
            LESSON 6:  LOWER SIGN CONTRACTIONS AND SHORT FORM WORDS

SECTION I:  LOWER-SIGN CONTRACTIONS
Part I:  Information

          his       was      were       be         in      enough
Dots:    2-3-6     3-5-6    2-3-5-6     2-3        3-5       2-6

1.  Introduction

1.1 Lower-sign contractions are formed by the combination of dots in the
middle and lower parts of the braille cell only (dots 2, 3, 5, and 6).
They may be whole-word or part-word contractions, or both.  (Punctuation
signs are also lower signs.)

2.  Whole-Sign Words

2.1 These signs SHOULD NOT be used as discussed below.

1   Some of these signs utilize the same dots as certain forms of
    punctuation.  To avoid confusion, these whole-word contractions must
    NEVER be in contact with any other letter, contraction, word, or
    punctuation sign.  (On the other hand, punctuation signs must ALWAYS
    be in contact with a word or punctuation sign.)  These lower whole-  
    word signs may be preceded by a capital sign and/or italic sign, which
    are compostion signs, not punctuation signs.  The following examples show
    when you can and cannot use the lower-sign contractions.

    EXAMPLE (lower-sign contractions may not be used):
        Bonnie said, "His history folder was, or rather is, on the library
        shelf where the college catalogs used to be."

    EXAMPLE (all of the whole-word lower contractions may be used):
        The water (in) (his) canteen will (be) (enough) for (his) short bike 
        ride.

2   These whole-word lower contractions may not be used to form hyphenated 
    compound words, since this would bring them into contact with a hyphen,
    which is a form of punctuation.  

    EXAMPLE:   mother-in-law             father-to-be           drive-in

2.2 These signs SHOULD be used:

1   When preceded by a capital sign and/or italic sign (to be studied later).

    EXAMPLE:    (His) laughter filled the room.
2   When hyphenated compound words are divided between two braille lines,
    and the whole-word lower contraction starts the new braille line and is
    not in contact with punctuation.

    EXAMPLE:    bride-to-                            walk-                
             (be)                                  (in)

3   Whenever the whole-word lower contraction is not in contact with another 
    letter, contraction, word, or punctuation sign.

3.  Part-Word Lower-Sign Contractions

             in (3-5)            en (2-6)

3.1 Introduction
The braille contractions used to represent the whole-words (in) and (enough)
may also represent parts of words.  The (in) contraction represents the same
letters whether it is a whole-word or part of a word.  The (en) contraction
represents the whole-word lower-sign (enough), but represents only the let-
ters (e) and (n) when used as part of a word.

3.2 These signs SHOULD be used:

1.  Whenever they occur within a word, as long as they satisfy the general
    rules for all contractions.

     EXAMPLES:  wine      went        instantly         encyclopedia

2.  In anglicized phrases.
      a.  The (in) contraction is used for the anglicized word (in):

          EXAMPLE:   (in) aet(er)num,   (in) esse

      b.  However, the (en) contraction may not be used for the anglicized
          word (en) because when standing alone the letters represent (enough)

          EXAMPLE:   en r(ou)te      en masse

3.  Any number of lower-sign part-word contractions may follow one another as
    long as one of the contractions is in contact with a braille character
    containing an upper dot (dots 1 and 4).  When two or more lower-sign con-
    tractions follow one another without being in contact with an upper dot,
    the final lower-sign contraction must not be used and the letters should
    be spelled out.

    EXAMPLES:    l(in)(en)     (en)joy     m(en)(in)gitis

                 hav(en)'t     short(en)-    en-
                             in'          joy


    This concludes the information on Lower Sign contractions.  When ready,
press Esc to continue to the Submenu and the practice exercises.


Part II:  Print to Braille Exercises
1.  Be sure you make enough enchiladas and tacos for the entire family.
2.  Bronwen was insistant on pulling the puppy in her new red wagon, even
    if the little canine jumped out every 5 feet.
3.  The attentive jury members decided that his story was still not the
    whole truth and nothing but the truth.
4.  Orlena's in-laws arrived with enough clothes for a month.
5.  The little kitten cowered in the box until he saw the light of dawn.
6.  Will his family be in charge of all of his financial debts, or shall we
    offer aid too?
7.  Did we buy enough flowers so that Corinne can make an adequate centerpiece,
    or will we still need more?
8.  The Indians offered the settlers food and blankets in exchange for 
    friendship.
9.  His coat was dusty and torn after the four week trek across the western
    plains.
10. Justine's linens were handed down in the family from her great-great
    grandparents.
11. His enormous hands cradled the newborn baby so gingerly.
12. I agree that Erich did look rather bewildered after the micro-economics
    lecture.
13. If we wait a week or two maybe he'll change his mind.
14. His role in the play was that of the lighting engineer.
15. When they were finished with the gardening the couple sat back and ad-
    mired the progress.


Part III:  Braille to Print Exercises
1.  His whole life could be summed up in the phrase, Just Do It.
2.  If I were you, I'd make sure my braille erasures were very smooth.
3.  They were a strange but enlightening family, the Munsters were.
4.  Josh said it was his dog, but he could not describe it over the fax ma-
    chine.
5.  Vivienne's sister-in-law was a general pest when the baby at last came home
    from the hospital.
6.  It is not enough that you have ruined my life, but will you ruin Fifi's
    as well?
7.  The men were indicted for mail fraud after swindling hundreds of dollars
    from senior citizens.
8.  Haven't the people responded well in spite of his past shady public im-
    age?
9.  It would be best if Darren were just a little more friendly while out and
    about.
10. He certainly was an energetic and zippy little kitten as he played with
    the ball of yarn.
11. After dropping the hammer on her toe, Ingrid's toenail turned black
    and blue.
12. For evening dinners my Grandma always cooked enough food for an entire
    army.
13. The only open tickets were so high we were in danger of getting nose-
    bleeds.
14. Were it not for the courage of the brave crew, the S.S. Minnow would
    be lost.
15. As if they were not generous enough, the Singlers insisted that we
    spend another night in the bungalow.

Part IV:  Proof Reading Exercises
1.  His tennis match lasted two hours, but Bjorn still showed plenty of energy 
    and strength.
2.  His tall tales are becoming more interesting as we hear about his high     
    adventures n Argentina's Patagonia region.
3.  Faina evening gown is made of linen from China.
4.  She is a shut-in who is phobic about dirt, dust, and crowds.
5.  Behavior is syllabized as be-hav-ior.


SECTION II:  SHORT-FORM WORD CONTRACTIONS AND PUNCTUATION
Part I:  Information

      o'clock         quick         together         deceive     
      o'c             qk            tgr              dcv

      deceiving       receive       receiving        declare  
      dcvg            rcv           rcvg             dcl

      declaring       rejoice       rejoicing 
      dclg            rjc           rjcg

1.  Short Form Words, Introduction
The rules regarding short-forms are discussed in Lesson 5, and reviewed here.

1.2 These contractions SHOULD be used:

1   as part of words as well as whole words.

    EXAMPLES:   (receive)d     (together)(ness)

2   when separated from an added syllable, but it should not be sub-divided
    at the end of a line in a mis-guided effort to save space.

    EXAMPLE:    (quick)-                (imm)-
              ly                      ly

3   when representing a WHOLE proper name, but not as part of a proper name.

    EXAMPLE:    Fri(en)d(sh)ip Village
                (Th)omas (Little)
                (The) Quicksilv(er)

4   As parts of words when the original meaning is retained.  When the origi-
    nal meaning is not retained, the short-form contraction should not be
    used.  Some words have two or more distinct meanings.  The short-forms
    should be used to represent any of these meanings.

    EXAMPLE:    Port Said     rafter      (must)y
                (quick)(en)      (could)(st)

2. Punctuation: dash  and double dash 

             dash (3-6)             double dash (3-6, 3-6)

1   Introduction
In print, a dash usually appears as a line longer in length than a hyphen.
When it is difficult to differentiate between the hyphen and the dash, it may
be necessary to determine from context which braille symbol to use.  This can
be accomplished by remembering the functions of the hyphen and the dash.  The
function of the hyphen is to join words or numbers, or to divide parts of
words between lines.  While the function of the dash is to seperate words,
elements of thought, or parts of a sentence.

    EXAMPLES:   The identification card is wallet-size.    (hyphen)
                She'll be at the dance with a pumpkin and several mice and 
                dressed in rags--that'll be pretty embarrasing.    (dash)

2   Rules for use of the Dash:

a.  Print may be inconsistent in the spacing before and after the use of a  
    dash.  In braille, however, a space should not be left before or after
    a dash, EXCEPT in the following two cases:

    i)  The dash may appear either at the beginning or at the end of a line.
        In either case, a blank space would naturally appear before or after
        the dash.

    ii) The dash should be followed by a space if it ends an incomplete sen-
        tence.  If the dash is followed by a closing quotation mark or some
        other mark of punctuation, no space should be left between the dash
        and this mark of punctuation.

b.  The dash must never be divided between lines.

c.  As a mark of punctuation, the dash should always be in contact with a 
    word.  If the dash falls at the beginning of a new braille line and is
    followed by a space, then the last syllable of the preceding word must
    also be carried over to the new braille line.  (Otherwise a lower sign
    would not be in contact with an upper sign, as discussed earlier in this
    lesson.)

2.2 Double Dash   

1   Rules for the use of the double dash:

a.  The braille double dash should be used when print uses a dash to indicate
    an omitted word or name.  The double dash should be spaced and punctuated
    as a word.

b.  The braille dash double should be used when print uses a single dash to 
    represent omitted letters in a word.

NOTE:  The general lower-sign rule applies:  Any number of lower signs may
       follow one another as long as one of the lower signs is in contact
       with an upper sign (containing dots 1 or 4); otherwise the final lower
       sign contractions must not be used.


This concludes the information on Short-Form Words, cont., Dash and Double
Dash.  When you are ready, press Esc to return to the Submenu.


Part II:  Print to Braille Exercises

1.  At 12 o'clock midnight, we will all get together and rejoice over the
    new year.
2.  That quicksand is certainly more dangerous than it looks.
3.  I declare, you all look like you've stayed up all night with the braille
    lesson.
4.  We will receive the news of the battle at Shiloh together--whether it be
    bad or good.
5.  Do not let his manner deceive you, for Charles is no ---- gentleman.
6.  Giving and receiving are essential principles for life in general.
7.  Women in the 20's and 30's stood on the street corners declaring the
    evils of alcohol.
8.  Let's not be rejoicing in our own material goods--rejoice that others
    receive the best out of life.
9.  The sand in the desert stretched on for miles and miles without an end
    in sight.
10. Mr. Smith promised that he would show up at 8 o'clock--guess he de-
    ceived us once again.
11. It looked as if the receiver made an incredible diving catch, but he
    could not deceive the official who declared the pass incomplete.
12. That ---- so-and-so took off with my last 10 dollars, and now I won't
    have enough cash for my cab fare home.
13. If you promise that we'll be quick and get back at 4 o'clock, then I'll
    go with you and help deliver the newspapers.
14. Be aware that the salesman is a pretty slick deceiver and will inflate
    the prices tremendously.
15. The owners have declared bankruptcy, which makes the court put the re-
    sort in receivership.

Part III:  Braille to Print Exercises
1.  Seth tried shoes on in the store--I wonder if he could get athlete's foot
    from this?
2.  You can't miss Nicole, for she'll be ridin' a big white horse in the cere-
    mony.
3.  Typewriters will be furnished--think seriously about this if you have
    poor handwriting.
4.  I do declare, you two boys have grown like weeds since our last visit
    together.
5.  Hendrik is a brilliant scientist, but Mikhail is a ---- idiot.
6.  My sister would use Nestle's Quick when making her great chocolate milk
    shakes--hand mixed too.
7.  Carlos and Sean walked together down the road--neither spoke of the incident
    that terrified them a few minutes earlier.
8.  Misty, my dog, ate my notes--notes I wrote last week.
9.  Rejoice when you finish the braille self-tutorial program.
10. Herbie sat rejoicing on the front porch, as Quick Fingered Freddie
    picked his favorite tune on the banjo.
11. If we pool all of our resources together, we might have enough in the
    bank for the sailboat.
12. At 1 o'clock the candidates for state and federal offices will be an-
    nounced.
13. We shall declare the winner after we review the films.
14. His deceiving nature became so obvious that even his friends began
    sending fewer and fewer clients his way.
15. Practical jokes are not always so funny when you are on the receiving
    end.

Part IV:  Proof Reading Exercises
     It was a rejoicing matter for the people of the land when the evil ruler
fell from power.  The man was a deciever and a thief of the people's welfare. 
Enough of the subects were angry and caused the ruler tremendous grief.  So he
decided to relocate to a less antagonistic area--and he left rather quickly.  He
shall deceive them no more.


SECTION VII:  SELF-TEST
Part I:  Information

                     Genius is one percent inspiration
                    and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
                               Thomas Alva Edison

            Buona Sera!

Part II:  Print to Braille Exercises
1.  You could have a nutritious high-calorie snack after class tonight.
2.  Don't encourage that kind of behavior, for a child can't always tell
    when enough is enough.
3.  It was not until the bull started chasing me across the field that I
    figured out my friends deceived me--you can't tip cows when they are sleep-
    ing.
4.  The braille students studied the new rules together all afternoon.
5.  The quick runner rejoiced in his win.
6.  Were the elderly patients receiving adequate medical care in his clinic?
7.  Just as we began rejoicing over the Bulls' championship win, riots broke
    out in the streets and tainted the evening revelry.
8.  Mr. -- will be a United States spy for the Secret Service.
9.  At 5 o'clock his assistant will be declaring a walk-out for all union 
    members.
10. His enormous hand gripped mine in a hearty welcome.

Part III:  Print to Braille Exercises
1.  Let's all meet together at the Quicksilver saloon at about 1 'clock, o-kay?
2.  I will not receive them in my home until his brother apologizes for the
    incident.
3.  The ad will deceive people and make them think that the product is good.
4.  The book, A Place Called School, declares that enough ritual is seen in
    today's classrooms--we need reform.
5.  I will rejoice over all the good events that happen in my life.
6.  The Anderson family will receive a prize for selling the most tickets--
    probably a 1 week Hawaiian trip.
7.  It was a dark and damp night when Benjamin made a quick venture across the
    moor.
8.  They were all supposedly declaring the same propaganda, but Ms. ---- was
    an informer for the police.
9.  His doctor said he would be okay after the surgery, but I wonder if he's
    being a little dishonest with us.
10. At exactly 6 o'clock, the doors will be closed and the store won't re-
    open until two weeks from tomorrow.


Part IV:  Proof Reading Exercises
    Most scientists agree that wolves are the direct ancestors of today's
domestic dogs.  The tracks that wolves make in the crusty snow are deep and wide. 
They look like the footprints of a large dog--a Husky maybe, or a Great Dane.

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