Lindy Walton
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The determining factor when deciding whether to use Nemeth fraction indicators is how the fraction is printed. If the numerator is not raised and if the denominator is not lowered, then fraction indicators are not used. The presence of superscripts or subscripts does not affect this decision. In your example, if the "v"s are not raised or lowered from the base line of the surrounding text, you do not need to use fraction indicators.
Lindy
Hi Laurie. You are correct -- Nemeth stays in effect until you close it with a Nemeth Code terminator. A page change (print or braille) does not terminate Nemeth Code.
The "Guidance" does state that neither indicator should be separated from what it applies to (point 11 on page 11). In other words, don't end a page (print or braille) with an opening Nemeth Code indicator, and don't start a page (print or braille) with a Nemeth Code terminator.
Thanks for the question.
Lindy
The "not" sign is not in the original Nemeth Code. This negation sign is common and has been under discussion in the BANA Nemeth committee. Perhaps a new symbol will be proposed. In the meantime, the advice I have received is that the transcriber should devise a symbol that is in keeping with usage, and to explain in a transcriber's note. In this case, I suggest a 2-cell "dot 4" symbol since the more common symbol of ~p (tilde p) is a dot-4 symbol. Note that, listed in Appendix B of the Nemeth Code, there are 71 symbols beginning with a dot 4 so choose your symbol carefully since you cannot use one which already has a meaning. As luck would have it, (4, 1456) is available! I suggest using that.
Lindy
Hi Susan.
The only expression that will not fit across one braille line is the numbered item at the top of the page. It must be divided twice. The first priority is to break before a sign of comparison, so you will start a new line before the equals sign. The runover will start in cell 5. The "link" (matrix 1 minus matrix 2 minus matrix 3) also needs to be divided, so you divide before a sign of operation -- in this case, before the second minus sign. Also beginning in cell 5. Yes, a blank line must set off the spatial matrices -- a blank line above and a blank line below.
Each lettered item will fit without need for runovers, as shown in the attached BRF file. I can't quite read what this problem is numbered, but in the attached BRF file I have given it the number 35.
If you are using a page that is narrower than 40 cells, let me know and we can discuss how to treat runovers of wide matrices -- there are a couple of ways to do this, according to the Nemeth Code.
I am not a Duxbury user, so I cannot imagine how you would key this in that software.
Lindy
Veeah, you raise an interesting point. The symbol is °C which stands for the temperature unit "degree Celsius". When printed correctly, it will be spaced away from its value as in your example, 100 °C. A period is not associated with this unit. The Nemeth Code calls "C" an abbreviation, but I think by understanding that °C is the full symbol, this topic will make more sense when you are confronted with a transcribing dilemma. Regardless, we have guidelines regarding how to transcribe it.
Printed with a hyphen? That is curious. I have noticed that voice recognition software will often insert a hyphen between a number and what follows. I don't know how this started, or if it is related to your observation. Publishers are free to follow their own typographical rules, but I wonder why it is printed this way in a book that has otherwise been using a space? If you are in possession of a pre-publication copy, that hyphen could be indicating a non-breaking space that wasn't caught yet by their proofreaders. Regardless, we must transcribe what is printed.
My first braille mentor, Connie Risjord, taught us well that a Hyphen Connects (and a dash separates). That distinction helps me figure out what to do in unfamiliar situations. I would transcribe 1-°C just as it is printed (unspaced): #1-^.*",C
In 30.4 J/mol °C, follow print spacing: #30.4 ;,J_/MOL ^.*",C
By the way, °C is known as a "derived" SI unit. The SI base unit of (thermodynamic) temperature is the symbol K (for kelvin). It's complicated. Luckily, all we need to do is TRANSCRIBE WHAT WE SEE IN PRINT regarding spacing with the °C symbol.
If I haven't answered your question, please keep asking. This is a confusing topic.
Thanks.
LindyHi Brandon. Flash cards are a great idea. I have always made my own. You can use index cards and a braillewriter, or you can create them with your software for single-sided embossing and then cut them with a paper trimmer. Attached are a couple of templates I have used for making 3"x5" flashcards. The narrow one is for 8-1/2" wide braille paper; the wide one is for 11-1/2" wide braille paper. The shaded areas show the maximum amount of usable space on the card. If you use "replace" or "overwriting" mode on your keyboard, you can replace the dots on the template with what you want on each flashcard without disturbing the layout of the template.
It is important to snip the corner of each card so it is obvious what is right-side-up. Typically, the upper right corner is trimmed. You can get really creative with your use of homemade flash cards.
Good luck!
Lindy
Yes, you have come across one of those print signs that can be misinterpreted unless you dig deeper. When in doubt, look for clues in the surrounding text regarding the function of the sign. (Or Ask An Expert! Not just here, but you could ask a math or science teacher or scientist as well.)
In your example, the sign (that looks somewhat like a "pinch bug" or earwig to me) is a sign of comparison, indicating that radiation is proportional to (or "varies as") distance ("d") in the ratio expressed (one over d-squared). In your transcription, use the comparison symbol listed in Rule XX of the Nemeth Code on page 136. (456, 123456)
In the UEB with Nemeth lesson material, the symbol is introduced in Lesson 6 (6.7.15) and compared with the Greek letter alpha in Lesson 13 (13.7). You can reassure yourself that this sign is not the Greek letter alpha by looking to see if there is a definition for alpha nearby. Is alpha defined with a certain value, for example? Or are alpha particles under discussion? Is there such a thing as "radiation-alpha"?
Thank you for sharing this example.
Lindy
Hi. B3 and B2 are not math terms when used to refer to cell names for a spreadsheet. You would transcribe them in UEB in the example sentence.
Hope restored!
Lindy
The Nemeth Code does not address this issue directly, nor does it discuss SI units or derived units such as your example, kg·m/s. As you observe, when a unit of measure has no value it is no longer functioning as an abbreviation. Calling it a variable, however, is a bit misleading. "kg·m/s" should be unspaced, but the Nemeth Code requires the use of the English-letter indicator for the "m" and "s", as illustrated in example (8) of Section 51.b of the Nemeth Code.
If this is a chemistry transcription, note that the Chemistry Code does briefly address the issue of SI units in Section 9.3. It shows an example with a multiplication dot, but unfortunately that example has a related value, so the spacing rules of the Nemeth Code are being followed.
Your observation is an important one, and its treatment in Nemeth braille is currently under discussion. Thank you for your question.
Lindy
Hi Veeah.
Follow print. Since the print copy does not list each lettered item on a new line, you should do the same. (Nemeth Code does not address this format.)
I notice that the print copy has left (c) alone at the end of line 5. Personally, I would be sure each letter is on the same line as the math expression which follows it (or at least one word of the sentences in #30.) There is no rule stating this preference, however, just to be clear.
Regarding the semicolons, you need to include them. Transcribers don't have the option of editing the text.
Thank you for all of the interesting questions!
Lindy
An explanation in a transcriber's note would work nicely here. Something like "The following arrangement is crossed out in the print copy." I would then transcribe the arrangement. It would be friendly to insert a second TN after the crossed-out part, something like "End of crossed-out arrangement." The first TN should precede the requisite blank line before the arrangement; the second TN should follow the requisite blank line after the arrangement.
Lindy
Hi Veeah.
This is an interesting question! I do not consider "logs" to be the same as the abbreviated function name "log". "logs" would not be found in a mathematical expression. It's conversational shorthand, I suppose, in this sentence.
You can confidently transcribe "logs" in UEB. "log x", on the other hand, should be in Nemeth (as well as y = log x). Now, what about "log button"? Here, I would lean toward putting "log" inside Nemeth code switches.
Thank you for giving me something to think about.
Lindy
Hi.
Referring to the new lesson manual for UEB with Nemeth, 6.4.1 illustrates what I call the "typewriter" method of printing a fraction, where the numbers in the numerator and the denominator are printed on the baseline of writing. The numbers are the same size as the surrounding text. The Nemeth Code says to interpret this as numbers with a slash between them, not using fraction indicators. I believe this rule is to prevent misinterpretation of two numbers with a slash between them -- not always a fraction. It's just a straightforward transcription of number-slash-number.
Sometimes you will encounter a mixed number printed in this fashion, where the whole number is followed by a space and then a "typewriter fraction". It looks like this unusual printing method was overlooked in the lesson book. Check out Section 64 of the Nemeth Code. Example (2) shows a "mixed number" printed this way. As long as you are certain this is a mixed number, go ahead and transcribe it using the "fractional part of a mixed number" indicators and the diagonal fraction line.
Lindy
The current (1972) Nemeth Code gives us no guidance regarding this layout, which is why the new lesson manual (your reference) does not suggest a format. I would transcribe your example by placing the anchor on the same line as the identifier, then beginning each link on a new line starting in cell 3 (assuming the identifier begins in cell 1). Your example would not have any runovers, but if the anchor or any link requires a runover, I would indent two cells further (cell 5, in this case).
Lindy
Hi Veeah.
In UEB with Nemeth, we define "x = the weight of the lightest policeman" as the math expression, all in Nemeth Code. The first place to divide an equation is before the equals sign. So, yes, you will have to divide this expression twice. Your second transcription shows this division preference.
It is recommended that the grouping signs be transcribed in the same code. So I would terminate Nemeth right after the word "policeman", then have the period and the closing parenthesis be in UEB. Even if more math follows right away, it will be clearer to read the closing parenthesis in UEB, rather than wondering if you missed an opening Nemeth grouping symbol. I demonstrate this in the attached file.
Thank you for your question!
Lindy
