INBAF Statement UEB
The Irish National Braille and Alternative Format Authority (INBAF) is delighted to announce the adoption of Unified English Braille (UEB) in Ireland.
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INBAF Launch on 3rd May 2012
National Braille Production at ChildVision, the Media Centre at the NCBI and the Braille Unit at
Arbour Hill prison announce the launch of INBAF...
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NBPC exceeds 3,000
In the school year 2010/2011, the NBPC produced exactly 3089 full transcriptions of books and fulfilled 98% of all its guaranteed orders...
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Braille is a tactile reading system used by many people with vision loss or no vision. It is named after its inventor, Louis Braille (1809-1852), a Frenchman who developed the system after a childhood accident had left him blinded.
Each braille sign fills in specified dots on a 6-dot braille cell. The six dots are arranged like on the face of a dice.
i.e. Braille Dots in Graphics Version
Depending on which dots are raised, the sign carries meaning.
The dots are read with the fingers in a technique learned by braille readers
by tracing lines and reading signs and words.
For example: dot 1 raised means letter “a”,
i.e. Braille Dots in Graphics Version
Dots 1 and 2 raised means letter “b”, etc.
i.e. Braille Dots in Graphics Version
All letters are represented in this way, which is an international standard.
In combination with a few extra signs, this is called braille grade 1.
However, if every book was transcribed letter by letter, one would receive
extremely bulky volumes of transcribed books. The number of dot combinations
is also quite limited. Therefore, the so-called braille grade 2 is used,
which introduced signs for either parts of a word, whole words and combination
signs.
For example,
a sign of dot ,2,3,4,5 and 6 stands for “with”,
Braille Dots in Graphics Version
“d” stands for “do”,
Braille Dots in Graphics Version
and a combination of the number sign and letter “a” means
“number 1.”
Braille Dots in Graphics Version
Special codes are applied to mathematics, sciences, computer language, and foreign languages. Braille grade 2 varies from language to language.
Some people compare learning Braille grade 2 to learning shorthand, which
especially relates to contractions and wordsigns.
One could also describe it as learning a new “scripture” for
the language you know already, as if one wanted to write English using
Arabic or Chinese characters.
The skill of reading braille is best developed from an early age onwards,
starting with tracing exercises and the development of pre-braille skills.
But throughout the whole educational system, it is important to be aware
of the extra effort needed in accessing core information. Braille is basically
linear, so sighted reading strategies like “scanning pages”
or “jumping from textbox to illustration” do not apply.
For further reading:
RNIB website – life of Louis Braille