Today, millions of people around the world use braille to read and write. But before braille existed, people with visual impairments had to struggle through complicated systems.
Braille, often called “the alphabet for the blind”, is a system of raised dots that lets people who are blind or have low vision read with their fingers. Teachers, parents and other sighted people usually read braille with their eyes. Braille is not a language; it is a code used to write and read many languages such as English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and many more. Braille is used by thousands of people around the world in their own mother tongue, and it is a route to literacy for everyone.
Today, both Thai and English braille are taught in schools for the blind, giving far more people access to education and much wider communication — and in some subjects, blind students can even study alongside sighted classmates. Braille also appears in public places and on electronic equipment; our wheelchair lift is likewise designed with disabled users in mind. In this article, let’s look at what braille is, how it is read, and the history behind it.
Braille on the lift control buttons from Cibes Lift
1. Who Invented Braille?
Braille was developed by Louis Braille in France in the 1820s. Two hundred years later, his code still has an enormous impact on the lives of blind and low-vision people.
Thai braille appeared for the first time in 1939 (B.E. 2482), created by a blind American lady named Miss Genevieve Caulfield together with a group of Thai colleagues. She was no ordinary blind woman — she is the reason blind people in Thailand have what they have today: schooling, knowledge, employment and a better future than before.
2. How Was Braille Invented?
In Paris, France, as a student. At that time books were produced with embossed print, which was laborious to make, hard to read and difficult for an individual to write. While attending the institute, Braille longed for more books to read, so he experimented with ways of creating letters that could be read easily with the fingertips. The writing system he invented at the age of fifteen grew out of the tactile code “ Ecriture Nocturne ” (night writing), devised by Charles Barbier so that military messages could be read on the battlefield at night without any light.
The 2 Types of Braille
1. Uncontracted Braille
Uncontracted braille is the basic form of braille, and it is mostly used by people who are learning braille. It uses all 26 letters and spells out each word in braille letter by letter.
2. Contracted Braille
Contracted braille, also known as Literary Braille, uses a shorthand system in which a single character may stand for a whole word or phrase. This type of braille is normally the one used in public places.
3. Who Uses Braille?
Braille is generally used by blind people and by those with partial sight. You can learn braille at any age. Braille matters enormously to blind people as a route to literacy, and it has the power to promote intellectual freedom, equal opportunity and personal security.
Teaching braille to young children is important because it is a far better way to help them grasp concepts such as spelling, punctuation and grammar than listening to audiobooks alone.
4. How Is Braille Written and Read?
Braille is a medium for teaching and learning for people with visual impairments. It takes the form of raised dots in each cell, six dots in total, and those six dots are arranged into the various codes. Braille is written as follows.
The 2 Braille Writing Tools
Slate
The board used to punch braille dots into paper. It is laid out as a grid, and every cell holds six dots. Slates come in several forms — metal, four-row plastic, and multi-row plastic stacked in layers with more than 400 cells.
Stylus
The tool for punching braille dots, with a rounded or triangular tip. It looks much like a pen and is used to create dots on paper or plastic.
An example of braille in the Thai language. Image courtesy of Synchrotron Light Research Institute
Braille: The Writing System That Lets the Blind Community Read and Write
Braille is not as widely used today as it was decades ago. According to the report The Braille Literacy Crisis in America by the National Federation of the Blind , produced in 2009, only one in ten legally blind people — or fewer — can read braille. Literacy and braille use have been in decline since the 20th century. This shortfall may be down to the small number of teachers qualified to teach braille, as well as the advance of audio technology.
The important thing to understand, though, is that braille is not a language but a writing system that lets the blind community read and write. You can find braille in all kinds of public places and on many products — books, menus, cash registers, lifts and public transport systems.
Even so, only a few home lifts use a braille system for operating the lift. At Cibes Lift, we have product units designed so that every group of people can use them, blind users included. That is why the Cibes Classic and Cibes Air lift series already come with braille on the floor buttons, so blind passengers can reach their destination floor more easily. At Cibes Lift, we believe everyone deserves equal human rights!
Interested in Installing a Wheelchair Lift? Contact Us Here
- Phone (Sales) : 02-114-6499
- Phone (24-hour After-Sales Service) : 02-114-6998
- Email : support_th@cibeslift.com
