Bob Gotwals wrote:
>
> English friends,
>
> Pardon an intrusion by an "outsider" (I'm a chemist).  I'm teaching a
> course in reading braille for sighted teachers, and there is considerable
> discussion about how to interpret one of the rules for writing
> braille...I'm hoping you all can help!
>
> In braille, there are "contractions", which are "shortcuts" to cut down on
> the number of braille dots that the reader has to feel.  There are
> whole-word contractions, such as the words "the" and "people", and
> part-word contractions, such as "bb" and "ation".  The braille rules book
> says this:
>
> "Contractions are to be used when letters they represent fall in the same
> syllable, or WHEN THEY OVERLAP A MINOR SYLLABLE."  They never define minor
> syllable.
>
> Some examples given of words with minor syllables (the permitted
> contractions are shown in parentheses):
>
> a(st)r(ing)(en)t
> m(ed)iocre
> h(and)le
> R(en)o
> s(of)a
> t(in)y
> d(en)y
> fe(st)ival
>
> Suggestions?  Any help in DEFINING what a minor syllable is would be
> helpful. The current discussion in the blind issues discussion group gives
> definitions of what it isn't ("if it isn't a major syllable, it's a minor
> syllable") and examples of minor syllables, but no definitions.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Robert R. Gotwals, Jr.
> Computational Science Educator
> The Shodor Education Foundation, Inc.
> 923 Broad Street Suite 100
> Durham, NC  27703
> [log in to unmask]
> WWW:  http://storm.shodor.org/~gotwals/gotwals.html
> (919) 286-1911
 
Dear Mr. Gotwals,
 
I have been away for a some time and found your note when I returned.  I
notice too that you have had no response from the list.  That is not
surprising, considering that this list concerns itself with the teaching
and study of English grammar.  I suggest that you consider posting your
query to the Linguist list ([log in to unmask]).  Those good
folks will be happy to advise, I'm sure.
 
I am intrigued by your question, nonetheless.  Puzzled, actually.  The
concept of a "minor syllable" does not seem to be a regular distinction
phonologists make.  It is common in phonology to think about "weak" and
"strong" syllables, or "stressed" and "unstressed" syllables, but the
concept of the minor syllable is unfamiliar to me.  I need more
examples.  I need too a better understanding of you notational system.
We both know that the word "sofa" has two syllables, but the notation
you give does not divide the word by syllable structure.  Rather, your
notation indicating the permitted contraction seems to be based on
principles that are independent of syllable structure.  The example of
"s(of)a" and the others make me think that the operating principle
underlying a "minor syllable" is to delete word-medial vowels and
consonants (or consonant clusters), leaving only the word-initial and
word-final letters, which should be sufficient for word recognition when
the contraction is used in context.  In that way, Braille reminds me of
writing systems in which vowels are not overtly written in the printed
form of the language since readers can easily reconstruct the words by
the combination of context and the consonants as clues, as in
 
Brll s fscntng.
 
I hope some of this helps, and I would be happy to hear from you, though
I think we should communicate directly since the topic does not seem
relevant to this list.
 
Best wishes,
 
Dan
--
Daniel Kies
Department of English
College of DuPage
425 22nd Street
Glen Ellyn, IL  60137-6599  USA
 
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