What is Braille ?

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Braille is a system of raised dots that can be read with the fingers by people who are blind or who have low vision.

Teachers, parents, and others who are not visually impaired ordinarily read braille with their eyes. Braille is not a language.

Rather, it is a code by which many languages—such as English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and dozens of others—may be written and read. Braille is used by thousands of people all over the world in their native languages, and provides a means of literacy for all.

The specific code used in the United States has been English Braille, American Edition but as of 2016 the main code for reading material is Unified English Braille, a code used in seven other English-speaking countries.

Braille symbols are formed within units of space known as braille cells.

A full braille cell consists of six raised dots arranged in two parallel rows each having three dots.

The dot positions are identified by numbers from one through six

Sixty-four combinations are possible using one or more of these six dots.

A single cell can be used to represent an alphabet letter, number, punctuation mark, or even a whole word.

This braille alphabet and numbers page illustrates what a cell looks like and how each dot is numbered.

Louis Braille was born in Coupvray, France, on January 4, 1809.

He attended the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, France, as a student. At that time, books were created using raised print which was laborious to produce, hard to read, and difficult for individuals to write. While attending the Institute, Braille yearned for more books to read.

. He experimented with ways to create an alphabet that was easy to read with the fingertips.

The writing system he invented, at age fifteen, evolved from the tactile "Ecriture Nocturne" (night writing) code invented by Charles Barbier for sending military messages that could be read on the battlefield at night, without light. Learn more about the creation of the braille code by exploring AFB's Louis Braille Online Museum.

When every letter of every word is expressed in braille, it is referred to as uncontracted braille.

Some books for young children are written in uncontracted braille although it is less widely used for reading material meant for adults.

However, many newly blinded adults find uncontracted braille useful for labeling personal or kitchen items when they are first learning braille.

The standard system used for reproducing most textbooks and publications is known as contracted braille

In this system cells are used individually or in combination with others to form a variety of contractions or whole words.

For example, in uncontracted braille the phrase you like him requires twelve cell spaces. It would look like this:

If written in contracted braille, this same phrase would take only six cell spaces to write.

This is because the letters y and l are also used for the whole words you and like respectively

Likewise, the word him is formed by combining the letters h and m. It would look like this: