A Call to Action: We Need to Improve Braille Codes Worldwide

Duxbury Systems supports the braille rules of each country around the world. To avoid controversy, Duxbury Systems does not want to deviate from what is published about each braille system. Sometimes we carefully review the pdf of the braille code for a particular country and revise our tables to better reflect the details of the braille system.

Duxbury Systems is now working on a new system called DBT publishing. The idea is that a blind person can write a paper for school or a document for the workplace on their braille device entirely in braille. All of the formatting and contents are to be written in braille. When it is done, the user connects the braille device with their computer, uses some simple commands in Duxbury DBT, and the result is a document in Word or a pdf that can be printed or handed to the teacher or co-workers.

This will not work if the braille-to-print translator is of poor quality. To be honest, some of the translators in Duxbury DBT would not work well on this task. The problem is the original braille code does not specify what to do in many circumstances. For example, if a braille system does not specify the braille for the Yen sign (¥), then it would be impossible to adapt our braille-to print-translator to generate the Yen sign.

So now we finally get to the real point of this document. This is a plea to those responsible for braille codes around the world to upgrade the rules to specify what to do with the characters, circumstances, and formatting of modern documents used in schools and the workplace.

What is needed in a Braille Code

Here are the major issues that need to be addressed:

How do you braille text? This is easy for languages like Dutch with no accented letters and no contractions. For other languages with complicated scripts and or braille contractions, this is more difficult. This is obviously the key to a set of braille rules. You don't have braille rules unless you precisely define how text is to be produced in braille.
How do you braille punctuation and special symbols? For starters, make sure you define the braille for all the characters found on standard keyboards found in North America and Europe. Please address the symbols of enclosure: (xxx), [xxx],and {xxx}. Next, make sure you define the braille for other special symbols often used in printed materials such as the various currency symbols used for major currencies, copyright and trademark symbols. For suggestions you can look at the codebooks for major braille systems from around the world or you can email Duxbury Systems for suggestions.
How do you braille web addresses and e-mail addresses? This is a simple question. Just make sure it's mentioned in your list of rules.
How do you braille numbers and math? This issue ranges from simple numbers to advanced math. Nations never seem to agree on the use of comma and full stop. A braille code needs to specify whether the braille is based on the exact symbol used or its function. As for advanced math, one approach is to adopt an existing code such as UEB math or Nemeth math in your country. That way, a braille translator could be written by plugging in an existing math translation system.
How do you braille emphasis? By emphasis, we are talking about marking some words as boldface, italics, script, or underlined. It is very rare to support script characters in a braille code. Italics and underlining are functionally equivalent (underlining is for typewriters, italics is for typeset material). Some Braille codes show italics and boldface the same way in braille, other systems show their unique identities. There are many different ways of showing this in braille. The simplest, used in Spain and Russia, uses a marker before the first emphasized word and after the last emphasized word.
How do you braille letter sign, Roman numerals, and abbreviations? If your system has contractions, you need a letter sign to show the group of characters is not a contraction. The whole point of special rules for letter sign, abbreviation, and Roman numerals is to make sure the braille reader has no difficulty understanding what is there before him or her, and it a back translator can reconstruct the braille back into a print. Feel free to consult with Duxbury Systems if you have questions about this.

Duxbury Systems can be reached at languages@duxsys.com or by Skype.

A good example of braille rules for a small nation

Here's an example of Braille rules that cover many topics. I chose Slovakia since it has a small population but excellent braille rules. Of course, the text is written in the Slovak language. The name of the manual is Pravidlá písania a používania Braillovho písma v Slovenskej republike. The English translation of this is Rules for writing and using Braille in the Slovak Republic. We all appreciate the hard work of the Braille Authority of Slovakia to produce this work.

One way Duxbury Systems handles manuals in a foreign language is to create an English translated table of contents with links to the correct pages of the original source pdf. So we put you in the position of being on the Duxbury Systems staff trying to look at the details of the Slovak braille system. By the way, there is a thoroughly revised set of braille translators for the Slovak language in DBT 12.7.

To be very clear, this table of contents was written by Duxbury Systems, the underlying pdf was written in Slovakia. In the text, a full cell is often placed before a braille example for orientation purposes.

Rules for writing and using Braille in the Slovak Republic

English Contents

1 Preface - 3
2 Slovak authority for Braille - 4
3 History of writing for the blind - 5
4 Basic information about Braille and its Slovak codification - 8
4.1 Technical parameters of points and their dimensions in Braille writing - 10
5 Basic Slovak alphabet - 12
6 Punctuation marks and other symbols - 13
6.1 Punctuation marks - 14
6.2 Mathematical symbols often used in literary texts - 15
6.3 Other symbols - 16
7 Prefixes - 17
7.1 Prefix for one capital letter - 18
7.2 Prefix for upper case string - 18
7.3 Termination of the current prefix - 19
7.4 Prefix for a number or string of numbers - 19
7.5 Chain continuation indicator on new line - 20
7.6 Prefixes for Greek letters - 21
7.7 Full character and space - 21
8 Writing numbers and strings with numbers and letters - 21
8.1 Writing numbers - 22
8.2 Roman numerals - 23
8.3 Recording time and date - 24
8.4 Recording the score - 25
8.5 Record of numbering and labeling - 25
8.6 Serial numbers - 25
8.7 Entry of postal code (ZIP code) - 26
8.8 Writing telephone numbers - 26
8.9 Dividing digits in the long number - 27
8.10 Number series - 27
9 Entries of strings consisting of lower and uppercase letters and alphanumeric strings - 28
10 Symbols for text completion - 30
11 Name symbols and other special symbols used in texts - 30
11.1 Selected special symbols - 31
11.2 Recording currency - 32
11.3 Phases of the moon - 32
12 Foreign language alphabets and their special letters in Slovak texts - 33
12.1 Latin letters with diacritics - 33
12.2 Greek alphabet - 36
13 Basics of mathematical and other professional notations - 38
13.1 Units of measurement - 38
13.2 Basic mathematical signs and symbols - 44