Braille is a method of reading by touch, not by sight. Although this method is mostly used by those with visual impairments, people with normal vision can learn how to read Braille. You may think of Braille as a language, but actually Braille is more accurately described as a code. Almost all languages have a Braille code, as well as certain disciplines such as music, mathematics, and computers.
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Method 1 of 3: Learning the Letters of the Alphabet
Step 1. Find Braille learning material
It doesn't matter whether you are visually impaired or not, there is a wealth of material available for free that can help you learn Braille code until you can read by touch. Look for non-profit organizations dedicated to the visually impaired. Special schools for the blind also usually provide subject matter that can be accessed by anyone.
- The Hadley Institute for the Visually Impaired offers distance courses in reading Braille. This course is free for those with visual impairments. Visit https://hadley.edu/brailleCoursesFAQ.asp to find out the availability of the course schedule.
- You can also buy Braille blocks and toys online to learn Braille. This method is especially helpful for blind children.
Step 2. Memorize combinations of 6 dots per Braille cell
Each Braille cell consists of six raised dots, three rows with two dots. All points are the same distance. The dot on the top left is numbered “1”, the dot below it is “2”, and the dot on the bottom in the first column is “3.” The dots in the second column are numbered “4”, “5”, and “6 in a row from top to bottom. Each Braille letter or symbol consists of a unique combination of periods and blank spaces or spaces.
- Braille letters printed for people with normal vision may have "shadow dots" in the empty space that serve to help people see the position of the dots easily. Braille for the visually impaired has no shadow points.
- To read Braille by touch, your fingers must be sensitive enough. Most adults usually have fingers that are sensitive enough to read Braille. If your finger sensitivity has been affected by an injury or health condition, you can use "jumbo" dotted Braille.
Step 3. Start with the first 10 letters of the alphabet
In Braille code, the first 10 letters of the alphabet are the basis that will form all letters. These letters only use 4 dots in each cell. Imagining how the dots are numbered and how they relate to the positions of the letters in the alphabet will help you learn Braille more easily.
- The letter a has only 1 dot. This makes sense because a is the first letter in the alphabet. Likewise with the letter b which has a dot 1 and a dot 2, to represent the second letter in the alphabet. The letter c has dots 1 and dot 4. The letter d has dots 1, 4, and 5. The letter e has dots 1 and 5.
- The letter f has dots 1, 2, and 4. The letter g has dots 1, 2, 4, and 5 – the top 4 dots are all full. The letter h has dots 1, 2, and 5. You can imagine g by adding a dot 3 to the letter f, then the letter h by removing the dot 4 from the letter g.”
- Unlike the previous 8 letters, the letters i and j do not have dots 1. The letter i has dots 2 and 4. The letter j has dots 2, 4, and 5.
Step 4. Add dots 3 to form the letters k to t
Braille code follows a separate pattern. The next 10 letters in the alphabet are formed by repeating the same dots as the first 10 letters, then adding 3 dots to each letter to form a new letter.
For example, the letter k has 2 dots: the dot 1 makes up the letter a plus a dot 3. Keep in mind that the letter l, with dots 1, 2, and 3, actually looks like a lowercase version of the letter it represents
Step 5. Add points 6 to form u, v, x, y, and z
As for the other letters (except w), take the letters k to o and add a dot 6. Leave out the letter w because the pattern doesn't match the other letters.
- The letter u has dots 1 and 3 of the letter k, plus a dot 6. The letter v has dots 1, 2, and 3 of the letter l, plus a dot 6.
- Since we're still ignoring w, the next letter is x, which has dots 1, 3, and 4 of the letter m, plus a dot 6. The letter y has dots 1, 3, 4, and 5 of the letter n, plus a dot 6. The letter z has dots 1, 3, and 5 of the letter o, plus dot 6.
Step 6. Learn the letter w separately
The letter w is the only letter that doesn't match the pattern. This is because the Braille code was created by a French man, Louis Braille in 1860. At that time, there was no w in the French alphabet so this letter was not included in the Braille code.
The letter w has dots 2 on the left side, and dots 4, 5, and 6 on the right
Method 2 of 3: Understanding Punctuation and Symbols
Step 1. Capital letters are preceded by one cell with a dot 6
Braille does not have a separate code for capital letters. A cell with only a dot 6 in front of a word indicates that the first letter of the word is capitalized.
If 2 cells with only 6 dots are in front of a word, it means that all letters in that word are capitalized
Step 2. Derive the first 10 letters for common punctuation
Braille codes for the first 10 letters of the alphabet are also used to create the most common punctuation marks you will encounter in written work. The same code is just relegated to the bottom of the cell.
- A comma in Braille has a dot 2. You can also think of it as an a lined down one line.
- The semicolon in Braille has dots 2 and 3. You can think of it as the letter b down one line. Colons in Braille have dots 2 and 5.
- A period in Braille has dots 2, 5, and 6. Braille dots are also used as decimal points. If there are 3 Braille dots together, it represents an ellipsis.
- Exclamation marks have dots 2, 3, and 5, while question marks have periods 2, 3, and 6.
- Quotation marks have 2 cells. The first cell indicates whether the quote is single or double quote, and the second cell indicates whether the quote is open or closed. For single quotes, the first cell has a period 6. For double quotes, the first cell has periods 3 and 4. Open quotes have periods 2, 3, and 6 (remember that this is exactly the same as a question mark). The closing quotation marks have dots 3, 5, and 6.
Step 3. Recognize when the first 10 letters are used to denote numbers
The Braille code for the first 10 letters of the alphabet also represents the numbers you might encounter in a sentence or text. If so, usually these letters will be preceded by a special numeric sign (dots 3, 4, 5, and 6).
- The letter a is the number 1, and so on until the letter i, which is the number 9. The letter j is used for the number 0.
- There will only be 1 number mark, no matter how big the number is.
- The use of commas and periods (for decimal points) in Braille numbers is the same as they are used in writing numbers in English. Mathematical commas have 6 dots, in contrast to literary commas which have 2 dots.
- In Nemeth's mathematical code, which is used in math texts and nonfiction works, the code for the first 10 letters of the alphabet is passed down to the bottom of the Braille cell.
Step 4. Learn the punctuation symbols in the Nemeth number code
Nemeth number codes and common punctuation symbols are no different. If punctuation follows a mathematical expression, the punctuation symbol usually precedes the punctuation mark. This symbol tells you to read it as a punctuation mark, and not as a number symbol.
Punctuation symbols have dots 4, 5, and 6. These symbols usually precede punctuation marks such as colons, periods, quotation marks, question marks, exclamation points, commas, and semicolons
Method 3 of 3: Recognizing Contractions and Abbreviations
Step 1. Recognize single cell contractions
For some of the most common contractions, a combination of a single letter and a period is used to replace a whole word. The goal is to save space and make reading easier.
One whole cell (all 6 dots) means for. If all dots are present except for point 5, it means that the word in question is and. The dots 2, 3, 4, and 6 together represent the word the
Step 2. Read one letter apart as a word
There are many common words that are represented by a single letter in the alphabet. Usually it is the first letter of the word, though not all of them are. For example, the Braille code for the letter z can be used to represent the word as.
- The letter b is used for the word but, and the letter c is used for the word can.
- Some of these abbreviations are also used in short message language. For example, the letter v represents the word very.
Step 3. Learn the combinations of letters combined in 1 cell
Many common letter combinations are compressed into 1 cell to save space and avoid repetition. It also includes common endings, such as -ed and -ing, as well as double consonants such as ch and sh.
A chart, such as the one you can view at https://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com/uploads/1/4/1/2/14122361/ueb_braille_chart.pdf, can help you memorize contractions so that they can improve your reading
Step 4. Continue studying abbreviations
Braille not only uses contractions, but also uses a lot of abbreviated words. Some of these abbreviations are so intuitive that they are easy to understand when compared to others. Using a chart can help you memorize any abbreviations you think are important to know. Then add your memorization each week as you study it.
- For example, the Braille code for the letters b and l is used to represent the word blind.
- Some word abbreviations use contractions along with other letters. For example, the contraction for be (dots 2 and 3) plus the letter c (dots 1 and 4) represents the word because.
