{"id":1774,"date":"2022-08-15T00:07:51","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T00:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dayinterpreting.com\/blog\/?p=1774"},"modified":"2022-08-10T13:14:34","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T13:14:34","slug":"interesting-facts-about-braille","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dayinterpreting.com\/blog\/interesting-facts-about-braille\/","title":{"rendered":"Interesting Facts About Braille"},"content":{"rendered":"

At some point or other, we\u2019ve all heard about braille. But how much do we really know about it and its origins? There’s a whole new world waiting to be explored with the system. Keep reading this <\/span>Day Interpreting<\/span><\/a> post to find out some very interesting facts about braille.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Braille?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By definition, braille is a tactile system of reading and writing specially created for those who are blind or visually impaired. The characters in this writing system are made up of raised dots, more commonly referred to as code. There are 63 characters in all, each made up of between 1 to 6 characters that are arranged in a cell or matrix compiled of 6 positions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Braille is read by lightly passing your fingers over the paper\/page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The History of Braille<\/span><\/h2>\n

Initially, braille was invented as a form of communication to be used in the French military by Charles Barbier. It was a code called \u2018night writing.\u2019 As you might be able to guess, it was created for the soldiers to communicate without having to use words or any form of light. At this early stage of its development, night writing was a 12-dot system that would be condensed into half the amount later.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1824, a more simplified version of \u2018night writing\u2019 was invented called braille by 15 years old Louis Braille. He was blinded at the tender age of 3 from a terrible accident. Given his impairment and while he was still a student, Louis used Barbier\u2019s system as a reference to create his 6 dot system, which would later be named after him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The unique system that Louis developed consisted of 63 different dot patterns, and each character fits perfectly into a 6-dot cell. They were numbered downward both on the left and right to represent letters. Whenever the dots were preceded with specific numbered dots, they were considered to be numerals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Evolution of the System<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Of course, there are more specific and technical details that help braille come together as a form of communication. Braille first came into use in 1829 and was later revised and further developed in 1837. However, it wasn\u2019t until 1854 that it was officially adopted to be used in schools ( 2 years after Louis Braille passed away).<\/span><\/p>\n

Given that the braille system of reading and writing was invented in France, it wasn\u2019t until 1932 that a universal braille code was developed for English speakers. It was officially called Standard English Braille, grade 2.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, there have been other systems developed from braille. They are as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n