| About
Braille - Braille and it's meaning
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Introduction
Braille
as we know it was developed in 1820 by Louis Braille.
Louis Braille, who lost his sight due to a severe accident
while playing in his father’s workshop, discovered
that raised dots were much easier to read than raised print
letters. Louis Braille’s invention was based on “Night
Writing”, a system of communication used on board
ship and in the trenches by the military. The system enabled
the soldiers to transmit messages silently to one another
without fear of being heard. It was usually carried out
in the hart of darkness -hence Night Writing.
Although
Braille took almost a century to become accepted as the
standard means of communication by the Blind, there are
those today who feel that it is too cumbersome and hard
to learn, especially for very young children and the elderly.
However, accomplished Braille readers would strongly disagree
and say that it has granted them a gateway into education
and serves as a very important platform at their place of
employment.
Both
Braille Transcription UK and experienced readers of Braille
would agree that there isn’t enough titles available,
which is why we, as a company, are working towards increasing
reading choices for the countless Braille readers in the
UK and throughout the world. Without Braille, those with
little or no vision would be cut off from a world of information,
which, is not only paramount to a person’s educational
and occupational advancements, but in matters of safety:
For example, taking the right dosage of medication; being
able to distinguish between lethal and non-toxic detergents
in and around the home; reading and digesting important
safety instructions for a given household appliance, and
keeping up-to-date with their utility bills and bank statements,
etc...
What
Is Braille?
Braille
is a system of six dots read by touch. These six dots when
embossed altogether is called “the Braille cell”,
from which can be formed letters of the alphabet, numbers
and punctuation marks. The “Braille Cell” is
arranged in the formation of a rectangle, three dots high
and two across. Dots -1, -2 & -3 (left) & dots -4,
-5 & -6 (right). Dot –1 is top left and dot –4
is top right.
The
first ten letters of the Braille alphabet are formed out
of the letter G which is dots –1, -2, -4 & -5,
as can be seen below:
A -
dot 1
B - dots –1 & -2
C - dots –1 & -4
D - dots –1, -4 & -5
E - dots –1 & -5
F - dots –1, -2 & -4
G - dots –1, -2, -4 & -5
H - dots –1, -2 & -5
I - dots –2 & -4
J - dots –2, -4 & -5
From
that you may have deduced that D is opposite to F, E to
I and H to J.
To produce
letters K to T we simply add dot three of the cell to the
first ten letters:
K -
dots –1 & 3
L - dots –1, -2 & -3
M - dots –1, -3 & -4
N - dots –1, -3, -4 & -5
O - dots –1, -3 & -5
P - dots –1, -2, -3 & -4
Q - dots –1, -2, -3, -4 & -5
R - dots –1, -2, -3 & 5
S - dots –2, -3 & -4
T - dots –2, -3, -4 & -5
For
letters U to Z, except for W, (as there is no W in the French
alphabet), we add the sixth dot of the cell to the letters
K to O:
U -
dots –1, -3 & - 6
V - dots –1, -2, -3 & -6
X - dots –1, -3, -4 & -6
Y - dots –1, -3, -4, -5 & -6
Z - dots –1, -3, -5 & -6
W – dots –2, -4, -5 & -6 and is the opposite
to the letter R.
The
first ten letters of the Braille alphabet are also used
to make numbers and are preceded by something we call “A
Number Sign” which is dots –3, -4, -5 &
-6, (opposite to the letter V).
1 is
“Number Sign” A and 10 is “Number Sign”
aJ and so on.
Because
Braille consumes a considerable amount of space on the page,
abbreviations and contractions were invented. E.G. “B”,
when written on its own, stands for the word “but”;
“C” “can” and “CD” “could”;
“tm” “tomorrow”, and “TGr”
“together”, and so on.
There
are two main standards of Braille: grade one and grade two.
Grade one is completely unabbreviated and grade two contains
all the shorthand, or contractions, as we Braille users
like to call them. There is even grade three Braille, but
this is not widely used, other than by really experienced
Braille readers.
Braille
V. Electronic Media
None
of us can escape the fact that there has been an incredible
advancement in modern technology. over the past two decades
a reduction in the physical size of computers and a massive
upturn in their physical memory has enhanced the lives of
countless thousands – not forgetting, of course, the
world of commerce – which has benefited enormously
from this digital revolution. For the disabled, learning
to communicate and access information, has never been easier.
For those with little or no motor movement, Possum, (a home-based
computer which takes its name from the Latin, “I am
able”), can enable the user, while sitting in his
or her wheelchair, to open and close the curtains, answer
the telephone, dictate a letter, and so on, all with the
aid of a small tube which fits into their mouth. By a series
of sucking motions, one is able to instruct the computer
what action to take.
Other
specially adapted gadgets have been developed such as screen
readers for the visually impaired. These merely act as the
mouth-piece for the monitor and tell the computer user what
they have typed or what information is currently on the
screen.
Braille
displays are another new invention which throws up text
onto a display a line at a time for the visually impaired
person to read. To add to that, we now have the talking
open book machines which reads back text from the printed
page. The list is endless.
Yet,
despite this massive technology revolution, one must never
lose sight of the fundamentals that have taught the world
of mankind so much over the centuries. The fundamentals
to which I am referring is the printed page – which
has imparted knowledge to countless thousands and which
has helped to produce some of our finest scholars.
One
has to agree that reading is introduced to the majority
of sighted children at a very early age in the developed
countries - despite computers - and as the National Federation
For The Blind points out: “They use both eyes and
ears to get information.” Yet, they go on to say:
“If a blind or severely visually impaired child is
to compete, not only ears but also fingers should be used.
Technology enhances but does not substitute for the printed
word.”
It
has been observed by many that teachers of the blind are
probably to blame for the recent move in favour of technology
over and above Braille, arguing that it is too slow and
ineffective. However, as the Federation goes on to say:
“There’s no substitute for Braille in taking
notes, reading a speech, looking up words in a dictionary,
studying a complicated text, or just having the fun of reading
for yourself.” And conclude by saying that to “Talk
of forcing blind children to learn Braille shows the prejudice…
Nobody talks of forcing sighted children to learn print.
It is taken for granted as a right, a necessary part of
education; so it should be with Braille and blind children.”
Conclusion
We
have merely touched the surface. However, it is our hope
that we have given you an insight into the use of Braille
and the important part it plays in the lives of the blind.
It is
not enough to dismiss Braille on the grounds that it is
archaic and too much of an arduous task for the blind to
master. Rather, we strongly advocate Braille as a right
for all blind people as a key to learning and success. To
deny the blind the right to read is to deny them the right
to knowledge and the freedom to make choices.
We here
at Braille Transcription UK are always striving to encourage
more and more companies, public service providers and manufacturers,
to make their literature available to the Blind in Braille,
large print and the spoken word. It is not enough for them
to say: “we’ve never been asked for Braille,
so we’ve not had the need to offer it.” As of
October 2004, Companies and public service providers have
an obligation by law to make reasonable adjustment to their
services in order to accommodate the needs of the disabled,
which includes the blind and visually impaired. In view
of this, we strongly recommend those to whom this new law
applies to set the wheels in motion now so as to be ready
when the legislation comes into force.
Braille
Transcription UK can offer you a high quality service at
a price you can afford. There is no need to have large quantities
of Braille produced for your company as we can offer you
a POD (print on demand) service that enables you to order
a given amount that adequately satisfies your requirements.
We can
even arrange to send Braille documents directly to your
visually impaired clients at no extra charge.
For
your free quotation, call 0800 00 86938 or e-mail enquiries@brailletranscriptionuk.co.uk
today.
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