joannavenneri
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We apologize for the poor quality of the scans. I created a Word document which I am attaching that shows the medical symbols in question. I hope it will provide a better image. We look forward to your ideas on how to present these in braille. Thank you.
Marie Amerson
Index--the rules are given in Rule 7 Sec. 4. They are specific to indices. The indention and runovers of index entries is specifically laid out. There is no mention of bringing main items to the next page. There is no mention of any other section in this rule. Therefore, let the material fall naturally. There is no need to create cross-reference in the rules where they don't exist.
Graphs--This is the sort of question that needs a print example. That is why there is no rule for it. Each case of this kind must be decidided individually.
Footnotes with punctuation. See Rule 12 Section 1 c. A symbol representing a print reference mark is placed AFTER the puncutuation in the text it refers to. The reference indicator always has a space before and after. This has nothing to do with the lower sign rule you mention because that refers to contractions. A braille reference indicator is not a contraction. The rule about puncutation and spacing takes care of this. Also note that the foodnote indicator itself is composed of lower dots without any contact with an upper dot.
Lists--I would include the reference inside the box that encloses the list because it it part of the lsited material.
Special Symbols--I'm not sure about what you are asking. The rule states that special symbols used through a volume are placed on the special symbols page. Special symbols used infrequently are given at the place where they occur in the form of a transcriber's note. It doesn't matter which symbol it is. Placement of special symbols notice is determined by frequency of use in the current volume, regardless of what symbol it is.
--Joanna
The second attachment (7237 medical terminology) is a blank page. Please scan and send again. The first attachment is unfortunately, not very clear, even when magnified. I am just an unfamiliar with these medical symbols as you are. I am asking you to specifically identify which symbols you want suggestions for. I am not sure which symbols have a line over the letter and which have a dot. The w0 symbol for without may not have lines over it at all. I think those might be stray marks. What do you think?
In general I am not sure exaqctly which symbols you are referring to. Some of these may indeed be math symbols and I'm happy to get further information. Please try to send improved copies that are clearer and please specify excactly which symbols you are asking about.
--Joanna
I'm sorry. I don't have a page. I was just going over the rules and trying to understand why they say "Insert a period after the abbreviation whether or not one is shown in print" and "A period printed beneath a superscript must be brailled after the entire abbreviation". What is the difference in "after the abbreviation" and "after the entire abbreviation?" They seem to be saying the same thing to me. Doesn't the abbreviation include the superscript a? I wish there were examples to look at. That's why I asked if doctora with the period before the superscript a would be brailled the same way as doctora with the period under the superscript a.
Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful repsonse. We are limited to resources such as NBA's Ask An Expert to ensure we are learning/teaching each other the appropriate information on textbook formatting, so your expert advice is always appreciated.
Please know those of us in Georgia appreciate you, the NBA, and this site.
I have conferred with colleagues about this one and we are in agreement! These diagrams are too complex to be put into braille. It is now felt that diagrams of this nature are simply not suitable for braille at all and the new Formats guidelines will say that. You may disregard the rule in the current Formats book that you included in your attachment. The recommendation for this material is to create tactile graphics for these diagrams if you are able to do that. If not, you may simply omit the diagrams and explain the omission in a transcriber's note. Don't forget that statement of omission. See Rule 17 Section 1g on the omission of illustrations.
Thank you for including that print page. It is essential for me to be able to see exactly what the problem is.
The new Formats guidelines have been approved and will take effect when the guidelines are published, some time in the next few months. Please let us know if the men in your program need further information about this.
--Joanna
I would treat the opening questin mark as part of the word and include it in the typeface indicator. That seems in accord with the spirit and intent of the foreign language rule, especially since there is no reason here to do otherwise. No mention is made of the typeface of the question mark. In fact, no mention is made of the question mark at all--just the word that is associated with. The question is not even in a different typeface, but the same color as the other words in the sentence. This is only a visual device to draw attention to the word that follows.
--Joanna
Thank you. I am attaching some examples. The punctuation is in black print. The emphasized word is in red.
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
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.
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
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!
Your citation applies specifically to Spanish. This is given on page 23 in Section 6.5f regarding the spacing of slashes in various languages. And this is why it is called the INTERIM manual. This rule was modified in 2005 to say that the slash would be spaced as in print for all languages, of course with some other exceptions having to do with pronunciation and other issues. This modification was not widely disseminated and so you and most other people just didn't know about it. This whole situation arose out of the special difficulties in formulating official BANA foreign language rules as part of the 1997 Braille Formats The Interim Manual is not a BANA publication, but it is based on BANA rules that existed at the time and it's all we have--UNTIL NOW. The new offical BANA Foreign Language Braille rules have been completed and the final document is being edited. The new rules clarify the slash usage--which is generally to follow print spacing. There are exceptions that have to do with unique issues in foreign language and other things and these are spelled out clearly.
In this case, if you have been following that slash rule for Spanish as given in the Interim Manual, you are correct. The usage I presented in the article is also correct. And when the new rules are published it will be much clearer for everyone and then you and I will know exactly what to do.
I hope this helps and I apologize for the complicated answer. The situation has indeed been complicated in foreign language and all I can tell you is that it is soon to be resolved at last.
--Joanna
There is not a provision for runovers in a multi-columned list and I am not sure whether it is correct or not.I reccommend a single column for this list as you suggested. The rule clearly does allow for fewer or more columns than is printed.
--Joanna
I think it would be helpful in this case to know more about this exercise. You have included only the exxample. What about the rest of the exercise items? Do they also have proofreading marks? It looks like the purpose of this exercise is for the student to apply proofreading marks to sentences or not, depending on whether they are identified as correct. Is there a list of proofreading marks given in the adjacent text? Consider what it says in Section 6c--Proofreading marks are of no practical value to the braille reader. If the purpose of this exercise is only to identify incorrect sentences and to correct them, braille readers will not be doing that by applying proofreading marks. Therefore, it might be appropriate simply to give this example in corrected and uncorrected even though there are no transpositions. You'll have to decide based on the surrounding text, which was not included.
--Joanna
