Paul, 1) If a person is a writer, it doesn't follow that he/she knows the function of every single symbol. Such accurate knowledge will depend on whether or not the person makes use of the symbol. This is true even for other fields.
2) The reason why I posted about the difference between the single quotation mark (and yes, it is also known as the grave accent which I will explain later) and the apostrophe was that you were suggesting that the single quote key is not necessary and should thus be removed. As I have explained when differentiating the two totally different punctuations (i.e., different both in function and appearance, mind you), your suggestion is unacceptable, especially for those who know when single quotation marks are more appropriate to use rather than the apostrophe. 3) Yes, the grave accent key to the left of the number 1 key on a regular computer keyboard (this is for Wilma, by the way, we're not talking about the BNQT keyboard here) is the single quote produced when pressing that key that Paul had suggested should be removed and replaced with a right-hand side READ key on the BNQT. The reason why the single quote is also called "grave accent" is because it is also the grave accent in appearance. As I said, it looks like a short diagonal line from the upper left to the lower right. (BTW, for the curious, the acute accent is similar to the grave accent but in the reverse orientation. It's a short diagonal line from the upper right to the lower left.) For people using foreign languages like French, this symbol is very useful. Since French names and common words are adopted into English, the need for the grave accent is valid even for English-speaking users. This may be what screen-reader manufacturers have considered and thus it is called "grave accent". Another member of this list, Brett Winchester (and I hope he doesn't mind if I post about this but I'd like to give him proper credit for this one) had written me off-list to agree with my post and to share the following which I will quote from his e-mail: "Coeur 'd alene vs Coeur `d Alene are two ways of spelling the city name in northern Idaho. the later is correct according to local usage. This is an accented letter (French) for the city name." Note that the second spelling said to be the correct one uses the single quote or grave accent. Route your cursor on that symbol and see what the BN's speech will say. If the grave accent is different from the single quote, then why does the BN recognize it as the "single quote"? There is nothing wrong, however, if the BrailleNote calls it "single quote" because it is indeed the single quote and should be used whenever appropriate, and since I do not need to type that many French words using grave accents, I prefer calling it the single quotation mark. Further, for people who know about HTML, the grave accent is also used to produce letters with the grave accent on top. And yes, in case you'd ask, some BrailleNote users do write HTML files on their BrailleNote and this is another reason why that single quote (grave accent) key should not be removed from the QT keyboard. For our writing purposes, BT users who install the multilingual software have keystrokes to produce these grave accented letters. Actually, even without the multilingual software, a BT user can assign keystrokes to the unicode characters of letters with grave accent. As for QT users, they can also do the same; read section 7.20.7 (Assigning Key Combinations to A Unicode Character) regarding this. Speaking of unicode, another proof that the apostrophe and the single quote are different symbols is that the former is unicode 0x0027 while the latter is unicode 0x0060. Even their ASCII numbers are different: apostrophe = 39 and grave accent = 96. 4) Now Paul, in case you still doubt that the single quote of the BrailleNote is the same as the grave accent, here's how you can find out for yourself. First, make sure that the BrailleNote speech is turned on. Then, open a text document, Keyword or non-Keyword type, it doesn't matter as long as the Braille grade entry is computer Braille. Next, press FUNCTION with X (BACKSPACE with dots 3-5 for BT users) and then type the words grave accent. Hit ENTER. You will be pointed to the grave accent in the Unicode Table. Note carefully that it's called grave accent in that table. Now, press ENTER to insert this into the text document and listen to what the BrailleNote will say. It says: "Single quote". You see, if they were different symbols with different names, then you should've heard the BN call it "grave accent" still upon inserting it into the document. However, the truth is, it's one symbol with two possible names. I say "possible" because as already stated, there is absolutely nothing wrong or confusing if the BN says "single quote". Most users need that symbol as a single quote. People who need the grave accent more often than not use the multilingual software anyway, because this will give them easy access to the letters with the grave accent already above them. 5) Finally, as I mentioned in my previous post and as I will continue to maintain, text that make use of the apostrophe instead of the single quotation marks is incorrect. I believe I have provided enough explanation and example to explain why, so if anyone of you thinks that I'm wrong just because you've seen the apostrophe used incorrectly in so many texts, then that's fine, to each his/her own. I have stated my reasons why the single quote should be used in certain cases, and not the apostrophe; on the other hand, the only reason I see that people, who insist on using the apostrophe, have is convenience sacrificing proper punctuation use. I'm afraid it's not easy to break a habit, even if it's wrong. I will not repeat my argument and frankly, I don't need to, since the purpose of that post was just to explain why the single quote key should not be removed just because people think the apostrophe can and should take its place. Also, this is not a mailing list for proper use of punctuations. Further, I don't know why you say you do not see the single quote or grave accent appearing on the Braille display when you enter it. I can type it right on my BrailleNote, and since the QT user Terri Pannett also knows the difference between the single quote and the apostrophe, then I don't think this is a BNQT bug. Some other QT user may correct me if I'm wrong. Now use your Braille display to read the following: Apostrophe: 'Hello' Single quotation marks: `Hello` ISO 8859 single quotation marks: Hello Note that for certain versions of MSWord, they have included single quotes that are more directionally distinguished, meaning, one looks like a short backslash (opening single quote) while the other looks like a short slash (closing single quote). The Duxbury Braille translator we have now in Keysoft version 5 doesn't know how to represent this in Braille so you will see it as dots 1-6, 3-5, 3-5. But when you route your cursor on them and press READ with COMMA (SPACE with dots 3-6), you will hear the BN say "opening (or closing) single quote" and the display will show "left (or right) single quotation mark". These are becoming more widely used, however, so I'm mentioning them here. Lastly, copy the three lines above to a text document and then run your spell checker. Observe that it questions the hello between apostrophes but not the hellos between ASCII and MSWord single quotes. HTH, Roselle >----- QUOTED MESSAGE ----- >Sent by: Paul Henrichsen <[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Hi, Roselle. If I press that key to the left of number one, it says grave >accent. A shift, as you stated is a tilde. I'd have to ask my wife, a >writer, where the grave accent is used, but it is an accent mark, I believe. >I tried opening a document in the bn and typing this quote followed by >Hello. and another quote or pressing that key. It didn't show anything on >the braille display. If I typed it by itself, it showed what looked like a >dropped h with a dot on either side, but once I entered another word, it >disappeared. >I know that when I scan a document and if they are quoting something that >someone else said, not someone speaking in the book, they do use the >apostrophe. >So, if that quote key to the right of the spacebar is a grave accent, then >that makes sense. Pressing a shift of that key does indeed give one the >tilde. So, it appears that that particular key is the same as the one to >the left of the number one on a standard keyboard. >I suppose it should say grave accent since that is what is said on a >standard keyboard and quote is sort of misleading. >Paul Henrichsen ><[EMAIL PROTECTED] ><home.pacbell.net/paulh52
