Braille

Braille   Braille

Braille is writing system which enables blind and partially sighted
people to read and write through touch. It was invented by Louis Braille
(1809-1852), who was blind and became a teacher of the blind. It consists
of patterns of raised dots arranged in cells of up to six dots in a 3 x 2
configuration. Each cell represents a letter, numeral or punctuation mark.
Some frequently used words and letter combinations also have their own
single cell patterns.

There are a number of different versions of Braille:

  • Grade 1, which consists of the 26 standard
    letters of the alphabet and punctuation. It is only used by people
    who are first starting to read Braille.
  • Grade 2, which consists of the 26 standard
    letters of the alphabet, punctuation and contractions. The contractions
    are employed to save space because a Braille page cannot fit as
    much text as a standard printed page. Books, signs in public places,
    menus, and most other Braille materials are written in Grade 2 Braille.
  • Grade 3, which is used mainly in personal letters,
    diaries, and notes, and also in literature to some extent. It is a kind
    of shorthand, with entire words shortened to a few letters.

Braille has been adapted to write many different languages, including
Chinese, and is also used for musical
and mathematical notation.

Braille

Basic Braille letters and accented letters

Braille abbreviations

Braille punctuation, numerals and special signs

Sample texts in Braille

Sample text in Braille (Grade 1)

Transliteration: “Be kind to others”

Sample text and other information provided by Samuel Barnes

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Braille

Transliteration

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.

Text generated by the Braille Translator

Links

Information about Braille and other reading codes for the blind
http://www.brailler.com/braillehx.htm
http://www.nyise.org/blind/
http://www.duxburysystems.com/braille.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille

BRL: Braille Through Remote Learning
http://www.brl.org/

You’ve Got Braille – an introduction to Braille for kids (includes Braille translator)
http://pbskids.org/arthur/print/braille/

Blindness Related Learning – braille tutorials and related services
http://www.brailleschool.com

How Braille is used to represent Japanese, Korean, Russian and other languages
http://homepages.cwi.nl/~dik/english/codes/braille.html

Free Braille fonts
http://www.certifiedchinesetranslation.com/openaccess/Braille-ASL-fonts.html

Export and emboss Braille documents using OpenOffice.org
http://odt2braille.sourceforge.net/

Your name in Braille
http://www.afb.org/braillebug/thenamegame.asp

Braille Signage
http://www.eriecustomsigns.com

Organisations that support blind and partially sighted people
http://www.nfb.org
http://www.rnib.org.uk
http://www.afb.org
http://www.brailleinstitute.org
http://www.nbp.org

  • Categoria dell'articolo:Lingue
  • Tempo di lettura:5 minuti di lettura