Remember how in two columns with three spots in each column we were able to build the letters A to J using only the spots ONE, TWO, FOUR and FIVE. Now we add THREE, and see what happens.
Braille Letters K to T
Setting the first ten letters in one column, we can see how by adding just one more dot to them we can build the next ten letters. All we need is the number THREE. This is what it looks like
- A=ONE – now add THREE and we have K=ONE THREE
- B=ONE TWO .................................................L=ONE TWO THREE
- C=ONE FOUR ..............................................M=ONE THREE FOUR
- D=ONE FOUR FIVE .....................................N=ONE THREE FOUR FIVE
- E=ONE FIVE ................................................. O=ONE THREE FIVE
- F=ONE TWO FOUR .....................................P=ONE TWO THREE FOUR
- G=ONE TWO FOUR FIVE ...........................Q=ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE
- H=ONE TWO FIVE .......................................R=ONE TWO THREE FIVE
- I=TWO FOUR ................................................S=TWO THREE FOUR
- J=TWO FOUR FIVE ......................................T=TWO THREE FOUR FIVE
Braille is Written With Dots
What would these letters look like if you laid them out in dots, as Braille is written? We saw with the first ten letters that G looks like a little box. We noticed that E and I are slopes going in opposite directions. So we look at the second list of letters, K to T. We notice that L is ONE TWO THREE, making it look like the letter. Maybe some other patterns suggest something that will help you remember.
Braille Letters U to Z
By adding number SIX to the list in the same way, we can complete the alphabet. It looks like this:
- K=ONE THREE – now add SIX and we have U=ONE THREE SIX
- L=ONE TWO THREE ..........................................V=ONE TWO THREE SIX
- M=ONE THREE FOUR ...Here the logic seems to break down because adding SIX will not produce W. This is because Louis Braille, who invented this writing system, was French and French does not have a W. (Modern French has W for foreign words and names.) So we continue with our list:
- M=ONE THREE FOUR .......................................X=ONE THREE FOUR SIX
- N=ONE THREE FOUR FIVE ..............................Y=ONE THREE FOUR FIVE SIX
- O=ONE THREE FIVE ..........................................Z=ONE THREE FIVE SIX
So what about W?
W=TWO FOUR FIVE SIX.
When you draw this with dots in the usual Braille way, you will see that W is the reverse of R. Remember this by spelling words with WR, such as WRITING, and WRIST, or even separated like WORLD .
Braille A to Z and You are Ready to Use Your Secret Code
Go back to "Braille as a Secret Code: Part One – Writing Braille Letters" and review the words that used only the first ten letters of the alphabet. Kids can use this way of speaking out letters to confuse adults and other kids. Spelling out words is a trick adults use to keep kids from understanding what they're talking about. Now kids can turn the tables. Only now, instead of using the letters, or even a simple code like A=1, B=2, and so on, they can now use the numbers assigned by the Braille alphabet.
Make up your own messages, but first practise your abilities with this sentence that uses all the letters of the alphabet. If you spell this out, you can spell out anything.
"The quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog." Begin: TWO THREE FOUR FIVE, ONE TWO FIVE, ONE FIVE. That spells "the." Now do the rest.
More Than Letters
Knowing the first ten letters of the alphabet, you already know numbers. With a simple # symbol, represented by THREE FOUR FIVE SIX, blind people can identify the coming dots as numbers. But there is also the matter of punctuation. And common words have abbreviations that a fluent blind reader would expect to encounter in a Braille communication. Capital letters are preceded by the SIX dot.
Help the Blind Read and Write Braille
Sighted volunteers can be a big help when someone is learning to read and write Braille. Playing the secret code game is only a beginning. If the blind person needs to write in Braille, for school or for keeping a journal or taking notes, etc., there are three ways to do that. One is by computer.
Writing Braille by Hand
There are, however, other writing tools for the blind. The simplest and cheapest is the slate and awl. The slate is a strip of plastic that resembles a ruler, except that it is actually two strips hinged at one side. The lower strip has dents in blocks of six, and the upper strip folds over to guide the writer to poke the awl in straight lines in the boxes. The writer inserts paper (special card paper, or – in a pinch – construction paper) between the two strips and writes in Braille. The trick is that with this system it is necessary to write BACKWARDS! So all the letters you learned above, you now have to reverse them and write from right to left.
Typing Braille on a Brailler
A brailler is a machine that resembles an old-fashioned typewriter. The card paper is inserted in the roller and the typist places fingers on the keys. The keys do not have letters on them, nor are they set up in the usual QUERTY system. Instead there are only six keys, each one representing one of the spots in that six-dot box we learned about above.
The typist presses one key, using his left index finger for A, for example, however he needs to press both index fingers to produce C. Soon the student will identify fingers with dot numbers and the typing will progress quite quickly. It's easier to learn to type with a brailler than it is with a regular computer keyboard.
Challenge for Volunteer
If you thought it would be difficult writing backwards using the slate and awl, dictating to the blind typist using a brailler is a bigger challenge. Assuming you are sitting opposite the student, you will be dictating words, sentences, etc., and naturally you will be watching to see that he is getting it right. That means you will be reading Braille UPSIDE DOWN and BACKWARDS!
Just remember, even that is easier than learning to read Braille with your fingers.
Source: Instruction Manual for Braille Transcribing, by Maxine B. Dore, Head, Volunteer Services Section and Earl R. Scharry, Braille Advisor; Division for the Blind and Physically Handicapped; Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 20542, 1979.
Diane Jones - Diane has a BA in linguistics, a Masters in Education (both from the University of British Columbia and a certificate in Christian Studies ...
