An Explanation of Braille Formats
The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) is the standardizing body of English Braille orthography in the United States and Canada. Its mission is “to assure literacy for tactile readers through the standardization of braille and/or tactile graphics.” The official braille codes used in the United States are Unified English Braille (UEB), Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation (Nemeth Code), Music Braille Code, and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
Each of these codes uses a 6-dot braille cell to represent its characters. For instructional purposes, each dot within a cell is assigned a number as well. Here is an example of a braille cell:
Within each cell, certain dots are emphasized while others are not. Emphasis can occur in print form (enlarged black dots) or braille form (embossed paper with the dots raised for blind readers to feel). A total of 64 distinct characters (including a blank cell, which has zero dots emphasized) can be represented in a single braille cell.
Each combination with the exception of the blank cell appears below:
Line 1: a b c d e f g h i j
Line 2: k l m n o p q r s t
Line 3: u v x y z & = ( ! )
Line 4: * < % ? : $ ] \ [ w
Line 5: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Line 6: / + # > ‘ –
Line 7: @ ^ _ ” . ; ,
Unified English Braille (UEB)
Unified English Braille is a braille-code standard developed to allow transcription of a wide variety of materials in English-speaking countries in a uniform fashion. It was conceived and implemented with the goal of providing an exact translation from print symbols to braille symbols and vice versa. In UEB, the print dot (.) appears as the same shape and size even though its uses differ—i.e., as a period, decimal point, or ellipsis. Prior to implementation of UEB, different braille characters were used to represent a print dot depending upon their print usage. With UEB, all print dots are represented by the same braille character to allow for easier communication between non-disabled individuals and those who are blind.
UEB supports two grades of braille: uncontracted braille (Grade I) and contracted braille (Grade II). Both grades employ a system of rules that allow precise interpretation of each braille character sequence.
Braille readers usually learn uncontracted braille before learning contracted braille, which requires more cognitive processing by the reader to decipher the translation. Uncontracted braille is used primarily for those who are beginning braille readers. Its uses are mostly limited to early elementary school levels, English language learners, foreign language materials, and within Nemeth Code in a UEB document. It consists of all letters of a given alphabet and punctuation symbols. For example, “understanding” contains 13 English letters and thus, 13 cells.
Contracted braille is widely regarded as the universal standard form of braille in the English language. It functions as an extensive form of shorthand and contains nearly 200 contractions for the most frequently used words and letter combinations. These contractions can take three forms:
- A braille character surrounded on each side by a blank space can represent a whole word
- A braille character that represents a frequently used letter pattern in English (e.g. “st” or “and”)
- Two or more braille characters that combine to form either a whole word or a common letter pattern (e.g. “under” or “-tion”).
Because there are far more contractions than character combinations (64), the reader must also understand the characters surrounding a given character in order to read the text. When these contractions are learned by the reader, and he or she learns to place them within their proper context, the reading process is greatly accelerated because fewer characters are needed to convey information. For example, the word “understanding” uses only five cells with contracted braille.
UEB has been developed with the idea that miscellaneous braille codes—namely mathematics, computer, or other technical codes—can be embedded within a UEB document.
Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation
The preferred braille format for transcribing and learning math and science content in the United States is Nemeth Code. Born blind, Dr. Abraham Nemeth developed his own method of learning advanced mathematics, and Nemeth Code has been widely used since its implementation in 1965. Depending upon an agency’s request or students’ needs, Nemeth Code can either be used to transcribe entire documents or inserted into UEB documents.
Braille readers learn the Nemeth Code only after having a thorough understanding of UEB. It contains specific characters for communicating complex mathematical symbols, such as the infinity sign (∞) and summation sign (∑). Example:
Although Nemeth Braille Code does not always offer an exact translation from print symbols to braille symbols—e.g., different characters for a period and a decimal point—it does offer significant advantages. UEB uses the same dots within a braille cell to represent letters a–i and 1–9. For example, “a” and “1” both use the same combination of dots (dot 1—see sample braille cell above) and the reader must be able to understand the surrounding characters to determine whether “a” or “1” appears in print. Nemeth uses different combinations of dots for numbers and letters—in this case, dot 1 for the letter “a” and dot 2 for the number 1—which adds clarity to equations.
Example: 3a + 4x = 10
Another advantage of Nemeth Code is that an equation can only be transcribed one way, whereas using UEB two different ways are possible.
Example: 3 + 5 = 8
Music Braille Code
Music Braille Code uses the same 63 characters formed by a 6-dot cell. However, it assigns different meanings to cells and cell combinations in order to represent print music notation. Here is an example from Music Braille Code, 2015:
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) braille is an alphabetic system originally created by the International Phonetic Association as a standard representation of spoken language sounds. It has undergone several revisions, and braille organizations have adjusted accordingly. The International Council on English Braille most recently updated the braille version in 2008. IPA braille is used primarily in textbooks for students and professionals in linguistics and related fields. Some examples of IPA symbols represented in braille include:
Foreign Languages
Two primary sources are used for braille transcription of foreign languages. The first is the 3rd edition of “World Braille Usage,” which the International Council on English Braille published in 2013. This volume contains specific braille symbols that are used in over 100 nations. In addition to the national list, it also contains a list of braille alphabets used in multiple countries, e.g., English, Spanish, and French.
The second source is the “Provisional Guidance for Transcribing Foreign Language Material in UEB,” which was approved for use by BANA in May 2015. The former is more likely to be used in the transcription of foreign language textbooks whereas the latter is used within context of English materials. The decision of using contracted or uncontracted braille depends upon the language being translated and the discretion of the agency requesting the translation.
SeeWriteHear offers braille transcription of many foreign languages. Translation tables are created for each language. SeeWriteHear can translate documents into Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Latin, among other languages. An example using uncontracted Spanish Braille:
Like many foreign languages, the Spanish alphabet contains accented letters. Just as a print letter with an accent appears differently than that same letter does without one, braille uses separate characters for accented and unaccented letters. Transcribed material in a foreign language, whether it occurs within English text or within a document that is primarily in a given language, accommodates accented letters and distinct punctuation marks such as upside-down question marks or exclamation points.
Tactile Graphics
Most textbooks and standardized tests contain graphic items such as charts, diagrams, and maps. Transcribing these items into a format that a braille reader can use and comprehend poses many challenges and decisions. To assist in tactile graphic development, BANA published a manual entitled “Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics, 2010” that has been periodically updated. It provides rules, examples, and recommendations for transcribing the most common types of graphics. Furthermore, it establishes guidelines for when to follow print and when to use transcriber’s notes to provide descriptions for occasions when a graphic is too visually oriented to depict in braille.
SeeWriteHear has personnel who are knowledgeable in the fields of both computerized graphic design and braille usage. Our graphics production system enables the mass production of complex graphics in a way that the braille reader can comprehend quickly and easily.