# Themed phrases: one 6 × 3 page per part of the day

`themes.obz`, built from `phrases/sources/themes.yaml`. Shared conventions:
[DESIGN-phrases-common.md](DESIGN-phrases-common.md).

A quick-phrase style for people who read, or who are learning to, and want
the likely messages of a situation on one page: sentence starters, the
words that finish them, and whole messages, side by side. The style is
common to several commercial apps (report §1.1, "Express"); nothing of
theirs is used here — not their themes' wording, page names, positions or
the name "Express" (which our app was also previously called; it was renamed
the AAC Reference App to avoid the collision). The nine themes, their 153
starters, words and messages, and the layout below were written for this
project.

## The pages

**Themes** (the home page, 3 × 6): the nine themes, and nine quick
messages that every situation needs — Yes, No, Please, Thank you, Help me
please, Wait please, I don't know, Stop, Hello.

Nine theme pages, each 3 rows × 6 columns:

| Theme | Starters (add words, said with the message) | Words that finish them | Whole messages (said at once) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hello and chat | How was your · Tell me about · Did you see · I really like | day · weekend · the game · the news · your family | Hi! How are you? · I'm good, thanks. And you? · Nice to see you! · What's new? · That's great! · Oh no! · Me too! · See you soon! |
| At home | Can you · I want to · Where is · Let's | watch TV · go to bed · take a shower · help me · my phone | Good morning! · Good night! · I'm home! · What's for dinner? · It's too cold / hot in here. · Can you turn the light on? · Can you help me with this? |
| At school | Can I have · I need · Where is · I finished | my book · a pencil · the bathroom · a break · my work | Good morning, everyone! · I know the answer! · I don't understand. · Can you show me again? · This is fun! · This is hard. · What do we do next? · I'm done! |
| At work | Can we have · I need · I'm working on · When is | the meeting · a break · lunch · more time · the report | Good morning! · Can we talk later? · I'll get back to you. · Please send me an email. · I agree. · I have an idea. · Let me think about it. · See you tomorrow! |
| Meals | Can I have · I'd like · I don't like · Please pass | water · bread · more · the salt · a napkin | It's delicious! · I'm hungry. · I'm full. · I'm thirsty. · Not too much, please. · Can you cut this for me? · I'm finished, thank you. · What's for dessert? |
| Going out | Let's go to · Can we go to · Where is · I'm looking for | the park · the store · a café · the car · the bathroom | Let's go! · Wait for me, please. · How much is it? · Can I pay by card? · I'm tired. Let's go home. · Can we go slower? · Excuse me. · Thank you for your help. |
| Health | My · It hurts when I · I need · I can't | head · stomach · hurts · move · my medicine | I don't feel well. · I feel better. · I'm in pain. · I feel dizzy. · I feel sick. · Please call the doctor. · I need to lie down. · I need help now! |
| Feelings | I feel · I'm feeling · That makes me | happy · sad · angry · worried · tired · excited | I'm OK. · I need a hug. · I need some time alone. · Please listen to me. · I'm proud of myself! · Thank you for helping. · I love you. · How do you feel? |
| Free time | Let's play · I want to watch · Can we go · I like | a game · cards · music · a movie · outside | Your turn! · My turn! · I win! · Good game! · Again! · That was fun! · Let's do something else. · Turn it up, please. |

## Layout

Every theme page is laid out the same way, so a person who knows one knows
all nine:

```
 col:   0            1        2        3        4        5
 row 0  All themes   starter  starter  starter  starter  word
 row 1  word         word     word     word     message  message
 row 2  message      message  message  message  message  message
```

(Feelings has three starters and six words, so the last two cells of its
first row are words.) **All themes** is always the top-left cell: the way back to the theme
index is on the page itself, reachable by switch and gaze (defect D1).

Colour tells the three kinds apart within each theme's own hue: starters
are the darkest shade, words a pale shade, whole messages white. Starters
add their words to the message without saying them
(`ext_aurasense_action: "buffer"`); words and messages are said and added.
A person builds "How was your" + "weekend" and presses Speak, or presses
"Hi! How are you?" and it is said at once.

## Choices made

- **18 cells, one page, no deeper pages.** A theme is a single page; there is nothing to get lost in. More words for a theme belong in the person's own cells (Track B) or in the intent-first or core sets.
- **Starters that finish naturally with the theme's words.** Every starter has at least one word on its page that completes it grammatically in English, most have several ("Where is" + "my phone"; "Can I have" + "water" or "bread"; "I can't" + "move"). In other languages some combinations need a different form (gender, case); translators chose the form that works best and noted the rest.
- **Adult and child alike.** The themes cover home, school and work, so one set serves a student and an employee; a person hides the pages they don't need.
- **Spoken aloud only.** The Health page says so to the partner; "I need help now!" sends nothing.

## Not yet

- More themes (shopping, travel, religion and celebrations, sport, the person's own hobbies) are a source edit away: add a board to `themes.yaml` and a link on the index.
- "Chat" parking (keeping a message to say later) is an app feature, not a page.