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Hear Again

Hear Again

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hi everyone,

after having a very interesting discussion about japanese braille in another thread, nika and i came up with the idea of creating a thread specifically where you could ask questions about braille. if there is anything you'd like to know, ask away! (by the way, i've been reading braille since 4 or 5 years of age.)

mods: if this thread is posted in the wrong forum, please feel free to repost it under the correct location.
 
Do any of you guys know of a pattern in the normal grade 1 braille used in the English language?

If not, I'll post a picture and describe it all to you in a min - only if you guys tell me that you dont know.
 
I do but I can't browse pictures of braille since I can't see pictures.
 
for your information, i'm leaving to spend the evening with one of my sisters. i will be staying overnight at my other sister's and spending christmas day there. i'll be back to answer questions sometime tomorrow or the day after.
 
Have a good Christmas, Hear Again

I am overwhelmed. My original conception of braille was that there was a simple correspondence between the English alphabet and each square of dots on a braille page.

Obviously this is inaccurate, can you explain what the difference is between my understanding and reality.
 
Grade 1 American Braille is a single correspondence between each Latin letter/symbol and a combination of braille dots. There are some added braille characters to indicate capital letters, numbers, italics, etc.

Grade 2 braille uses 189 shortcuts to save space. Some are letter-based, for example "ch", "ar," and "ow" are one character in Grade 2 Braille. Words or parts of words are also shortened, for example "have" is written as H and "little" is written as LL.

Then there are other codes in Braille. Nemeth is used for math, where the same dot combinations are reassigned to various math symbols. Then there is braille for music, where the same dot combinations are assigned to music symbols.

Braille varies in different languages, although most systems take the American dot combinations and apply them phonetically to the other alphabets. For example, Hebrew braille takes the American braille G and uses it for the Hebrew letter gimmel, which sounds like a G. Other braille systems are different, such as Japanese and Korean. So far, all the braille I have heard of is based on the 6-dot cell. Sometimes a 7th or 8th dot added to indicate things like capitalization, but I've seen this mainly on computers.

I hope that helped clarify for you, Berry.
 
Okay, so my conception of braille was in effect grade 1 braille.

So you are starting to learn braille. I would think it would take a while to learn to read Grade 2 braille. The fact it is called Grade 2 helps cause me to think I am right.

Are braille texts then given something like a rating? So if I just learned the alphabet I won't be floored with dot combinations I never heard of?
 
Berry said:
So you are starting to learn braille.
Click to expand...

I taught it to myself over the summer.

Berry said:
The fact it is called Grade 2 helps cause me to think I am right.
Click to expand...

I'm confused by this statement. What you had in mind is Grade 1 Braille.

Braille is given a Grade of 1, 2 or 3. 1 is used mostly for learners and for children learning conventional spelling, 2 is used for almost everything everything else, and Grade 3 braille is used for notetaking. Whereas Grade 2 has 189 shortcuts, Grade 3 has 303. Other than that, I'm not sure what you mean by rating. Can you clarify?
 
Berry said:
Have a good Christmas, Hear Again

I am overwhelmed. My original conception of braille was that there was a simple correspondence between the English alphabet and each square of dots on a braille page.

Obviously this is inaccurate, can you explain what the difference is between my understanding and reality.
Click to expand...

thanks, berry! i hope you have a good christmas, too!

nika's explanation between grade I and grade II braille is correct. grade I braille is spelled out (with the exception of numbers which are proceeded by a "number sign.") while grade II braille consists of contractions and short form words.

for example, "they" is a short form word which is represented by dots 2-3-4-6 and dots 1-3-4-5-6.
 
Berry said:
Okay, so my conception of braille was in effect grade 1 braille.

So you are starting to learn braille. I would think it would take a while to learn to read Grade 2 braille. The fact it is called Grade 2 helps cause me to think I am right.

Are braille texts then given something like a rating? So if I just learned the alphabet I won't be floored with dot combinations I never heard of?
Click to expand...

i'm not sure why braille is named in "grades," but you're correct that grade II braille takes longer to learn than grade I. years ago, there also used to be a grade known as grade 1 and a half which consisted of some words that were spelled out in their entirety interspersed with contractions.

braille does not have a rating of any kind. the only 3 ways it is identified is by its' grade (i.e. grade I, II or III braille).
 
has anyone used a refreshable braille display

Hello guys
I am interested in knowing how different is to read from a refreshable braille display as compared to reading braille from paper.
I can't read braille, but I feel the electronic braille displays can be improved a lot, and am interested to work in that direction.
So just wanted to know from someone who has used one.
 
I've never used a refreshable braille display, but I know Hear Again uses one. <hands the mic over to Hear Again>
 
Thanks a lot Nika for the quick reply !
I am thinking of starting a community driven project to develop a braille display that can be more affordable and easier to use.
So, just a quick addition to my previous question. Apart from the cost factor, what other factors are responsible for the lack of availability of electronic braille displays in today's age when there is an explosion of electronic information everywhere.
 
sumittada said:
what other factors are responsible for the lack of availability of electronic braille displays in today's age when there is an explosion of electronic information everywhere.
Click to expand...

Another factor is that a lot of blind people are illiterate in braille or prefer to use text-to-speech software.
 
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