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Table Designator

deu

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.

Functional Summary

The German tables support print-to-braille translation of German-language literary text into fully contracted braille ("Kurzschrift"), elementary contracted braille ("Vollschrift"), or uncontracted braille ("Basisschrift").

In braille-to-print translation, only the eight "Vollschrift" contractions are supported. For that reason, braille-to-print translation of grade 2 German (including the "translated line" when viewing grade 2 German braille) is not generally useful.

Braille to Print (Back-translation)

Braille-to-print translation is supported for this language. However, braille-to-print translation may not be perfect, therefore beware that errors can occur. If you find 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!

Special Requirements and Limitations

Braille to Print (Back-translation)Braille-to-print translation is supported for this language. However, braille-to-print translation may not be perfect, therefore beware that errors can occur. If you find 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!

Secondary Languages Supported

No secondary languages are supported.

While no "secondary languages" are supported within the German table itself, it is possible to switch to any of the available translation tables listed in DBT. (See the [lnb~...] code below.)

Technical Braille Codes Supported

No technical codes are supported.

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.

Supported DBT Translation Codes

The following DBT translation codes are available when using the German 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.

[/] -- can be used to prevent unwanted contractions

[ab] is equivalent to [g2]

[cz]

[fte~b]

[fte~i]

[fte~u]

[fts~b]

[fts~i]

[fts~u]

[g1] switches to "grade 1" (uncontracted) braille ("Basisschrift").

[g1l] switches to "grade 1" (uncontracted, Basisschrift) braille and "locks" that setting.

[g1u] undoes the "locking" effect of a prior [g1l], while leaving the contraction grade as "grade 1" (uncontracted, Basisschrift) braille.

[g1.5] switches to "grade 1.5" (simply contracted) braille ("Vollschrift").

[g1.5l] switches to "grade 1.5" (simply contracted, Vollschrift) braille and "locks" that setting.

[g1.5u] undoes the "locking" effect of a prior [g1.5l], while leaving the contraction grade as "grade 1.5" (simply contracted, Vollschrift) braille.

[g2] switches to "grade 2" (fully contracted) braille ("Kurzschrift"), which is normally in effect unless a prior code has caused a switch to grade 1 or grade 1.5.

[g2l] switches to "grade 2" (fully contracted, Kurtzschrift) braille and "locks" that setting.

[g2u] undoes the "locking" effect of a prior [g2l], while leaving the contraction grade as "grade 2" (fully contracted, Kurtzschrift) braille.

[in] is equivalent to [g1]

[lnb]

[lnb~...] (for switching to another base [primary] language table)

[lng...] -- ignored.

[tx]

Characters Supported

The table is designed to work with the following groups of characters:

All ASCII printable characters

Accented characters and punctuation marks typical of French, German, Italian, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, and Finnish.

British pound sign (£)

The above is a general guide only (see "General Notes" section at the beginning of this document).

References, History and Credits

These tables were developed by Duxbury Systems, Inc. starting in January 2005, based upon the earlier tables for uncontracted German and the information regarding contractions in "German Grade 2" by Vivian Aldridge, Basel, Switzerland (May 2002), translated and edited by J. A. Iriogbe, and other helpful information from Mr. Iriogbe.

We are also grateful for further information provided by Mr. Stefan Albertshauser.

(Documentation reviewed: July 2010.)