[kdejute]

In case it is helpful, below are some thoughts on transcribing calculator material using UEB.

• As you say, GTM 3.5 advises us to use the underline indicator and a transcriber's note instead of the shape enclosure indicators that are covered in GTM 14.3.
• When underlining is used in the surrounding text, perhaps a transcriber-defined typeform may be useful (Rules of UEB section 9).
• You *could* transcribe commands and symbols enclosed in shapes.

"Experimental" transcriptions are in the attached files.

What do you think?

–Kyle

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[kdejute]

Lynnette, I'm afraid your attachment did not come through. Could you try again? (If it still does not show up, it may need to be compressed in order to meet the Ask an Expert file size limits.)

[kdejute]

Rebecca,

Thank you for the question.

According to the text of 2.6 in the Rules of UEB, if "your" is preceded or followed by the line continuation indicator, then the word is *not* standing alone. This is because no part of 2.6 in the Rules of UEB allows for the line continuation indicator. In other words, to the best of our understanding, because the line continuation indicator is not currently explicitly identified as something that allows a word to be standing alone, a word before or after a line continuation indicator is not standing alone.

This is a very fine rule distinction, so it is unlikely that contracting "your" would mislead the reader. But, as I said above, according to a very close reading of the rule as it is written today, the line continuation indicator would prevent the use of the shortform "yr" in your example.

–Kyle

[kdejute]

Please see the [upcoming] Fall 2021 Bulletin article for a change of position on this issue.

In short, a series of letters that is not an abbreviation should be in Nemeth Code.
So,  non-abbreviation series like those in “blood type AB” or “genotype Yy” should be transcribed in Nemeth Code.

This is in line with the spirit of #6 under Additional Guidelines in the Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts, which says, "A series of two or more letters (not abbreviations) identifying geometric shapes or figures is transcribed in Nemeth Code and capitalized individually if needed. (e.g. Triangle ABC, line EF). The name of the figure is not included within the switches. A single letter identifying a shape or figure may be transcribed in UEB. (e.g. Circle O)."

–Kyle

[kdejute]

There is no concrete answer to that question.

The portion of BF2016's Appendix G to which you refer would likely justify including all math symbols used in a volume.

Nonetheless, I would advise against it. I would at least leave out equals, plus, minus, and the multiplication cross.

Alas, Special Symbols Pages (what to include and what to call the entries) is so dependent on the actual content of the transcription as well as the experience of the reader that it is often as much art as science to create a Special Symbols Page.

–Kyle

[kdejute]

Thank you for the question, Shelley.

We think it is reasonable to believe that Greek letters "may be unfamiliar to the reader" (as BF2016 2.5.1 says). So, we would recommend including them on a Special Symbols Page.

I would recommend following the layout and wording given in Rules of UEB (RUEB) 4.5 to compose the SSP listings for any Greek letter.

–Kyle

[kdejute]

Shawn,

Thank you for the question. The effect of the line through previous item indicator applies to the "previous item" as defined in GTM (Guidelines for Technical Material) section 12.1. One thing that qualifies as an item is "An entire number, i.e. the initiating numeric symbol and all succeeding symbols within the numeric mode thus established".

So, #aj@: would mean "10 with a line through the 1 and the 0".

*If* you have to follow print exactly and show each number within a circle, then you would need braille that means "circle enclosing 10, with a line through both number and shape". That would be ;;<$=[#aj:>@:, where the braille grouping indicators allow the effect of the line-through indicator to apply to everything they enclose.

Does that help?
–Kyle

[kdejute]

Melissa,

Thank you for asking. The only change I would make to your transcription is to remove the columns of blank cells. They are not necessary. Attached are both a picture and a .brf of the transcription with these columns removed.

You did a great job of aligning by place value and arranging things in a mathematically logical way.

As for the workshop I mentioned way earlier in this thread, in November 2020, NBA's UEB Technical Material Committee presented a workshop entitled “Spatial Problems, Rules And Advice For UEB Technical Material.” A recording of that webinar is available on NBA’s “Web-based Learning” page (in the drop-down list under “What We Do” on nationalbraille.org).

–Kyle

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[kdejute]

Thank you for the question. We have been thinking on this, and discussion is ongoing.

For now, the best we can recommend is to be consistent (which you are indubitably already endeavoring to do). We will share concrete advice as soon as we can.

–Kyle

[kdejute]

Julia,

Thank you for your question. It looks like your files were too large to upload. Could you please condense them, "zip" them, or attach a picture of them?

While I am here, please let me make a preliminary observation: In binary code, each letter of the alphabet (or Arabic numeral, or instruction to a computer, etc.) is represented by one binary pattern, which is a series of zeros and ones. For example, the lowercase letter a is represented by the binary pattern 01100001  That whole string of zeros and ones together functions as a binary pattern, and the zeros and ones are not separate entities; it's only when they all work together that they mean a

If you can upload or more fully describe your examples, I think I can give you a more specific response.

–Kyle

[kdejute]

Susan,

Yes, you are correctly using the general fraction indicators with the general fraction line in a fraction that includes something other than digits, decimal points, commas or separator spaces. In Guidelines for Technical Material part 6.4, general fractions are discussed, and examples are given.

So, while ¼ would be transcribed: #a/d
A fraction like "question mark over 4" is not a simple numeric fraction and so is transcribed using the general fraction indicators and general fraction line:
;;(8./#d)

–Kyle

[kdejute]

I think you're onto a good thing here, Susan. If you haven't already, please take a look at the discussion in the thread "Formatting fraction problems."

I've also attached a potential transcription here (in .brf and .jpg file formats).

Braille on! You're doing a good job.

–Kyle

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[kdejute]

Yes, the Unicode Braille Patterns you got from Branah.com do look good. I use these sometimes when communicating with sighted colleagues via email. Just remember that Unicode Braille Patterns are hardly accessible at all; screen readers usually do not know what to do with them and so do not mention them at all. Pairing Unicode Braille Patterns with ASCII braille is ⠃⠑⠌⠀⠏⠗⠁⠉⠞⠊⠉⠑ (ASCII [with this thread's braille font applied]: be/ practice).

Oh-so-belatedly, please let me say that I truly admire your analysis of the print sign that is constructed of arrows!

–Kyle

• This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by kdejute.

[kdejute]

Julia,

Thank you for the question and for sharing a sample.

You are correct that a letter standing alone outside of a grade 1 passage needs a grade 1 symbol indicator so that it cannot be misread as an alphabetic wordsign.

–Kyle

[kdejute]

Susan,

The Nemeth Code tells us to format subdivisions in 3-5 (§191.b.ii). [The "yellow book" Introduction to Braille Mathematics did say in its section 69.b, "It is permissible to place the subdivisions of itemized material side by side across a page if all the subdivisions can be accommodated on one braille line."]

But we are talking about using only UEB (i.e., transcribing in UEB Math/Science), so for formatting questions we should look to BANA's Provisional Guidance for Transcribing Mathematics in UEB and then to Braille Formats 2016. The former does say,

Treat an exercise with subentries as a nested list and the indentation pattern is determined by the complete set, not individually. For example, if two levels: 1-5, 3-5; if three levels: 1-7, 3-7, 5-7, and so forth.

Braille Formats' section 10.4.4 talks about listing all answer choices vertically and being consistent in the method used for vertically listing items that are printed horizontally.

You are right that it is best practice to put each problem on its own braille line, even when they are printed horizontally across a line or lines. As far as we understand, having each problem on its own line makes the material most easily navigable for a braille user.

–Kyle

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