Shortform
“such” in braille
Written s-c-h — 4 letters cut to 3 letters of abbreviation, then written in 2 cells. That is 2 cells saved every time the word appears.
dots 2-3-4, then dots 1-6
Unicode ⠎⠡ — 4 letters in 2 cells
How to recognise it
s-ch, where the ch is one cell. It keeps its cells before an added s and in the four words the Shortforms List names — suchlike, nonesuch, nonsuch and somesuch — and nowhere else: “suchness” is spelled out, where “muchness” is not.
Two steps, not one
Abbreviated in letters first, then written in cells. “such” loses 1 letter — u — to become sch. Then it contracts again: ch is a single cell, which is how 3 letters of abbreviation fit into 2 cells.
| Stage | What it is | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Spelled out | such | 4 cells |
| Abbreviated | sch | 3 letters |
| Written | 2 cells |
Longer words that keep it
For “such” the Shortforms List (Rules of Unified English Braille, Appendix 1) names four longer words that keep it: nonsuch ⠝⠕⠝⠎⠡, nonesuch ⠝⠐⠕⠎⠡, somesuch ⠐⠎⠎⠡ and suchlike ⠎⠡⠇⠊⠅⠑. A longer word that is not on the list is spelled out. An added s keeps the cells as well: “suchs” is ⠎⠡⠎ (10.9.5).
Words that only look like it
These begin with the same letters, are not on the Shortforms List, and are written out in full.
| Word | In braille | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| suchness | 5 cells | |
| suchwise | 7 cells | |
| suchnesses | 7 cells |
What these 2 cells mean elsewhere
Every cell here has other jobs, which is where misreadings come from:
| Cell | Dots | What it is elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 2-3-4 | the letter s; the word “so” standing alone | |
| 1-6 | the letters ch inside a word, and the word “child” alone |
In a whole book
In a count over the whole of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (26,439 words), this contraction is written 41 times and saves 82 cells. That is 0.24% of everything Grade 2 saves in the book, and ranks it 79th of the 158 contractions used.
Every one of those is the word “such” itself.
Check your own text
The translator writes “such” with Grade 2 selected, and the contractions page has all seventy-five.
“such” in braille as an image
The word as it is actually written: sch in 2 cells, not 4 letters.
