Chinese

Multiple Templates for Chinese

The Chinese language has multiple DBT templates.

• Chinese Mandarin with Tones - Basic (Preferred for Mandarin)
• Mandarin - Basic
• Chinese for Taiwan - Basic
• Chinese Yue (Cantonese) - Basic

The preferred braille system in China is Chinese Mandarin with Tones - Basic.

The braille produced using the template Chinese Mandarin - Basic is without any tones and very hard to read.

The template Chinese Yue (Cantonese) - Basic is for Cantonese, the language of Hong Kong.

The template Chinese for Taiwan - Basic is for braille used in Taiwan. The braille rules are quite similar to mainland China braille, but all the braille cell assignments are different.

For the details about the DBT translators used, first select one of the DBT templates for this language. The mathematics code used also varies depending on the template selected.

Han Script Interpretation

Chinese (as well as Japanese and Korean) uses Han or Chinese characters. DBT cannot display or handle Han characters. During file importation, DBT converts Han characters into another system that represents the pronunciation. Each of these systems looks different from the other one.

DBT accepts Han characters through the process of file importation. You need to create an MS-Word file or an Open Office file with Han characters first, and then import the file into DBT. You cannot clipboard Han characters directly into DBT.

• When Han text is imported into DBT for mainland Mandarin, it is converted into Pinyin. Pinyin text looks like Roman text with many of the vowels accented.
• When Han text is imported into DBT for Taiwan Mandarin, it is converted into Zhuyin. Zhuyin looks like Chinese text made up of only a few dozen characters.
• When Han text is imported into DBT for Cantonese, it is converted into Jyutping. Jyutping looks like Roman letters with many superscripts. The superscripts go from one to six. Most fonts won't display superscripts four through six. You will see little boxes all over your DBT screen. Don't Panic. Just switch the font to Times Roman and you will see things displayed correctly.

Note: the Cantonese translator can handle either the Jyutping or the Yale Romanization system, as these are very similar.

Normally, the type of Han character conversion used is automatically determined by the template you select.

However, if you wish to override your template, DBT provides a menu that lets you override the automatic choice. Go to the Global Menu, and select Import Options. There is a set of radio button controls that looks like this.

Default language for Han (Chinese) script:

• Pinyin (Mandarin)
• Cantonese (Yue)
• Japanese
• Korean
• Zhuyin (Mandarin)

Directly above this choice is a checkbox that says, "Choose Han script based on template selected for import." You must uncheck that box for the choice selected in this dialog to take precedence. Otherwise your template's automatic choice will remain in effect regardless of the choice made here.

Note, also, that using this menu may cause errors if you switch languages without returning to it to update your selection.