A Guided Tour through the
NLS Instruction Manual
for Braille Transcribing
5th Edition 2009
Session 901
April 25, 2010
Presented by Jana Hertz
CTEBVI Literary Braille Specialist
Written by
Constance Risjord, 2009
Revised by Jana Hertz, 2010
Introducing the NLS Manual for Braille Transcribing
5th Edition 2009
“Braille is a living medium which will continue to change to meet the needs of those who use it.”
The Instruction Manual for Braille Transcribing was recently revised as a result of the changes to the braille code made in the BANABraille Code Update 2007. These changes made it necessary to incorporate major revisions and rearrangements in ten of the twenty lessons of the Instruction Manual for Braille Transcribing (referred to hereafter as NLS - National Library Service.) In addition to the code changes, errata that developed over the eight years since the publication of the 4th edition needed to be incorporated. This resulted in changes to every lesson.
For the purposes of this “guided tour,” only the major changes to the NLS are listed. There are many clarifications, additional examples, additional drills, sentences that have been added, moved, or omitted from drills and exercises, etc., that are not listed.
Previous editions of NLS introduced cardinal numbers in Lesson 3. The BANACode Update that assigned a symbol to the crosshatch and changed the rule on plural and possessive numbers necessitated moving numbers to Lesson 1, the crosshatch to Lesson 13 (symbols), and plural numbers to Lessons 12 (letter indicator) and Lesson 15 (termination indicator).
General Course Instructions
Two major changes occur in this section:
(1) the announcement of the change of administrators of the course and certification manuscript from the National Library Service, Library of Congress, to The National Federation of the Blind. To enroll in the course, please visit or call (410) 659-9314 (ext. 2510) to obtain an information packet and application form.
(2) notice that lessons can now be submitted either in hard copy or electronically, but not in simulated braille. (The manuscript can be prepared on a computer, but must be submitted in hard copy only.)
Lesson 1
The Braille Alphabet and Numbers
Page 1-3, section 1.6: Explains what composition signs are and introduces the number indicator. This necessitated adding numbers to this exercise, and also to the drills and exercise in Lesson 2.
Notice change of terminology. In order to bring the vocabulary of NLS in line with Braille Formats: Principles of Print to Braille Transcription the term “indicator” instead of “sign” is used for those configurations that indicate a change, I.e., capital indicator, number indicator,etc. The term “sign” is used for more general terms, I.e., composition sign, lower signs, etc.
Notice also, at the end of the first paragraph, the dot numbers are explained as 3456, not 3-4-5-6. Again, this is in conformity with Braille Formats.
Lesson 2
Period, Question Mark, Exclamation Point, Comma,
Semicolon, Colon, Hyphen, and Dash
In earlier NLS editions, all punctuation was taught in Lesson 2. Here, in the 5th Edition, the punctuation is divided between Lessons 2 and 3.
Page 2-1, section 2.2: Notice the abbreviation diff. in brackets following the heading. As explained in the first paragraph, this signals rules that are different from those in Braille Formats.
Page 2-2, Drill 6: Many sentences had to be reworded due to the added sentence numbers, which would have forced some words to be divided at the end of the braille line. Word division and the hyphen have not been studied yet.
Page 2-7, section 2.5a: New section added dealing with dashes between complete sentences.
Page 2-8, section 2.6: Rules for numbers in connection with the punctuation learned in this lesson.
Page 2-9, section 2.6b: Old wording: Long numbers may be divided between lines only following a comma - and when at least four digits of the number remain on the first line. New wording: Do not divide numbers of six digits or fewer, or numbers without commas, between braille lines.
Lesson 3
Quotation Marks, Apostrophe, Parentheses, Brackets, Adjacent Punctuation, Double (Omission) Dash and Slash
Page 3-2, section 3.2b (Numbers with apostrophes):Only possessive and abbreviated numbers are explained here. Plural numbers that now require a letter indicator are studied in Lesson 12.
Pages 3-3, section 3.5: A second name is given for the double dash (the omission dash) to facilitate learning.
Page 3-4, section 3.6: Introduction of the two-cell slash. It is represented by dots 456, 34 (_/). It is necessary to introduce the slash here because it will be needed in all succeeding lessons dealing with contractions that are in conjunction with the slash. Sentences using slashes were added to drills and exercise.
Lesson 4
One-Cell Whole-Word Contractions
Contractions for and, for, of, the, with
Page 4-3, section 4.2c: One-cell, whole-word contractions are not used next to a slash – even those followed by an apostrophe.This was not explained in the BANA Code Update, but the BANA literary technical committee approved this wording. Additions were made to drills and exercise to include the slash.
b but f fromk knowledgep peoplet thatx it
c can g gol likeq quiteu usy you
d doh havem morer ratherv veryz as
e everyj justn nots sow will
Page 4-4, section 4.3, third paragraph: Previous manuals (but not EBAE) have said that where two of the and, for, of, the, with contractions should be joined but there is only room at the end of a line for one of them, that oneis brailled at the end of the line and the other is carried over to the new line. This was changed in this edition because it is not an EBAE rule, and computer programs do not split these contractions. It is now stated as an option.
Last paragraph: Notice expanded explanation of rule; similar expansions occur throughout the book.
(And for you, I have a gift. ,&= y1not ,&=y)
Page 4-5, section 4.3c: Explains that the whole and part word contractions for and, for, of, the, with can be used next to the slash.
Lesson 5
Whole-Word Contractions for child, shall, this, which, out, still
Part-Word Contractions for ch, sh, th, wh, ou, st
Ordinal Numbers
Page 5-3, section 5.4: Shows that the whole-word contractions for child, shall, this, which, out, still cannot be used when in contact with a slash. Sentences using slashes were added to drills and the exercise.
Lesson 6
Part-Word Contractions for ar, ed, er, gh, ow, ble, ing
Page 6-3, section 6.1g (Numbers followed by contractions: This section was added (and approved by BANA) because numbers with suffixes are so common.
Lesson 7
Whole-Word Lower-Sign Contractions for in, enough, be, his, was, were
Part-Word Lower Sign Contractions for in, n, be, con, dis, com
Introduction to Short-Form Words
Page 7-2, section 7.2a: Shows that these whole-word contractions are not used when next to a slash.
Page 7-3, section 7.3d: Example of added explanatory sentence. Many students have asked why the “in” contraction is used in words such as join, point, and coin even though the “oi” is a dipthong.
Page 7-7, section 7.5c: Explains the use of the contractions for be, con, and dis when they follow a slash (they cannot be used).
Page 7-7, section 7.5d:The old wording talked only about the word “con,” and how the contraction cannot be used for the whole word. The new wording includes the now very common slang expression “dis.” This word was incorporated into the exercise.
Page 7-7, section 7.6: Explains the use of the com contraction next to a slash (cannot be used).
gd goodlr letterll littlepd paid qk quick sd said
Lesson 8
Whole-Word Lower Sign Contractions for to, into, by
Part-Word Lower Sign Contractions for bb, cc, dd, ff, gg, ea
More Short-Form Words
Page 8-2, section 8.1c: An example was added showing that the contraction for “to” cannot be used before a slash.
ab about(be)c becausef(st) first
abv above(be)l belowgrt great
Page 8-12 and 8-13: Examples using a slash added to the summary.
Lesson 9
Initial-Letter Contractions, More Short-Form Words
These are two-cell configurations formed by preceding the initial letter or initial contraction of the word by dot 5, dots 45, or dots 456.
No mention was made in this manual, but there is nothing in the BANA Code Update to prohibit the use of these contractions in contact with a slash (as in have/had).
ac accordingbrl brailleo’c o’clock or oclock
alw always(ch)n childrenp(er)h perhaps
Dot 5Dot 45Dot 456
daytimeuponcannot
everunderwordhad
fatherworkthosemany
hereyoungwhosespirit
knowcharactertheseworld
lordthroughtheir
motherwhere
nameought
onethere
part
question
right
some
Lesson 10
Final-Letter Contractions, More Short-Form Words
Final-letter contractions are two-celled configurations formed by preceding the final letter of common letter combinations by dots 46, dots 56, or dot 6.
Minor clarifications and some examples added. Plural numbers removed from drills and exercises.
No mention was made in this manual, but there is nothing in the BANA Code Update to prohibit the use of these contractions in contact with a slash (as in hopeless/hopeful).
acr across alm almostm(st) must
al alsoimm immediatenec necessary
Lesson 11
Short-Form Words, Proper Names
The part of 11.7 that dealt with the vocal sound “hm” had to be removed to Lesson 12. The BANA Code Update changes now call for using a letter indicator rather than adding an apostrophe.
Several more examples were added to 11.9, Summary of Contractions Used in Proper Names.
No mention was made here, but there is nothing in the BANA Code Update to prohibit the use of these short-forms in contact with a slash (as in print/Braille).
*af after*bl blindhm himdclg declaring
afn afternoon* fr friendhmf himselfrjc rejoice
afw afterwardtgr togetherxs itsrjcg rejoicing
ag againcd couldxf itself(con)cv conceive
ag(st) against(sh)d shouldyr your(con)cvg
alr alreadywd wouldyrf yourselfconceiving
al(th) althoughei eitheryrvs yourselves dcv deceive
alt altogethernei neitherh(er)f herselfdcvg deceiving
(be)f beforem(ch) muchmyf myselfp(er)cv perceiving
(be)h behinds(ch) such(one)f oneselfrcv receive
(be)n beneathtd today or to-day(ou)rvs ourselves
(be)s beside tn tonight or to-night(the)mvs themselves
(be)tbetweentm tomorrow or (th)yf thyselfrcvg receiving
(be)y beyondto-morrowdcl declare*special rules
RULES FOR THE SLASH
NO
The following whole-word contractions cannot be used next to a slash:
- one-cell whole-word contractions
- child, shall, this, which, out, still
- be, enough, were, his, in, was
- to, into, by
The following part-word contractions cannot be used next to a slash:
- be, con, com, dis
YES
The following whole-word contractions can be used next to a slash:
- and, for, of, the, with
- initial-letter contractions
- short-form words
The following part-word contractions can be used next to a slash:
- ch, sh, th, wh, ou, st
- ar, ed, er, gh, ow, ble, ing
- in, en
- final-letter contractions
A SLASH TERMINATES THE EFFECT OF A DOUBLE CAPITAL INDICATOR
A SLASH TERMINATES THE EFFECT OF AN EMPHASISINDICATOR
A SLASH DOES NOT TERMINATE THE EFFECT OF A NUMBER INDICATOR
Lesson 12
Letter Indicator, Letter/Number combinations
Speech Mannerisms: Stammering, Speech Hesitation, or Elongation, Sound Imitations, Lisped Words, Dialect
Syllabicated and Spelled Out Words
Transcriber’s Notes
Page 12-2, section 12.1d(3): Single letters next to a slash do not require a letter indicator.
Page 12-4: DIVIDING WORDS BETWEEN BRAILLE LINES NO LONGER REQUIRED
Page 12-7, section 12.3a: Section on plural numbers added.
12-13, section 12.7: Transcriber’s Note section was moved from Lesson 17 to 12.7 because from this point forward they are mentioned frequently, and sometimes used in examples.
Last paragraph explains that whole-word lower-signs are used next to composition signs, including TN symbol.
Lesson 13
Symbols, Abbreviations, Personal Initials, Initialisms and Acronyms, Slash, Ditto Sign, Telephone Numbers, Postal Codes, Dates,
Format for Letters (correspondence)
Previous editions of the manual introduced abbreviations before symbols. Due to the new ampersand symbol (@&), which is used in so many abbreviations, this lesson was rearranged so symbols are learned first.
Page 13-2, section 13.1b: Shows the other new symbols: crosshatch (_?), copyright (^c), trademark (^t), registered trademark (^r), and the euro (@e) (which was added to the EBAE code in 2002).
Page 13-3, top of page: The terms “prime” and “double prime” were introduced in the BANA Code Update.
Page 13-3, section 13.1c: Points out that symbols terminate the effect of the double capital indicator. Although not mentioned in the BANA Code Update, they also terminate the effect of the emphasis indicator. This was confirmed by the BANA literary committee.
Page 13-3, section 13.1g (Sterling coinage): The slash used in the braille example for £6/0/5 was changed from the one-cell slash to the new two-cell slash (_/), according to the BANA Code Update.
Page 13-4, section 13.1h: Makes provisions for print symbols that have no braille equivalents, such as the “happy face.” The BANA Code Update says only that the appropriate word should be substituted for any special symbol for which no provision has been made. The writers of this rule did not tell us how to do this.
Suppose you have the sentence: My father gave me a new car. In braille you would have: My happy face father gave me a new car.
How is the reader to know whether “happy face” is a symbol or an adjective? Upon inquiry, the BANA literary committee explained that when there could be confusion, a transcriber may place enclosure symbols around the word and explain in a transcriber’s note.
Page 13-5, section 13.2a: More examples and explanations.
Page 13-7, section 13.2e: The spacing of weight, measures, and coinage follows print. Spacing of abbreviations is different, and somewhat confusing. The BANA literary committee finally decided that if an abbreviation does not contain a symbol then it is brailled without spaces (regardless of print), but if there are symbols involved, print spacing is followed.
Page 13-11, section 13.8 (Dates): The old EBAE wording said that when dates were printed as numbers they were to be brailled using hyphens to connect the numbers, regardless of print. The BANA Code Update now says print should be followed if the numbers are separated by slashes or hyphens. Braille hyphens are used for other separators, such as spaces or dots.
The last paragraph was added, and approved by the BANA committee, because some confusion was caused by the Code Update that showed the example 416/480-7530, where the number indicator is not repeated after the hyphen. That example, however, is a telephone number not a date. In inclusive dates the number indicator is repeated before the second date.
Lesson 14
Roman Numerals, Fractions, Mixed Numbers, Decimals, Mathematical Signs of Operation, Superscripts and Subscripts,
Clock Time, Sports Scores and Votes, Electronic Addresses
Page 14-1, section 14.1d (Roman numerals preceded by letters): New addition. This occurs in continued preliminary page numbers, and although it would not occur in literary braille, it is information needed that is not given in Braille Formats.
Page 14-2, section 14.2a & b: The wording in the BANA Code Update concerning the fraction line is confusing. It says (in part): When the numerator and denominator of a fraction are printed on different levels of type, whether directly above one another or offset diagonally, use the fraction line (dots 34)(/) … but, when the numerator and denominator are printed on the same level of type with a slash between them, use a slash (456, 34) (_/) in braille – however,an agency may elect to substitute the fraction line for the slash in obvious fractions, describing this substitution in a transcriber’s note.
The explanation given in these two sections was approved by the BANA literary committee.
Page 14-5, section 14.6: This is the same example as in the 4th edition, but a transcriber’s note has been added.
Lesson 15
Emphasis Indicator, Small Capital Letters, Ellipsis, Print Signs of Omission, Quoted Material, Termination Symbol, Order of Punctuation Marks and Composition Signs, Portions of Words in Different Typeface, Enclosed Portions of Words, Punctuation Marks Standing Alone or Enclosed
Page 15-1, first paragraph, last sentence: The term “emphasis indicator” is explained because students will be hearing older transcribers saying “italic sign.”
Page 15-2, section 15.1a(2): Wording and example added to explain slash between emphasized words.
Page 15-2, section 15.1b (double emphasis indicator): An addition was made to this section, so it now reads: When more than three consecutive words (or a combination of words and numbers) are in a special typeface… And an example was added so that it is clear that numbers are included in the count.
Page 15-6, section 15.1j (Summary): This section was enlarged to stress the point that the transcriber’s foremost obligation is to respect the author and publisher of the print book by replicating it as faithfully as possible.
Page 15-10, section 15.5: In the previous manual it said to use normal margins and paragraph indentation (meaning 3/1), regardless of how quoted or displayed material appears in print. This was not a rule in EBAE, and it was changed in accordance with Braille Formats (follow print paragraphing). This was done because in the BANA Code Update it says that in the upcoming new versions of EBAE and Braille Formats there will be structural changes to the two publications. EBAE will be responsible for rules governing symbol formation, and Braille Formats will govern rules for print-to-braille formatting. Since this is a formatting issue the rule in Braille Formats was followed.
Page 15-11, section 15.6, Termination Symbol: The term “termination sign” was changed to “termination symbol.” This is in accordance with Braille Formats Rule 1 §1b(3) (a & b) that says: the words sign, character, and mark are used exclusively to identify items in the print text. The words symbol, contraction and indicator are used to identify items in the braille text.
The old rule for partially emphasized words called for a hyphen to set off the emphasized portions of a word – a most unsatisfactory solution because a braille reader would read “BASEball” as “BASE-BALL.” Under the old rule, the only time a termination symbol was used was when part of a hyphenated, compound word was emphasized (such as white-collar).