He uses 6 letter braille. Braille. From creation to innovation. Technology of teaching writing

Braille is the name of the alphabet that is used for reading by blind or visually impaired people. It is also called a font for the blind. This alphabet looks like raised dots on the surface of a sheet. By touching the symbols, you can “read” the letters. This method of reading provides an opportunity for people with low vision to receive education, learn new information, and communicate with others through writing. This system is applicable not only for books, but also for digital devices.

What is Braille?

The name of the alphabet comes from the name of its creator - Louis Braille.

This is raised writing, necessary for blind people. The characters used in Braille are encoded characters of the alphabet. For each sign there is a specific position of the convexities on the sheet. They are placed in 2 columns in 3 different positions. A certain combination of dots denotes one of the characters. In this way the words can be “read”. This method of reading develops a sense of literacy and punctuality in people who have lost their sight.

Font Features

The six-point font allows you to write 64 different characters.

The pillboxes are numbered from top to bottom: pillbox 1 is on the top right, numbers 2 and 3 are located below, number 4 is on the top left, and 5 and 6 are below it. Initially, there were only 6 convex dots, but later numbers 7 and 8 were added. On one sheet (page size is 23 by 31 centimeters) there are 25 lines. Each of them contains from 22 to 25 characters.

To quickly master the language for the blind, the pillboxes are placed at the following distance from each other:

• vertically - 3.75 mm;
• horizontally 5 millimeters.

For mechanical typesetting, a special printing machine is used. Symbols are applied to paper using a plate on which the symbols are depicted. There are 6 keys required for typing. There are separate keys for spaces, dots and backtracking. If a letter is formed using two characters, then the keys with the image are pressed simultaneously.

Disadvantages and advantages

The alphabet for the blind is difficult to learn, since an incorrect symbol changes the meaning of what is written. But knowledge of the Braille alphabet makes it possible for the blind to achieve maximum adaptation in society. A distinctive feature of the alphabet for blind people is that on the first page the text is read from right to left, and on the second - in reverse order. This makes it difficult to read.

The production of embossed books is a labor-intensive and lengthy process.

Texts generally do not use capital letters, spaces after commas, or dashes. Therefore, to correctly type text on a computer, they undergo preliminary training. This causes additional difficulties when communicating online. In addition, texts written in Braille are large, but the speed of text comprehension is low.

If you are asking, “What is the name of the language of the blind?”, then this is a little incorrect. Think for yourself - blind people lack vision, not speech or hearing. Therefore, they do not have their own special language for communication. Blind people speak the same language as the sighted people around them.

But, of course, you meant something completely different and we understand you. However, for the sake of clarity, let's formulate the question more correctly:

What is the name of the method when people “read with their fingers” what is written with “pimples”? 🙂

Did we understand you correctly? If yes, then get acquainted:

ABC Braille (or Braille)

Braille alphabet (or Braille, or “language of the blind”) is a relief-dot tactile font. It is intended for writing and reading by blind and visually impaired people.

It greatly facilitates learning and communication for the blind, and is also used to provide care for them.

Examples of using

Story

Interestingly, the history of Braille does not begin with Braille :). During the time of Napoleon there was such a military man - Charles Barbier. In the army, he worked on the problems of encrypting messages, and at the request of Napoleon in 1808 he developed the so-called “night alphabet” - a method of encoding messages that allowed recipients to read the texts of messages “blindly” - in the dark (without lighting a fire) and silently.

In 1820, Barbier approached the director of the Paris National School for Blind Children, Guillet, with a proposal to demonstrate the “night alphabet” for the school students, but Guillet reacted very coolly to Barbier’s proposal. The next year, Barbier made the same proposal to the next director of the school, Pigneur, who reacted more favorably to the inventor's proposal. Barbier spoke to the students and invited them to use sheets of paper with inscriptions written in the night alphabet to communicate. Barbier's alphabet was well received by the students as the Gaüy notation system they used was much more difficult to use than simple dot patterns.

Barbier also provided tools for writing texts for the blind - a special writing board and a sharp tool for making dots.

Among the presentation participants was a 12-year-old boy, Louis Braille. At the age of three, he injured himself in his father’s workshop with a saddlery knife (similar to an awl); This caused inflammation of the eyes and the boy lost his sight.

Louis considered the Barbier alphabet very promising and made a number of proposals for its modification - in particular, he proposed reducing the Barbier matrix of 6 × 6 rows to 6 dots in 2 rows to make it easier to tangibly write. But Barbier was hostile to the boy’s idea and rejected his proposals.

Three years later, Louis Braille developed his own dotted relief font, which subsequently became widespread throughout the world.

Apparently Louis Braille was a Christian. In December 1851, his health condition deteriorated significantly. But he remained calm, convinced that his earthly mission was over. Before his death he told his friends -

“The Lord willed that the blinding splendor of eternal hope should always stand before my eyes.”

How the font itself works

Braille uses six dots to represent letters. The points are arranged in two columns. When writing, the dots are pierced, and since you can only read from the raised dots, you have to “write” the text on the back side of the sheet. The text is written from right to left, then the page is turned and the text is read from left to right.

For the reader, the points are numbered in columns, from left to right and in rows from top to bottom. For someone writing on an upside-down page, the numbering looks different: point 1 is in the upper right corner, below it is point 2, in the lower left corner is point 6.

Later, two more dots were added: dot 7 under dot 3 and dot 8 under dot 6. This system became known as the extended braille system.

Using traditional (six-dot) Braille, you can write 64 different characters: 63 informational and one space. In extended (eight-point) Braille there are 256 characters: 255 informative and one space.

The height of the convex dot is 0.5 mm, which is enough to recognize the dot by touch. The diameter of the point is 1.2 mm. The distance between dots is 2.5 mm, the distance between characters is 2.3 mm horizontally and 3.8 mm vertically.

To indicate lowercase and uppercase letters, special characters are placed in front of the desired letters.

To change the style of the text (bold, semibold, italic), when writing a superscript and a subscript, when writing a mathematical root, special characters are placed before and after the text: one character is placed at the beginning of the text, the other at the end.

Alphabet symbols and writing examples

What you need to start writing in Braille

To write in Braille, use a special paper - it is thicker than office paper. Its formats are different in different countries - it depends on the established traditions of printing in a particular country. The sheet of Braille book, traditional for the post-Soviet space, has a size of 23 by 31 cm. It includes 25 lines of 30 or 32 Braille characters in each.

When writing Braille characters, special writing instruments are used - device and stylus.

Photo of the device and stylus

It is, of course, better to start learning to write in Braille with a teacher. Especially if the teacher himself is blind, constantly uses this font and can easily and clearly explain, show - convey his experience to others.

Blindness is a condition that occurs when there is complete loss of vision in both eyes. A person stops feeling light and seeing anything. A similar condition can be caused by loss of the ability to navigate the environment (everyday blindness) and the inability to do one’s work with the help of others (professional blindness).

Causes

Impairment or loss of vision can be caused by various factors. The consequences of intrauterine diseases or fetal malformations lead to congenital blindness. Vision loss affects children under ten years of age and adults over fifty years of age. This is due to the fact that the child either already has congenital blindness or acquires it due to eye diseases or injuries. Mature people go blind due to vascular diseases or the appearance of glaucoma. In the latter case, corneal transplant surgery may help restore vision.

Employment of disabled people

Despite physical limitations, blind people in Russia have the opportunity to express themselves in various professions. Their employment is carried out by the Society of the Blind, which also carries out cultural, political and educational work among people with disabilities. The centers of their government are located in Moscow and other large cities. Special books in Braille and with flat characters give blind people the opportunity to learn to read, write, and print.

Pedagogical process

In Russia, education for blind and visually impaired children is mandatory. Schools accept students with vision between 0.05 and 0.2. To teach children in this category, magnifying glasses and other techniques are used that improve vision. In addition, a font with enlarged letters is used. Specialized schools accept children who are completely blind and with vision up to 0.05. Teaching using different methods and visual aids emphasizes hearing and touch. Libraries for the blind have audio and regular publications, as well as special signs in Braille. For the blind (the largest institution of this type in our country) there are specialized manuals. This, in particular, includes not only the publications mentioned above, but also a huge collection of three-dimensional relief models that allow people with vision loss to recognize the types of different objects and feel them.

Use of computer electronic devices

An alternative option to replace printed publications is audiobooks. With their help, you can listen to dramatizations (with pauses, in sections) and performances on a digital player. Volunteers also make their contribution by creating audiobooks on special websites that are free for listening and distribution. Various vision replacement devices are being produced and developed. The model of visual-substituting devices (the "Tactile Vision" project) is a new patented means of encoding and transmitting a signal. Publications that use Braille (Russian), a keyboard and a display help people with disabilities work with texts, creating and editing them. A special program based on a speech generator, with the help of which information is read from the screen, also makes a great contribution to the fulfilling life of blind people.

Braille

This is a special system of teaching reading and writing for the blind. It was developed in 1824. Frenchman Louis Braill, the son of a shoemaker, lost his sight at the age of three due to an inflamed eye after being wounded by an awl. At the age of fifteen, he created a method for tracing and reading letters. Subsequently, it was named after the name of its creator.

The Braille font for the blind differed from the linear type of characters written by Valentin Gayuya. The boy was inspired to create it by the “night method”, developed by artillery captain Charles Barbier for reading military reports in the dark. The disadvantage of Barbier's system was that the characters were too large, limiting their number on the page. Using braille printing, blind people learn to write and read. This method helps develop grammar, punctuation, and spelling skills. In addition, using this method, blind or visually impaired people can become familiar with graphs and complex diagrams.

Structure

What is Braille? How does writing and reading happen? Letters in Braille are represented by six dots divided into exactly two columns. The text is read from right to left, and on the next page it already goes from left to right. However, there is a certain difficulty in perceiving this font. It consists in the fact that the text is read on the back page by the bulges from the marks pierced on the other side. The points are numbered from top to bottom in columns and are read first from the right, then from the left. How does this happen? The upper right corner is the location of point 1. Below it is 2. The lower right corner is occupied by 3. At the top left is the location of 4, then below is 5, and in the lower left corner is 6.

Some typhlopedagogues suggested swapping 1 and 3, but their proposal was not supported. Later, expanding the Braille font (Russian, in particular), they added 7 under 3 and 8 under 6. A cell without a puncture is a specific symbol. There are generally accepted standards for the size of points and the distances between them and the columns. The minimum mark height sufficient for recognition is 0.5 mm. 2.5 is the gap between punctures; 3.75 mm horizontally, 5 mm vertically is the distance between the cells. This structure allows a blind person to quickly and easily master reading skills, easily recognizing signs by touch.

Braille texts come in different formats. But traditional for Russia is a sheet that includes twenty-five lines of thirty and thirty-two characters each with a total size of twenty-three by thirty-one centimeters. For people with vision loss, raised dot Braille is the only way they can learn to write and read. With these skills, people with disabilities not only become literate and independent, but also gain employment opportunities.

How is the system used?

Braille includes 63 informative characters and a space (64th). The extended system contains 255 characters. It, like the regular one, also contains a space. Since the total number of different combinations of points is limited, multicellular symbols are often used. They consist of several signs, which individually have their own functions. Additional characters (numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet) may also be used. Each sign combination has several meanings, the number of which can exceed ten.

Braille is applied to paper using special writing instruments - a special device and a stylus. For this reason, any changes in the configuration, highlighting, size, or shape of letters are impossible. It is customary to highlight characters using special characters. They are placed before capital and small letters. If there are different types of fonts, these signs are installed before and after the highlighted words or parts of the sentence. The mathematical root, superscript and subscript symbol are highlighted on both sides. To create text or part of it in italics, it is placed between special marks - conditional tags. Here we can note some similarities with the html system. It also uses tags.

Grammatical features

Braille has characteristic features in terms of its construction. They consist in changing some Therefore, a blind person who has learned to write thanks to this system (“Brailist”) will begin to make certain mistakes when working on a regular computer that is not adapted for the disabled. Braille differs from regular Braille in the following ways:

Capital letters are ignored;

There is no space after the comma or before the dash;

There is no space separating the number sign and the number;

The same notation is used for similar characters (the dash and hyphen are the only punctuation marks in the system).

Such grammatical errors are normal in Braille writing. A blind person will tolerate them until he undergoes special additional training.

System value

Using various combinations of dots in one cell, Braille writing reproduces alphabetic, numerical, and musical symbols. The notations of this system are used to write foreign words and letters, computer and mathematical symbols, and equations. Braille is an effective tool for developing grammar, punctuation, and spelling skills for blind people. Also, this system simply and clearly describes graphs and diagrams that are very difficult to describe verbally.

Benefit

Having mastered the Braille font, a blind child can begin to get acquainted with and work on a computer with a special display and a special printer. The text is read with the index finger of one or both hands. Perceived by touch, it is quickly understood due to the lightness and compactness of the signs. This manual is designed to teach sighted people the Braille system at home. This will provide an opportunity to build communication with blind family members, write them notes or leave a phone number. It is also important that sighted people will learn to read what is written for them by someone who was trained in the Braille system. It will be possible to communicate without the mediation of others. This manual can be successfully used by school teachers and rehabilitation specialists.

Outline method

As mentioned above, Braille came up with a way of tactile reading for blind and visually impaired people. This principle of obtaining information is based on a set of six marks (cell). They are arranged in two rows of three characters. Points located in different orders within a cell form semantic units. The signs follow in a certain order: on the left 1, 2, 3 from top to bottom, and the right column is the same - 4, 5, 6.

This is how Braille font is actually formed. How to learn this method?

Technology

A braille device and a stylus, a typewriter - these are the devices that are used to write letters for the blind. A sheet of paper placed between two metal or plastic plates of the device is clamped by them. The upper part has rows of rectangular windows, and the lower part has a recess corresponding to each window. The plate cell is similar to the Braille cell. The mark is formed by the pressure of the stylus on the paper. When squeezed, the indentations in the bottom plate produce certain symbols. Entries are printed from right to left because the text to be reproduced will be on the other side of the sheet. The column with numbers 1, 2, 3 is located on the right side, and 4, 5, 6 on the left. A braille typewriter consists of six keys. They correspond to 6 points in a cell. In addition, the typewriter has a shaft handle for line feed, as well as “return” and “space”. The keys with which the sign is formed are pressed simultaneously. Thus, each pressure corresponds to a letter.

From the "space" on the right and left sides there are three keys. Let's look at how clicks are made. Use the index finger of your left hand to press the key next to the space bar. It represents point 1. You need to press the key on the left. Using the middle finger of the same hand, draw point 2. To do this, press the center key. It follows after the one that corresponds to point 1. The nameless ones press the last key. It corresponds to point 3. The fingers of the right hand press the keys on the opposite side. The first one, located directly next to the “space”, corresponds to point 4. Press it with the index finger. The next one corresponds to point 5. You should press it with your middle finger. The last key corresponds to point 6. Press it with the ring finger. Thus, both hands are used when drawing. "Space" is placed with the thumb. Typed text can be read without turning over the sheet of paper.

Conclusion

Mastering the Braille system will require some effort. A mark carelessly placed in the wrong place can change the numbers in a phone number, for example. But the effort spent on learning fonts for the blind will not be wasted. The main thing is to set a goal and strive for high results.

Master class on the topic: How to learn Braille History of discovery

Braille is a writing system that allows blind and visually impaired people to read and write by touch.

The typeface was invented by Louis Braille (1809-1852), who himself lost his sight and became a teacher of blind people. It consists of relief points located in cells - up to six points in total, which are placed in two columns, three points in each. Each cell represents a letter, number, or punctuation mark. Some frequently used words or letter combinations have their own symbols.

The font was invented Louis Braille at the age of 15, in 1824.

Predecessors of L. Braille:

raised linear font - creator - Valentin Gayuy

Louis took into account such a disadvantage of the “night font” as the large size of the characters, which limits the number of characters per page.

Advantages of raised dot font

The small size of the signs and a good ratio of width and height (3/5) make it possible to completely place the sign under your finger and provide holistic And one-time perception.

A small number of dots in the sign and sufficient sizes for their tactile perception create favorable conditions for distinguishing letters.

The perception of the point composition of each sign contributes to the occurrence of quite strong irritations in the skin receptor and the formation tactile perception letters in general.

Description of the system (“Braille Key”)

The Braille key is the generally accepted order of the Braille system characters.

The Braille system is based on hexagon.

This is a set of six raised dots arranged in two vertical rows of three dots each.

The number of possible combinations of points in the hexagon is equal to 64 .

One six dot corresponds to one character.

The hexa dots are arranged in a row, forming a line; the distance between the extreme points of two adjacent hexa dots is approx. 4 mm.

Points are numbered from top to bottom in columns.

When recording, points are numbered in reverse order - first along the right column, then along the left:

point 1 is in the upper right corner, below it is point 2, in the lower right corner is point 3

in the upper left corner is point 4, below it is point 5, in the lower left is point 6.

An important feature of the system is "mirroring" reading and writing processes.

To get relief dots on a sheet of paper, you need to apply them from the back of the sheet.

To read a sequence of characters from left to right, you should write from right to left(the same signs when writing and when reading will be a mirror image of each other).

What and how do you write in Braille?

To write using the Braille system use:

a special device that contains a plate with recesses;

“stylus” - a sharp metal rod;

special thick paper.

A braille writing device consists of metal plates. One plate - the bottom - is solid, the other - the top - has many rectangular holes cut in rows. A folded device is called “closed”. “Opening the instrument” means removing the top plate (called the “lid”).

There are two short sharp pins on the top and bottom edges of the cover, and four indentations in the corresponding places in the bottom plate. A sheet of paper inserted into an open device is covered with a lid, the pins pierce the sheet and fix it motionless in the device.

Leads for writing

The stylus is a sharply sharpened metal rod with a handle. Now the handles are made of plastic, previously they were made of cast iron.

The stylus is grasped with the thumb and middle fingers, and the index finger is placed in the recess on top of the stylus (“saddle”).

By bending the wrist joint, the writer makes indentations in the sheet of paper with the tip of the stylus. Leads are made in different sizes, for example, for children.

Writing paper

Only specially made very thick paper is used.

To write in a conventional writing device, a wide sheet of paper is folded in half, and one writes first on one half of the sheet, then on the other.

Currently, they mainly use ready-made notebooks and notepads in paper or plastic covers.

Printed publications

A braille book usually contains between 120 and 200 pages. These books are of impressive size;

the text of one flat-printed book does not fit into one “braille” book; sometimes this requires 20 embossed books and even more!

At the beginning, the text is typed (usually scanned) on a computer. The embossed pages are then stamped onto a sheet of metal. These sheets are used as a matrix, extruding pages onto paper .

Training simulators:

"Braille block"

Designed for teaching the Braille system. Using the “mushroom” pins on the bar, you can type numbers, letters and words. The bar is made of wood, the pins are made of plastic.

Game simulators for training

Memorization technique - “parallel reading”

Why learn Braille?

For the normal formation of a child’s psyche, written speech is of no small importance.

Children who lose their sight at an early age or are born blind, upon reaching school age, end up in specialized schools for the blind, where they are taught to write and read using Braille.

Parents of such children can help their child learn to read earlier if they themselves study this method of writing. However, for sighted people, as well as for late-blind people, learning the alphabet, as a rule, is difficult, since ordinary writing requires smooth movements, and Braille is written with greater sharpness.

Louis Braille created a system that allows a blind person to receive an education and cope with many tasks independently, and thereby made a serious contribution to the development of typhlopsychology (a branch of psychology that studies the development of blind and visually impaired people).

Braille is a unique reading system created for blind people and those with serious vision problems. The essence of the font is that the patient recognizes letters and symbols using tactile sensations. Each sign is a combination of dots located on a smooth surface. This technique allows blind and visually impaired people to work and communicate with friends.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, a unique font for the military was invented in France. Its main purpose was to convey important information to soldiers in conditions of pitch darkness; it was not for nothing that it was originally called the “night letter.” With the help of the font, it was possible to read the message without using lighting, so as not to attract the attention of enemies again and not to give away one’s location.

The invention was a smooth board on which convex dots were applied. There were thirty-six sounds per twelve tubercles. However, the technique did not catch on because the military considered it too complex a system.

The founder of the “night letter” was not deterred by failure; in 1821 he took his invention to the Royal Institute for the Blind. Louis Braille became interested in the innovation, but he noticed a number of disadvantages in the encryption. The first and most significant drawback is the inability to write something using the innovative alphabet, since it only includes sounds.

Braille decided to improve the technique by combining six dots to represent each letter from the French alphabet. In Russia, the first publication created using the unique Braille system was a children's book. It was released in 1885.

The improved alphabet has acquired three levels of complexity, depending on the skills of a blind or visually impaired person:

• For beginners. The alphabet includes all sounds and punctuation marks;
• The most popular option is the alphabet, where abbreviations are used to save space on the board;
• Less commonly encountered are systems in which words are reduced to just a few letters or even one symbol.

How the font works

The global alphabet for the blind is a tablet on which six raised dots are arranged vertically in two rows. You need to read from right to left on the first sheet, on the second the direction changes. The main drawback of the alphabet, which causes difficulties for many beginners, is the numbering of convexities, which goes from top to bottom. You must first read the points in the right column, then in the left. This principle significantly complicates the process of reading the back of the plate.

In addition to the unique order of the bulges, it is assumed that certain parameters are used for the points and a specific distance between them.

Compliance with these norms makes it easier to become familiar with the alphabet and speeds up the process of mastering it.

Features of grammar

Braille orthography has unique font features that violate conventional grammatical rules. These include:

• Uppercase characters are not counted;
• There is no space after the comma and before the dash;
• Short (dash) and long (hyphen) dashes are designated identically.

If a visually impaired or blind person has to work with a computer and type text on it, then special preparatory courses will be required to minimize errors.

Latin letters and numbers

Cyrillic

Advantages and disadvantages

Like any technique, the Braille system has its pros and cons. The first include the following points:

• Ease and simplicity to learn and use;
• Opportunity for a blind person to receive a good education;
• A chance to keep in touch with friends and relatives at a distance;
• Thanks to the ability to obtain all the necessary data, a blind patient’s level of self-esteem significantly increases;
• Easy to create a text message;
• A blind person gets a chance to get a good job;
• Opportunity to engage in social and useful work.

Among the disadvantages, users note such qualities as:

• Low reading speed;
• Large amount of written material.