Slovene Punctuation - Bracket

Bracket

Syntactical Use

A bracket (, //, ||, , <> and {}) is a two part one-side leaning punctuation mark. The introducing bracket, known as uklepaj, is right-leaning; the closing bracket, zaklepaj, is left-leaning. Round brackets are those used most often in writing.

Brackets are used to envelop text which is the following:

1. a variation or supplement: Klorovodikova kislina (HCl) je nevarna. (Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is dangerous.) Tekst (besedilo) smo prečistili. (We cleaned the text (and a more Slovene word for text in brackets).)
2. inserted sentences or clauses: Takoj zatem (če se prav spominjam) se je zabliskalo. (Straight afterwards (if I recall correctly) lightning struck.) Druga svetovna vojna (1939–45) je terjala mnogo krvi. (The second world war (1939-45) demanded much blood.) – dashes, ellipses or commas are also used in this sense
3. word parts (in this case it may be fully leaning): Spoštovani/a gost(ja)! (Dear guest! (the feminine form is what is in the brackets))

Essentially, a thing to be borne in mind is that whatever is inside brackets may be left out with no change in meaning.

The cadence of pitch before a bracket is rising (cadent) when what is inside brackets is a variation, otherwise it is falling (anticadent). If brackets contain a fully-fledged sentence, the cadence is as per the sentence punctuation.

Non-Syntactical Use

A terminating bracket can be used in lists:

Izberite pravilni odgovor: a) kopje, b) lokomotiva, c) disk.

(Choose the correct answer: a) spear, b) locomotive, c) discus.)