Qualification prowords are used to alert the receiving operator to a unique quality for the character(s) that follow. They allow precise copy, such as case-sensitive information (web addresses, passwords, chemical names, etc.).

  • ALWAYS spoken WITHIN a group

  • Typically, the group will have previously been identified with an Introductory Proword

  • Implies that the following characters are going to be sent one character at a time, phonetically

  • Remains in effect for the group until over-ridden or until the end of the group

  • Like the “Caps Lock” key on your keyboard

The qualification prowords are:

UPPERCASE and LOWERCASE

  • Used to indicate that following characters should be copied in the appropriate case

  • Used with ONE GROUP AT A TIME

  • Remain in effect until the end of the group or until over-ridden by another Qualification Proword (think "Caps Lock")

  • No default case is assumed: if you need a particular case, voice the corresponding proword

Not that case doesn’t matter most of the time. In fact, some people routinely print in all capital letters. But sometimes case is critical (e.g. passwords, internet addresses).

UPPERCASE and LOWERCASE Examples

  • The password is pasSWOrd
    • Spoken: "The password is password I SPELL LOWERCASE papa alpha sierra UPPERCASE sierra whiskey oscar LOWERCASE romeo delta"
  • Open the PackItForm
    • Spoken: "Open the PackItForm I SPELL UPPERCASE papa LOWERCASE alpha charlie kilo UPPERCASE india LOWERCASE tango UPPERCASE foxtrot LOWERCASE oscar romeo mike"

When in doubt, specify the case. But when case doesn’t matter, avoid the extra time and complexity by ignoring case.