[duxuser] Re: the new uses of the slash
- From: "Joye, Renee (K12)" <renee.joye@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <duxuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 20:27:20 -0500
Thanks Dave, for the information! I see where you're coming from.
-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Durber [mailto:dadurber@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2004 8:45 AM
To: duxuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [duxuser] Re: the new uses of the slash
Hi Joy:
I hadn't forgotten that. I was saying that as we are now living in an
age where initials seems to be the new "hip" way to communicate, it
is, and always has been, the context in which initials are used, tells
you the word, or words, that had been used as abbreviations. Take the
following sentence, as an example:
"according to the manual, this AC is powered by AC.
In an English language braille file, the word "according" would be
contracted/abbreviated to the letters ac.
The first occurrence of the initials "AC", refers to an air
conditioner.
The second occurrence of the initials "AC", refers to Alternating
Current, the type of electricity to be used.
There is a problem when you converse with people who use initials in
their job/profession, which is true, particularly bureaucrats,
doctors, lawyers, politicians and the like, you have to know what the
words are first, in order to know what the initials mean as to what
they are talking about. And of course, if you are not "in the know",
then it sounds like a load of "gobble de gook"/"mumbo jumbo" to you,
doesn't it.
When I worked in local government, I made it a practice not to use
initials when communicating with clients, either in person, on the
telephone or in written correspondents.
As a result, my clients had more trust in what I said to them. They
did not feel that I was either "talking over their heads" or "talking
down to them". They did not feel as if I was patronizing them. Last
of all and most importantly, they didn't feel as if I felt more
important than them because I was in a position of power as a result
of the job I happened to be doing.
Unfortunately, for most of us, the reverse is often true, which is a
pity. If individuals, when doing their job, spoke to us in a way that
was easy to understand, without patronizing us, wouldn't that be
great.
Oh! what a wonderful world that would be!
Grin! Grin! Smirk!
Sincerely:
Dave Durber
On Tue, 11 May 2004 15:24:20 -0500, you wrote:
>AC is also used for the word "according."
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Dave Durber [mailto:dadurber@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
>Sent: Monday, May 10, 2004 8:39 PM
>To: duxuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [duxuser] Re: the new uses of the slash
>
>With all due respect, your examples of AC being used as abbreviations
>for Alternating current, air conditioning and atlantic are a bit
>misleading, in my opinion. My reasoning is that the abbreviations
>such as ac are normally interpreted by most people within the context
>in which they are being used. For example, if you were talking about
>AC in terms of equipment that is used for cooling a room, using the
>term "AC" would obviously mean that you are talking about air
>conditioning, unless you happened to be someone who did not know that
>the initials AC was the commonly accepted abbreviation for air
>conditioning.
>
>If you are using the English/American braille rule table, the two
>words "primenet" and "usenet" are transcribed spelled out with no
>contractions.
>
>If you are using the English/British braille rule table, the two words
>"primenet" and "usenet" are transcribed with the letters E and N
>contracted to the E N contraction.
>
>As I said in my previous E-mail response, you can force the E and N
>contraction not to be performed by placing the cursor on the letter N
>in either word and pressing the <slash> key twice. When the file is
>transcribed into the braille file, DBT drops the two slash characters
>and letters E and N appear side-by-side, the way you wanted them to
>appear.
>
>This DBT two letter command is very useful at any time where you do
>not want two letters being contracted in the output braille file.
>
>Today, I have explained how the abovementioned command can be used in
>two different examples.
>
>I hope that these two explanations give some of you an idea how
>powerful this command can be in producing an easy-to-read braille
>document.
>
>Sincerely:
>
>Dave Durber
>
>On Mon, 10 May 2004 19:11:09 -0400 (EDT), you wrote:
>
>>Hi, David,
>>Your message was informative and I'm glad that as versions of DBT
>>progress, some of these small inaccuracies are being dealt with. Next
>time
>>you feel like experimenting, try "primenet" and "usenet" and let us
>know
>>how those work out.
>>I think you may have missed two of the main points of my soapbox. 1.
>Not
>>all readers of braille are reading at the same level--e.g., a fairly
>young
>>child or an adult new to braile. Some of the combinations reaulting
>from
>>using correct braille are not easily recognized. A proficient braille
>>reader might have to do a double-take (or double-read). A not so
>efficient
>>braille reader might in fact be lost;by some of these pointless uses
of
>>contractions. "Can" was meant to stand for the word can as in ability,
>not
>>for the metal container which is actually not the same word when you
>think
>>about it.
>>2. As electronics control more and more of what is produced in
braille,
>>what we read and what passes for correct is going to have less to do
>with
>>that Philidelphia lawwbook of braille rules and more to do with what
>the
>>electronics dictate.
>>In the days before alphaspeak, the arbitrariness of the two-cell
>>contractions used to stand for whole words didn't matter much. Who
>would
>>know that ac would stand for air conditioning or alternating currant
>(or
>>even Atlantic City)? Who would know that common speech would include
>the
>>word cd or that tm would appear everywhere as the trademark symbol.
>Letter
>>signs in braille used to indicate that letters were being used. Now
>they
>>indicate that the next set of characters coming up is an obsolete
grade
>>two abbreviation.
>>Catherine
>>
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
>-------
>>-Catherine Thomas
>>braille@xxxxxxxxx /
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
>--------
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