BRL: Braille through Remote Learning

Specialized Codes Course

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  • Alphabets and Alphabetic Indicator
  • Greek Indicator
  • English Indicator
  • Abbreviations
  • Boldface and other Types

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  • Writing Exercise

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  • Session 2: Abbreviations

    Capitalization and Punctuation with Abbreviations: Abbreviations must be capitalized and punctuated in accordance with the rules of English braille. The single capitalization indicator dots 6 must be used before a single capitalized letter, and the double capitalization indicator dots 6dots 6 must be used before a sequence of two ro more unspaced capitalized letters when each letter represents an individual word. The effect of the double capitalization indicator is terminated by any symbol other than a letter.

    Definition of Abbreviations:

    1. Abbreviations consist of the following items:
      i. Universal literary abbreviations commonly listed in the dictionary.

      1. Mon.

      2. Sept.

      3. assoc.

      4. a.m.


      ii. Abbreviations of measurement.

      1. lbs.

      2. ft

      3. Yd.

      4. Tell how many qts., pts., and oz. are in one gal.

      5. A unit of work is the ft-lb.

      6. The car traveled x-mi. per hr.

      iii. Acronyms

      1. Unesco

      2. ASCAP

      iv. Personal, postal district, or geographic initials.

      1. H. G. Wells

      2. Washington, D.C.

      3. U.S.A.

      v. Initials of agencies, organizations, business firms, etc.

      1. CIO

      2. B.P.O.E.

      3. IBM

      vi. Abbreviations formed from the principal letters of a word, phrase, or name.

      1. ans.

      2. Atty. Gen.

      3. Geo.

      vii. Special abbreviations confined to a special field or a particular look.

      1. SAS means "side angle side".

      2. iff means "if and only if".

    2. A single letter or sequence of letters which does not represent a word or a phrase, as well as model numbers, serial numbers, etc., must not be considered abbreviations and must be transcribed according to other rules of the code. When there is doubt whether a particular item is an abbreviation, it must be treated as if it were not an abbreviation.

      1. Model number 1074FE.

      2. Blood types are A, B, AB, and O.

    Spacing With Abbreviations:

    1. An abbreviation consisting of two or more components must be written spaced or unspaced to conform with the print text. Abbreviations must be placed in the same position as it print. The English braille practice of placing abbreviations before the numeral or letter to which they refer must not be followed.

      1. mph

      2. m.p.h.

      3. m. p. h.

      4. i.e., 8 + 10 = 18

      5. London, S.W.

      6. H. R. Jones, Ph.D.

      7. L.C.D. means "least common denominator".

      8. Find the LCM.

      9. Sq. Yd.

      10. sq. mi.

      11. fl.oz.

      12. ClPA means "closure property for addition".

      13. Vol. 10, pp. 130-140.

    2. Unless otherwise stated in the rules, a space must be left between an abbreviation and a numeral, a letter, a sign of operation, a sign of comparison, a monetary sign, a percent sign, a sign of omission, or any other sign. If a sign of omission is used to represent an abbreviation, the sign of omission must be spaced as the abbreviation which it replaces. An abbreviation and a preceding or following numeral or letter to which it applies must be placed on the same braille line.

      1. 100 B.C.

      2. It is 10 a.m., EST.

      3. 4 gal 2 qt 1 pt

      4. 12 Sq. Yd.

      5. 60 m.p.h. = 88 ft. per sec.

      6. n ft.

      7. 170 ft = x yd y ft

      8. 300 mph x 3 hr = 900 mi

      9. 9 sq ft - 5 sq ft = 4 sq ft

      10. The buttons cost 36¢ doz.

      11. The bond pays 6% ann.

      12. ? bu = 12 pk

      13. There are ? oz in 1 lb.

      14. 14 cm ? 12 cm = 2 cm

      15. 64 hrs. = ____ da. ____ hr.

      16. 1 da. = 24 ?

      17. 3 gal 5 qt = 4 ______ 1 qt

    Contractions in Abbreviations: Unless otherwise stated, contractions may be used in abbreviations in accordance with the rules of English braille. However, the abbreviations "in." or "in," usually meaning "inches," must never be contracted. If an abbreviation consists entirely of the letters st, the "st" contraction may only be used as an abbreviation for "street" or "saint". It must not be used for any other word, such as "straight".

    1. in. is the abbreviation for "inches".

    2. 5 in + 25 in = 30 in

    3. Use a 36-in ruler.

    4. He lives on 24th St.

    5. How many st. angles are there?

    6. How many min. are there in one hr.?

    7. statamp-oersted

    8. FORTRAN is a computer language.

    9. Wed., Thurs.

    10. Ariz., Ark., and Conn.

    11. Read chap. 4.

    Abbreviations and the English Letter Indicator:

    1. The English letter indicator must be used with an abbreviation consisting of a single letter or a combination of letters corresponding to a short-form word when the abbreviation has no period in print, or, if there is a period, the period merely ends a sentence.

      1. F is the abbreviation for Fahrenheit; the abbreviation for Centigrade is C.

      2. N 30 degrees W.

      3. 10 g + 10 g = 20 g.

      4. 1 l = 1000 cubic centimeters

      5. Yr is the abbreviation for "year".

      6. 1 yr = 12 months.

      7. It is a 1-g weight.

      8. 1 g-mole

      9. I-O means "Input-Output".

      10. "d-c" stands for "direct current".

      11. 1 light-yr

    2. The English letter indicator must not be used with an abbreviation consisting of a single letter or a combination of letters corresponding to a short-form word if the abbreviation is followed by its related period. When it is doubtful whether a period ends a sentence or applies to an abbreviation, the period must be considered as applying to the abbreviation, and the English letter indicator must not be used.

      1. C. is the abbreviation for Celsius.

      2. We met Mister P. and Mister Q.

      3. Cubic meters is abbreviated cu. m.

      4. N. 30 degrees W.

      5. 10 g. + 10 g. = 20 g.

      6. Use a 1-g. weight.

      7. He is 1 yr. old today.

      8. 1 yr. = 12 months

      9. The abbreviation for Centigrade is C.

      10. 1 light-yr.

    3. The English letter indicator must not be used with an abbreviation that consists of two or more letters and does not correspond to a short-form word, whether or not it is followed by a period.

      1. He worked for 3 hrs.

      2. 62 cg 8 mg

      3. Does 1 km = 1000 m?

      4. 7 da = 1 wk

      Abbreviations and the Numeric Indicator: The numeric indicator must be used before a numeral or a decimal point and its numeral connected to a preceding abbreviation by a hyphen.

      1. The airplane is a DC-6.

      2. U-238 means Uranium-238.

      3. e.g. - .07



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    Copyright © 1998