Semitic Language Transcription

There is only one template for Semitic Language Transcription: Semitic - Basic.

For the vital details about the DBT translator used for Semitic Language Transcription, click here. As an aid to understanding the braille produced by the Semitic Language Transcription table, we recommend you output a hard copy of the "Semitic Language Characters" table you will find there.

The centerpiece of the Semitic Languages table is its handling of the Romanization of Semitic languages, including incorporation of the diacritical marks used to indicate pronunciation. This facilitates handling Cuneiform-based languages, such as: Akkadian, Eblaite, Elamite, Hattic, Hittite, Hurrian, Luwian, Sumerian, Urartian, Old Persian, Ugaritic, Old Babylonian, and Ancient Egyptian. There are conflicts in the handling of a few inkprint characters between the Semitic Languages and the IPA (a part of the Biblical Languages table). That conflict required a separate translation table for the Semitic languages.

Given that the Semitic language transliteration uses Roman characters with specific diacritics, it is important to avoid contracting adjoining letters. Therefore, the Semitic Language Transcription table uses uncontracted English UEB.

With the exception of IPA, the Semitic Language Transcription table also handles the same scripts that are supported in the Biblical Original Language Studies table. These are Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Coptic, Arabic, Russian, and Ethiopic. Since these languages are often found in the same documents that include ancient Semitic languages, including them in this table makes it a powerful transcription tool for ancient Semitic language documents.

A committee worked on creating the braille code for representing this transliteration system in late 2017 and early 2018. It has not yet been reviewed by the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) or any other braille authority. However, that is a goal.

This braille code was developed by a committee consisting of: