Languages and DBT
The Different Ways Languages are Used in DBT
Here are the ways that languages can be customized:
- The language of the user interface in the DBT program
- The language for the Help file in DBT
- The braille font used for a particular braille device and its rendering on the screen
- The braille translation table selection
- The system of braille formatting
The Language of the User Interface in the DBT Program
The Language of the User Interface means the language of the menus, prompts, and error messages when one uses Duxbury DBT. At present, DBT has been localized to a total of 6 languages which are displayed when you boot up the DBT CD-ROM. When DBT first boots up, it uses the Regional setting in the Control Panel to decide what User Interface Language to start in. After that, you can change the User Interface Language in DBT's Global, International settings.
The following languages are available for the user interface:
 | Danish |
   | English |
| French |
| German |
| Italian |
  | Korean |
 | Norwegian |
 | Polish |
 | Portuguese |
 | Portuguese (Brazil) |
 | Russian |
  | Spanish |
The Language for the Help File in DBT
The help file in DBT can be translated into any language. If you are interested, Please contact Duxbury Systems (info@duxsys.com) for further information. There may be translated help files available for download from the Duxbury Systems website.
The Braille Font Used
DBT sends ASCII characters to drive different braille devices. Different devices and/or different regions use different systems to associate braille characters with ASCII characters. This is an area that is quite technical, but frustrating if it is not set up properly. DBT uses a file called display.cpt to link braille symbols with ASCII characters. This table can be edited by the user if there is a need. A modified table can be emailed to Duxbury systems so that others can have access to additional braille device set-ups.
Virtually all braille devices made can work with the North American system, which is the default. The user can select another system in the Global, Internationalization menu.
Translation Tables in DBT 10.7
Each translation table is used to produce a different form of braille. Duxbury DBT can produce braille needed for many different languages and nations. "Contracted" means there are abbreviations for certain letter combinations. "Uncontracted" means that all letter combinations of inkprint are preserved in the braille.
Be careful with this list if you are producing a work in a foreign language, such as a textbook on Spanish to be used in the United States. Both "Spanish" entries in this list are designed for native speakers in countries where Spanish is the national language. A Spanish book in the United States would be produced using the English/American table, with Spanish as a Secondary language.
The following choices are available in the Document, Translation Menu choices:
Secondary Languages within English/American
Each of the tables listed above has some secondary languages which can be used with them. These languages listed below can be used while the English/American tables are in use. Use the Secondary Language to translate passages of another language within English text. The English text (the primary language) is translated using the regular English/American rules.
| Dutch |
| English -- Religious |
 | Finnish |
| French |
| German |
| Italian |
 | Latin |
 | Maori |
| Portuguese |
  | Kiswahili (Swahili) |
| Spanish |
 | Swedish |
Information about secondary languages available in other tables can be found when pressing the F1 Help key when reviewing the Translation Table menu (found in the DBT Document Menu). That is, if the highlight is on "English/Australian", and then you press F1, you get help and a list of Secondary Languages for "English/Australian".
The System of Braille Formatting
Duxbury DBT is largely populated with braille formatting commands designed to meet American and British braille formats. Duxbury Systems would you like to make sure that its features meet the needs of braille around the world.
No matter what braille system you are working on, we suspect there is a way to use DBT to make it work. If you have concerns that you do not think are being addressed in DBT, please contact Duxbury Systems. It would be useful if you could also supply an English translation of the relevant braille codebook sections to assist us in understanding your concerns.
The Duxbury Systems Website
Thanks to Google Translate, this website has been "customized" for many different languages. We know that machine translation is not the best approach. But machine translation keeps up with the changes we make to this website.
