The Braille Cell
The English Braille Alphabet
Braille alphabets can differ across languages, but there is an overall general goal to have uniformity across Braille as much as possible. On the left, the picture shows the Unified English Braille (UEB) Alphabet. Braille is code for languages, but is not a language by itself.
There are two types of Braille in English, there is Grade 1 Braille, which is uncontracted, and Grade 2 Braille which is contracted. One purpose of contracted Braille is to "decrease the number of cells to read, therefore making reading and writing faster" (Mahurin). An important note is that there is not a set standard for who uses which type of Braille. This often depends on the person's literacy level when learning Braille. Some may only learn Grade 1, while others may learn both at the same time (Mahurin). |