The Chinese language has multiple DBT templates.
The preferred braille system in China is Chinese Mandarin with Tones - Basic.
The braille produced using the template Chinese Mandarin - Basic is without any tones and very hard to read.
The template Chinese Yue (Cantonese) - Basic is for Cantonese, the language of Hong Kong.
The template Chinese for Taiwan - Basic is for braille used in Taiwan. The braille rules are quite similar to mainland China braille, but all the braille cell assignments are different.
For the details about the DBT translators used, first select one of the DBT templates for this language. The mathematics code used also varies depending on the template selected.
Chinese is usually produced in uncontracted braille. This means that words in the text are rendered in braille on a one-for-one basis: one braille character for each inkprint letter. Some inkprint punctuation may require more than one braille character. Indicating upper case, emphasis, or numbers also adds braille characters to the character count. However, the braille contains no abbreviations or contractions.
If you have questions about producing correct braille, please contact a member of the appropriate braille authority.
Chinese is written in a script other than the Roman alphabet. This can occasionally cause problems when importing files to DBT. The best result is usually achieved by importing files from Microsoft Word or Open Office that are written in Unicode fonts. You can contact Duxbury Systems if you have file that does not import properly into DBT. Please send the original inkprint file with your request, not a screen shot of the DBT screen.
Chinese uses Han (Chinese) characters. When Han text is imported into DBT for mainland Mandarin, it is converted into Pinyin. When Han text is imported into DBT for Taiwan Mandarin, it is converted into Zhuyin. For Cantonese it is converted into Jyutping. The Cantonese translator can handle either the Jyutping or the Yale Romanization system, as these are very similar.
DBT accepts Han characters through the process of file importation. You need to create an MS-Word file or an Open Office file with Han characters first, and then import the file into DBT. You cannot clipboard Han characters directly into DBT.
Normally, the type of Han character conversion to do is automatically determined by the template you select.
However, if you wish to override your template, DBT provides a menu that lets you override the automatic choice. Go to the Global Menu, and select Import Options. There is a set of radio button controls that looks like this.
Default language for Han (Chinese) script:
Directly above this choice is a checkbox that says, "Choose Han script based on template selected for import." You must uncheck that box for the choice selected in this dialog to take precedence. Otherwise your template's automatic choice will remain in effect regardless of the choice made here.
Note, also, that using this menu may cause errors if you switch languages without returning to it to update your selection.