Introduction of Braille

Braille is a system of touch

reading and writing for blind
persons in which raised dots
represent the letters of the
alphabet. Braille also contains
equivalents for punctuation
marks and provides symbols to
show letter groupings.

Braille is read by moving the

hand or hands from left to right
along each line. Both hands are
usually involved in the reading process, and reading is generally
done with the index fingers. The average reading speed is about
125 words per minute, but greater speeds of up to 200 words per
minute are possible.

By using Braille, blind people can review and study the written
word. They can also become aware of different written
conventions such as spelling, punctuation, paragraphing and
footnotes.

Most of all, Braille gives blind individuals access to a wide range

of reading materials including educational and recreational
reading, financial statements and restaurant menus. Equally
important are contracts, regulations, insurance policies,
directories and cookbooks that are all part of daily adult life.
Through Braille, people who are blind can also pursue hobbies
and cultural enrichment with materials such as music scores,
hymnals, playing cards, and board games.

Various other methods had been attempted over the years to

enable reading for the blind; many of them raised versions of
print letters. It is generally accepted that the Braille system has
succeeded because it is based on a rational sequence of signs
devised for the fingertips, rather than imitating signs devised for
the eyes.
 Standard Braille is an approach to creating documents which
could be read through touch. This is accomplished through the
concept of a Braille cell consisting of raised dots on thick sheet
of paper. The protrusion of the dot is achieved through a process
of embossing. A cell consists of six dots arranged in the form of a
rectangular grid of two dots horizontally and three dots
vertically. With six dots arranged this way, one can
obtain sixty three different patterns of dots. A visually
Handicapped person is taught Braille by training him
or her in discerning the cells by touch, accomplished
through his or her fingertips. The image below shows
how this is done.

Each arrangement of dots is known as a cell and will consist of at

least one raised dot and a maximum of six. The image shown
later in this page gives examples of embossed Braille cells. On a
Braille sheet, the dots are created by embossing using a special
printer or even a manual machine that simultaneously embosses
the dots. Today, we also have Braille printers which may be
connected to computers on standard printed interfaces. These
are generally known as Braille Embossers.

In the developed world, Visually Handicapped persons are taught

to read Braille at a very early age. They develop reading skills
well enough to read the text books and reference material and
attend schools, often with normal children, to get integrated into
the mainstream of life.

At this point one might ask "does Braille have the functionality of
the printed medium?”. The answer is surprisingly yes, and in
schools for the Visually Handicapped, the libraries will be full of
Braille text and reference books. It is true that Braille books are
bulky and cannot be carried around just as easily as printed
books but the point to keep in mind is that we have to provide a
suitable medium for the Visually Handicapped that will enable
them to get educated in the first place. So providing them a
resource, which could be bulky but which will allow them to read
is important.
History of Braille
This system of writing and reading used
by many blind people was invented almost 200 years ago. While
several types of written communication systems were tried
during a ten-year period beginning in 1825, the one invented by
a blind teenager was adopted. Some modifications have been
made to it over the years but the Braille code in use today is
virtually the same as it was in 1834.
Louis Braille was born January 4, 1809, in a small village near
Paris. His father, a leather worker, often used sharp tools in his
work. While playing in his father’s shop when he was three,
Louis injured his eye on an all. In spite of good care, infection set
in and soon left him completely blind.
When Louis grew to school age, he was allowed to sit in the
classroom to learn by listening. Louis was very bright and
creative, and when he was ten, he was sent to the Royal
Institution for Blind Youth in Paris. There too, most instruction
was oral, but there were a few books in a kind of raised print
developed by the school’s founder. Although frustrated by the
large, bulky books and slow reading of the tactile characters, he
did well at his studies and dreamed of a better way. At that time,
the raised letters were made by pressing shaped copper wire
onto paper but there was no way for blind people to write for
themselves.
While a student, he began to use his creativity to invent an easy
and quick way for blind people to read and write. Louis heard of
a system of raised dots developed by a French army captain,
Charles Barbier de la Serre. Barbier originally created a code of
raised dots and dashes as a way to allow soldiers to write and
read messages at night without using a light that might give
away their positions. He later adapted the system and presented
it to the Institution for Blind Youth, hoping that it would be
officially adopted there. It was based on phonetics and consisted
of groups of twelve dots arranged in two columns of six dots
each.
Louis worked with Barbier’s basic ideas to develop his own
simplified system that we know today as Braille. He based the
code on the normal alphabet and reduced the number of dots by
half.
Louis Braille published the first Braille book in 1829. In 1837, he
added symbols for math and music. Although Louis Braille went
on to become a beloved and respected teacher, was encouraged
in his research, and continued to believe in the value of his work,
his system of reading and writing with raised dots was
nevertheless not very widely accepted in his own time. Louis
Braille died of tuberculosis on January 6, 1852.
Today, in virtually every language around the world, the code
named after Louis Braille is the standard form of writing and
reading used by blind people.
Braille as a Communication
"Braille can be very helpful in creating more independence in the
lives of blind people. If our college textbooks or other materials
we need to educate ourselves are available in Braille, we are
better able to read them and get our studying done without
enlisting the aid of someone else to spend hours reading to us."
-Chris Coulter

"Reading and Writing Braille"

Braille improved communication for the blind by giving them a

quick and efficient way to read and write. Since writing was the
main method of communication at the time, being able to read
and write was a big deal. Using Braille,
the blind could read more books and even
write books themselves. They could write
letters much more easily using a slate and
stylus, and they could read letters on their
own, instead of having a sighted person
read them out loud. By learning Braille,
they had access too much more
independence. Even today, Braille is still a
very important tool for communication. For example, Braille is
used in public places such as on elevator buttons or on street
corners. It is still used for reading and writing, not only on
paper, but also with computers.

Screen Braille Communicator:

Some deaf-blind people use a Screen

Braille Communicator (SBC). This is a
small, portable device that enables them to communicate
with sighted people. The device has a QWERTY keyboard
with an LCD display on one side, and an eight-cell Braille
display on the other side. The sighted person types short
text on the QWERTY keyboard. The deaf-blind person
reads the printed text by placing his or her fingers on the
Braille display. He or she then uses the Braille display to
type back text. The sighted person can read the text on
the LCD display.

TTY with Braille Display:

The TTY is connected with and stacked on top of a Braille

display, although both can be separate. It allows a deaf-
blind person who reads Braille to use the telephone. The
 deaf-blind person can also use this system as a face-to-
face communication device to communicate with
someone else who does not know the person’s preferred
communication method.
Also, some people who don’t see well can use TTYs with
large visual displays or computers with larger font to
communicate with others.

Braille is not a language not a language

Braille is not a language, it is another way to read and write a
language. It is not a language; since it is a portrayal of print,
with special rules and multiple uses of each sign (configuration),
it is a code. English is the language, one that can be conveyed in
any number of ways as long as the code is systematic and is
agreed to by those who use it” (pp. 30-31). In fact, the language
does not need to be English. Any language can be conveyed in
Braille, and numerous languages around the world are
reproduced in Braille with the code differing, of course, based
upon the language being encoded.

Languages have the major components of phonetics, phonology,

morphology, syntax and semantics (Comrie, 2008). Braille is
developed and concerned with the representation of the symbols
used in print. To call Braille a language would be comparable to
calling “print” a language. Print and Braille are similar in that
each reproduces the various sounds of language to represent
speech, but neither is a language.

Another indication that Braille should not be considered a

language is found in consulting the Ethnologue, a comprehensive
listing of the known living languages of the world, compiled by
the Summer Institute of Linguistics (Gordon, 2005). Braille is
not included in the Ethnologue as a separate language but is
mentioned under the heading of “Blind population” with the
comment that “information about the availability of Braille codes
and Braille literature is given under specific languages.” This
confirms the connection of Braille as a code to specific
languages, rather than as a language by itself.

How Braille is useful?

Braille Defines Literacy

A sighted person that can read and write printed text is
considered literate. The same can be said with blind people.
Braille has been internationally accepted as the official
communications system for the blind. So a blind person that
can read and write Braille is deemed literate. Conversely,
one who cannot use Braille is considered illiterate, even
though that person can use assistive technology to read and
write.

Braille Upholds the Rights of the Blind

Braille supports the right to information of blind people.
When there is a global or local event which everyone needs
to know, blind people should be informed and should have
the same details regarding that news. When there are new
laws or changes to existing laws, they need to be in the loop
as to what the additions or modifications are. Among its
other functions, Braille aims to provide these things to the
blind. It enables people who cannot read printed text to
read for themselves what is going on in their city, country,
and even around the world.

Braille in Education
Before blind children can use assistive technology, they
must first learn how to manually read and write. And this is
where Braille is very essential. Braille provides the
fundamentals of reading and writing for the blind: letters
and words, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structures.
Simply put, a blind person has to learn Braille before using
a computer, as a sighted individual needs to learn to read
and write printed text before using this machine.

Braille in Employment
Moving on, a blind person who learns manual reading and
writing has a better foundation of knowledge when starting
to use more advanced technology. Such skills and
knowledge are very important in finding a suitable job. And
even when one has already found employment, Braille is
still useful in almost all types of tasks in the workplace.

Braille in Culture and Entertainment

Braille gives blind people the best option to read books and
publications. Virtually any type of reading materials both
old and new can be transcribed in Braille. It can be argued
though that assistive technologies such as screen readers
can give the same information in a relatively easier manner.
However, screen readers require the use of hearing, and
this is very different from actually reading text.
 Braille Gives a Sense of Privacy and Independence
Braille lets blind people to freely express their thoughts on
paper without being concerned that other people may read
personal things about them. It also lets blind persons read
for themselves, label their own belongings, and compensate
for things they cannot do because of their disability.

Braille is Still Irreplaceable

Ultimately, the tangible feeling provided by Braille is still
very important to blind persons as human beings. Nothing
beats the actual experience of holding and feeling a book,
turning its pages, reading its text, and even smelling its
paper. These things can never be replaced by any kind of
assistive technology.

Instruments of Braille

 Note maker

 Keyboard

 Braille E-Book

 Braille Phone
  Watch

 Writer

 Playing cards

 Rubiks cubes, etc.

Bibliography
www.google.com

www.encyclopedia.com