Lindy Walton
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Hi. I'm glad you asked this question. The colon sign in mathematics has seven different uses according to what I found on https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Colon.html
Your example, I believe, is item 3: "To give a name to a map, e.g., f:x|->x^2 (which is equivalent to the function notation f(x)=x^2)." In Lesson 4 of An Introduction to Braille Mathematics Using Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts (4.11.3 "Mapping Notation), it says to transcribe this colon as an unspaced symbol. In your example, this means ELI g PI colon x (Letter g is preceded by a space and followed by a punctuation mark, so it needs an ELI. Letter x is followed by a comparison sign so an ELI is not needed for x. A punctuation indicator is required before the colon.)_% ;G_3X $O ?1/2#X+6 _:
Oh my goodness. It looks like I did actually activate the braille font. It didn't show up until I posted the note.
I'll still ask about the issue.
Hi. My response is in the attached file.
Regarding the braille font, I was told that the issue has been corrected. But I can't get it to work either. I'll look into it.
Thanks for continuing to challenge my thinking!
Lindy
Thank you for finding that previous post from 2013! I was unfamiliar with the term "augmented matrix". I see now that the vertical line in an augmented matrix is not being used as a grouping sign, but rather as a separator. I think the best solution would be to draw the line as a tactile graphic, but if that option is not available to you, using the (456) "vertical line" makes sense. This is not the (1256) "vertical bar" (which has mathematical meaning). This "column separator" usage is similar to the vertical line used in a stem-and-leaf plot which became an option for us in the 2007 BANA Update. You'll note that there is a space before and after the vertical line when used in this manner. Let me know what you think.
Lindy
Hi Don. The vertical bar you are looking for is called an Enlarged Sign of Grouping in the Nemeth Code. You can find the enlarged single vertical bar listed in the table on page 123 of the 1972 codebook. Its use is illustrated in a determinant in example (2), Section 126, "Use of Enlarged Grouping Symbols".
Let me know if you have further questions. You have a big project ahead of you.
Lindy
Yes, that is correct. When following Nemeth Code formatting rules, the first line of a narrative paragraph is indented two cells from the runover margin. Section 190.a of the Nemeth Code says "paragraphs must begin in cell 3 and must be run over, if necessary, in cell 1." This is the correct placement for narrative that follows a cell-5 heading. Have fun with that glossary!
Lindy
Hi, Angela. We have stated in the "Provisional Guidance for Chemistry Notation Using Nemeth in UEB Contexts" that when chemical abbreviations appear in narrative context, code switching is unnecessary. Even though a functional group is technically not an "abbreviation", chemical groups fall in this category. We neglected to make that distinction in the Provisional Guidance. A switch to Nemeth Code is necessary only when technical symbols are associated with the letter or if typeform is other than regular or italic. So go ahead and transcribe A, C, T, and G in UEB.
Regarding the graphic, I confirmed with my chemistry experts (it helps to have one of those when you are working on a chemistry book!) that the "P" in the graphic represents a phosphate group, not the element SYMBOL for phosphorus (likewise, the "S" represents a sugar group, not the element SYMBOL for sulfur) which means that you do not need to switch to Nemeth Code for the graphic. However, do note that since the letters in the diagram are not labels they will each require a UEB grade-1 indicator unless you set grade-1 mode for the diagram. I recommend that option, to keep the diagram uncluttered.
Thank you for your important question.
LindyHi Laurie. This project has returned to haunt us, I see. Back in December we decided to switch to Nemeth Code for the IP addresses because they are being used in math context with the equals sign. Your transcription of 2001:db8:130F::9C0:876A:130B looks good to me. It's hard to see all those punctuation indicators and numeric indicators when one of the highlights of the Nemeth Code is its compactness, but I see no other way around this. Good job.
Lindy
Aha, now I see the simbraille appears after I post! But the dot-5s are showing up as quotation marks. I'll try again:
$O #2;0^1"N+;43^97",TC
Thank you for your question. There is no way to show that the sub- and superscripts are left hand to the “n” instead of right hand to the “2”. Just as the print reader will understand from the context of the reaction, so will the braille reader.
I can't seem to get the braille font to work tonight. Here is the ASCII. I have also attached an image of the braille.
$O #2;0^1"N+;43^97",TC
Hi Barb. Thank you for your question. You may have opened a small can of worms.
Item 11 on page 11 of our go-to document, Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts, says "The opening Nemeth Code indicator and the Nemeth Code terminator should be placed on the same page with part of the expression to which they apply." It doesn't specifically say "print page". I see no problem with switching to Nemeth Code at the end of the UEB paragraph, before the page change indicator.
Personally, if this is a worksheet for a young reader, it might be friendlier to place the opening switch on the very next line
after the page change indicator. (Another option would be to wait to switch until after the first identifier "22" which would be in UEB.)In any case, a switch indicator does not replace a blank line. The line before item 22 will need to be blank.
Hope this helps.
LindyThis drawing poses an interesting question about the readability of what I call a "free-floating" minus sign. Without a nearby point of reference, (36) can look like (14) or (25). [Even if you were using the UEB symbols, which you should not do in a Nemeth transcription, (5, 36) is also ambiguous.] In the context of the subject matter, it will probably be clear that this is a minus sign. If you would like more clarity, the only solution I can find in our reference books is to borrow the spatial "minus sign within a circle" symbol from the Chemistry Code (3.4.2) which is used in spatial diagrams for exactly this purpose--to give clarity to the symbol. If you use this symbol (1246, 14, 36) I would also use the symbol for "plus sign within a circle" (1246, 14, 346). You can define these two symbols in a TN preceding the diagram.
I'm curious to know what you think about this idea. We are thinking outside the box!
Lindy
Hi Beverly. In a Nemeth transcription, we don't use UEB symbols for the technical material. I don't see an attachment to your note -- can you try again, and I will take a look at it? Thank you.
Lindy
This is a great example. Somewhere along the way we realized/decided that there is no reason you can't place the opening Nemeth Code indicator at the end of the line in instructions or a cell-5 or cell-7 heading. I would put it after the word "equation." in the instructions. See the "solution" brf file, attached. **Note that you need to keep "12/36" and its switch indicators together on the same braille line. In an embedded expression, if the math and one or both switch indicators will fit on the line (within current margins), do so.
Back to your original question, a student will get used to seeing identifiers in both UEB and Nemeth Code. The transcriber's decision regarding where to switch depends on the surrounding material. If you tried to make all the identifiers in an exercise set "look" the same (in the same code), there would be much too much switching going on.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your project!
Lindy
