French Braille Translator/UNIFIED    

FUNCTIONAL SUMMARY

The French tables support print-to-braille translation of French-language literary text and mathematical and computer notation, following the codes and customs established by the agreement reached in July 2005 at the 3rd International Forum at INJA in Paris, by an expert group comprising delegates from France and other French-speaking countries, as interpreted for Duxbury Systems by the Association Valentin Haüy (AVH), Paris.

REFERENCES, HISTORY AND CREDITS

The development of the literary portions of these tables commenced in March 1987, under the sponsorship of the Association Valentin Haüy (AVH), Paris, and as a joint technical effort of Duxbury Systems, Inc. and AVH. The primary specification for French literary braille usage with contractions is "Abrégé Orthographique Étendu," a publication of AVH. "Table de Transcription pour la Production du Braille Abrégé par Ordinateur," by Michel Jacquin and published by AVH (1986) was also instrumental in this early development.

An "informatique" (computer notation) code was also included in the early work, and revised considerably in 1999-2000 in response to a change in specifications.

The braille-to-print translation tables were added starting in November 1990, with the same sponsors and developers.

Mathematics translation facilities, following "Notation Mathématique" as prepared by AVH, were added in 1999-2000, with AVH again providing sponsorship and collaborating in the technical work with Duxbury Systems, Inc.

Starting in February 2006, with AVH's continued sponsorship and guidance, these tables were modified for the Unified French rules agreed to in July 2005 at the 3rd International Forum at INJA in Paris, by an expert group comprising delegates from France, French-speaking African countries, Belgium, Switzerland and Québec.

(Documentation reviewed: May 2006.)

Duxbury DBT: Braille Translation in Many Languages.