epo
This page describes the internal functioning of the respective DBT translation table. If you want more information about languages, scripts, and template choices, please click here.
The initial language table for a translation is determined by the selected template, and may be changed using the Document / Translation Tables menu. Using those menus does not involve explicit use of the table designator. However, to switch to a different translation table partway through a file, one must enter a DBT code and the designator for the table to switch to. For switching secondary languages within a base language table, see the [lng~X] command. For switching from one base language to another, see the [lnb~...] command.
The Esperanto tables support print-to-braille translation of Esperanto-language literary text.
The special modified letters characteristic of Esperanto (c, g, h, j, and s with circumflex, and u with breve) may be entered directly as such, that being generally preferred and also usually straightforward when importing from Unicode-supporting sources such as Microsoft Word. The other systems commonly used for representing these characters are also supported, namely:
"Variation" ([vrn...]) codes may be entered to restrict the acceptance of substitutes to one of the above systems, or to disallow substitutes altogether; see the section on supported translation codes below. This might be necessary, for example, if "ch" were to occur within Esperanto or technical text and for some reason mean just those letters, not c-circumflex.
Several languages other than Esperanto may also be processed as sub-languages, and transcribed in uncontracted braille (except for Maori, which has only one contraction).
Mathematics and computer notation are generally transcribed as for Unified English Braille (UEB).
Braille-to-print translation is supported for this language. However Braille-to-print translation may not be perfect, therefore errors could occur. If you find any errors or have suggestions, please send both the *.dxb and *.dxp files along with an explanation to: languages@duxsys.com (Please be sure to include sample files).
Normal braille-to-print translation is supported only within Esperanto literary text. In technical text, such as mathematics, the braille is translated to a "coded" form that is eventually designed to allow export to LaTeX or other means of displaying normal print mathematics -- but in the short run is readable only as codes.
Several other languages may be entered and treated as "in Esperanto context," using the [lng...] code to switch. For instance, [lng~fr] (or [lng~fra]) would introduce a French passage, which would be terminated, i.e. reverting to Esperanto, at [lng] (or [lng~eo]). The available languages, together with their associated "lng" codes, are:
de (or deu) -- German
en (or eng) -- English
eo -- Esperanto
es (or esp) -- Spanish
fi -- Finnish
fr (or fra) -- French
it (or ita) -- Italian
la (or lat) -- Latin
mi (or mao) -- Maori
nl -- Dutch
pt -- Portuguese
sv -- Swedish
sw -- Swahili
In Maori text, one contraction ("wh") is normally used, and it will be used as long as grade two is in effect. The other languages are all transcribed in grade 1 regardless of the grade setting. That is, the [g1] and [g2] codes affect any Maori text, but not the other languages.
Note that in addition to the above-listed "secondary languages" supported within the Esperanto table itself, it is also possible to switch to any of the available translation tables listed in DBT. (See the [lnb~...] code below.)
Technical notation such as for mathematics, science and computer material are supported as for Unified English Braille (UEB). The method for entering mathematics and other technical notation is the same as for English/UEB and the technical codes supported in the English/American and English/British tables.
It is also possible to switch to any of the available translation tables listed in DBT (see the [lnb~...]code below), many of which do support various technical codes, such as for mathematics or computer notation, or which support “unified” treatment of technical notation as well as literary text in the base language associated with the table.
The following DBT translation codes are available when using the Esperanto table. Any other translation codes used will be ignored, or indeed may cause unexpected results. If using an alternative translation table, i.e when switching to another base language table by means of the[lnb~...] code, please refer to the relevant topic and available codes for that table.
[/]
[ab] is equivalent to [g2]
[be]
[bline] -- ignored.
[bs]
[cz]
[enclis] -- ignored.
[fe]
[fl]
[fs]
[fte~b]
[fte~i]
[fte~s] (end of script typeform)
[fte~u]
[fts~b]
[fts~i]
[fts~s] (start of script typeform)
[fts~u]
[g1] -- switches to grade 1 as the "prevailing grade", but does not insert any grade 1 indicator.
[g2] -- resumes grade 2 as the "prevailing grade," but does not insert any indicator. (Grade 2 is the normal prevailing grade, but in this table it affects only Maori text.)
[i]
[ii]
[in] is equivalent to [g1]
[ixrtd]
[ixrte]
[ixrts]
[lnb]
[lnb~...] (for switching to another base [primary] language table)
[lng]
[lng~...] (see "Secondary Languages Supported," above)
[oe]
[one]
[ons]
[os]
[pe]
[ps]
[rmn] -- ignored
[sqrte]
[sqrts]
[tce] -- allowed but not needed (ignored).
[tcs] -- allowed but not needed (ignored).
[te] -- terminates the grade 1 passage initiated by [ts], inserting the UEB grade 1 passage termination indicator (dots 56, 3), if the prevailing mode is grade 2, and resumes the prevailing grade as established by [g1] or [g2].
[tne]
[tns]
[ts] initiates "technical notation," i.e. a "grade 1 passage," inserting the UEB grade 1 passage indicator (dots 56, 56, 56) if the prevailing mode as established by [g1] or [g2] is grade 2, and establishes grade 1 translation.
[tx]
[u]
[ucl0~"] establishes that the ordinary keyboard double quote (U+0022) is to be interpreted flexibly, i.e. as an opening quote or a closing quote according to the immediate context. This is the default (initial) condition.
[ucl1~"] establishes that the ordinary keyboard double quote (U+0022) is to be interpreted literally, i.e. as a nondirectional double quote, and translated as such as per UEB.
[ue]
[ui]
[uoq] causes the prevailing quote marks to be "unset," which is the default (initial) condition. When the prevailing quote marks are unset, the first actual quote mark (of those listed above) next encountered in the file determines the prevailing quote mark for the rest of the file unless until a subsequent [uoq...] command is encountered.
[uoq~"] or [uoq~0022] sets the prevailing (or "outer") opening and closing quote to the ordinary keyboard double-quote ("), i.e. U+0022. (This command is incompatible with [ucl1~"], which causes that kind of quote to be treated as nondirectional.)
[uoq~`] or [uoq~0060] sets the prevailing opening and closing quote to the grave accent character (`), i.e. U+0060.
[uoq~«] or [uoq~00ab] sets the prevailing opening quote to the left-pointing double angle quotation mark («), i.e. U+00ab, and the prevailing closing quote to the corresponding right-pointing mark.
[uoq~»] or [uoq~00bb] sets the prevailing opening quote to the right-pointing double angle quotation mark (»), i.e. U+00bb, and the prevailing closing quote to the corresponding left-pointing mark.
Generally speaking, any need to use a [uoq...] command would be very rare, as the default behavior should establish the actual quote pattern (e.g. single outer, double inner, or vice versa) automatically.
[us]
[vrn] cancels the effect of [vrn~h], [vrn~x], or any of the other [vrn~...] codes, restoring the default acceptance of the h-, x-, apostrophe- or caret-systems as substitutes for the six modified letters of Esperanto.
[vrn~h] establishes a mode wherein ONLY the h-system is accepted as a substitute for the six modified letters of Esperanto; i.e. the other substitute systems are not recognized.
[vrn~strict] establishes a mode wherein none of the substitute-systems for the six modified letters of Esperanto are recognized; i.e. it is necessary to enter all such characters in their true modified forms.
[vrn~x] establishes a mode wherein ONLY the x-system is accepted as a substitute for the six modified letters of Esperanto; i.e. the other substitute systems are not recognized.
[vrn~'] establishes a mode wherein ONLY the apostrophe-system is accepted as a substitute for the six modified letters of Esperanto; i.e. the other substitute systems are not recognized.
[vrn~^] establishes a mode wherein ONLY the caret-system is accepted as a substitute for the six modified letters of Esperanto; i.e. the other substitute systems are not recognized.
[xcs]
The table is designed to work with the following groups of characters:
All ASCII printable characters
Accented characters and punctuation marks typical of Esperanto, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese
British pound, Japanese yen, Euro, and other miscellaneous signs (DUSCI pages D+ec..., D+ed..., D+ee..., D+f5...)
Mathematical signs, shapes, etc. (DUSCI pages D+df..., D+e2..., D+e5..., D+ef..., D+f0..., D+f1...)
The above is a general guide only (see "General Notes" section at the beginning of this document).
This table was adapted by Duxbury Systems in February 2008 from the then-current English/UEB table. We are grateful to Pedro Zurita and other Esperanto speakers for providing the required background information.
(Documentation reviewed: July 2010.)