afr-x00
This is the technical description of a DBT Translation table. If you want more general information about languages and template choices, please see the list of templates.
Initially, the language table for braille translation is determined by the selected template, and may be changed using the Document / Translation Tables menu. Using those menus does not require 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 Afrikaans (pre-Unified) tables support print-to-braille translation of Afrikaans-language literary text, in either grade 2 (contracted) or grade 1 (uncontracted) braille, according to the code in effect prior to the introduction of Unified Afrikaans Braille in 2010.
True braille-to-print translation is not supported. This means that it is not generally useful to translate an Afrikaans braille file to print. It also means that the "translated line" will typically contain gibberish when viewing the braille file. You may prefer to turn off the "translated line" under the View menu, or even under Global/Default if you wish it to be off by default.
There are no secondary languages supported within the Afrikaans table itself; however it is possible to switch to any of the available translation tables listed in DBT. (See the [lnb~...] code below.)
The Computer Braille Code, as in the English/American tables, is supported.
No other technical braille codes are supported directly within the Afrikaans (pre-Unified) table itself. However, it is 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 Afrikaans (pre-Unified) 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]
[cap-invert]
[cap-normal]
[cb-&]
[cb-de]
[cb-ds]
[cb-ee]
[cb-es]
[cb-ne]
[cb-ns]
[cb-se]
[cb-ss]
[cb-t1]
[cb-t2]
[cb-ue]
[cb-us]
[cb]
[cbi]
[cbn]
[cs-off]
[cs]
[cz]
[fte~b]
[fte~i]
[fts~b]
[fts~i]
[g1]
[g2]
[in] is equivalent to [g1]
[lnb]
[lnb~...] (for switching to another base [primary] language table)
[tx]
[txi]
[txn]
The table is designed to work with the following groups of characters:
All ASCII printable characters
Accented letters and punctuation marks typical of Afrikaans
British pound sign (£)
Japanese yen sign (¥)
The above is a general guide only (see "General Notes" section under the main “Language Translation Tables” topic).
These tables were initially developed May-October 1986 by the Institute for the Blind, Worcester, South Africa, with the assistance of Duxbury Systems, Inc. Until they were supplanted by the table for Unified Afrikaans Braille in 2010, they were maintained mainly by Mr. Christo de Klerk with the help of Mr. Jan Bam, and with occasional assistance from Duxbury.
(Documentation reviewed July 2010)