it wouldn't be done that way by most transcribers. A TN is basically an interruption and an intrusion, no matter how necessary. The idea is to keep them very brief and use only when necessary. It is not necessary to describe the print just to describe it. If you are using arrows and you have listed the arrow symbol, you don't say in a TN that arrows are there. If they're in the braille, there they are. The reader sees them and knows they are there. It's just like anything else. When something is in italics you use the italisc sign. You don't add a TN to describe that italics is there. Same thing with double caps. If a word is double-capped. ANY word, you don't write a TN to say the word is double-capped. You just do it in the braille and the reader reads it.

Just sayin'

--Joanna

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