The history of a written language for the blind
The first systematic attempt of a written language for the blind started in 1784 at Valentin Hauy’s School for the Blind in Paris.
It was a system whereby the capital letters of the alphabet were embossed on paper. The recognition of the letters by touch was
successful, however it required a great deal of time deciphering letter by letter what was written. The major drawbacks of the
system were the lack of tactile difference between each letter and the large size of the letters
The invention of Braille
The first attempt to use a combination of dots and dashes to represent the characters of the alphabet in place of the
embossed letters of Hauy, was made in 1819 by the French army captain Charles Barbier in order for soldiers to communicate
at night. This system was then perfected by the blind Louis Braille, who used a cell of 6 raised dots by which changing
the pattern of the dots allow the formation of 63 different characters.
Reading Braille
The reading of Braille depends not only upon touch, as most people think, but also upon movement. This is because comprehension
of the text happens to a greater degree during the movement of the fingers to discern what they are reading rather than when they stop.
By using this means of movement, it helps the reader locate the row and direction of the text. This differs greatly from the
process by which one reads a printed text whereby information is gathered when the eye focuses on one letter. The fingertips are used
to locate the dots in the cells.
To read Braille by rule you must use both hands. The use of both hands is in alternation, one substitutes the other, usually in the
middle of the line of a text. This is because one receives the verbal information of the text while the other focuses on the
spatial function. The left index finger usually doesn’t start to move to the next line until the right index finger has
completed the last letter of the previous line.
The ratification of Braille in Greece
In 1958, Braille was ratified by the Ministry of Education as the official alphabet for use in educating the Blind in Greece.
List of Braille Symbols
Greek alphabet
| á |
1 |
â |
1,2 |
ã |
1,2,4,5 |
| ä |
1,4,5 |
å |
1,5 |
æ |
1,3,5,6 |
| ç |
3,4,5 |
è |
1,4,5,6 |
é |
2,4 |
| ê |
1,3 |
ë |
1,2,3 |
ì |
1,3,4 |
| í |
1,3,4,5 |
î |
1,3,4,6 |
ï |
1,3,5 |
| ð |
1,2,3,4 |
ñ |
1,2,3,5 |
ó |
2,3,4 |
| ô |
2,3,4,5 |
õ |
1,3,4,5,6 |
ö |
1,2,4 |
| ÷ |
1,2,5 |
ø |
1,2,3,4,6 |
ù |
2,4,5 |
English alphabet
| a |
1 |
b |
1,2 |
c |
1,4 |
| d |
1,4,5 |
e |
1,5 |
f |
1,2,4 |
| g |
1,2,4,5 |
h |
1,2,5 |
i |
2,4 |
| j |
2,4,5 |
k |
1,3 |
l |
1,2,3 |
| m |
1,3,4 |
n |
1,3,4,5 |
o |
1,3,5 |
| p |
1,2,3,4 |
q |
1,2,3,4,5 |
r |
1,2,3,5 |
| s |
2,3,4 |
t |
2,3,4,5 |
u |
1,3,6 |
| v |
1,2,3,4,6 |
w |
2,4,5,6 |
x |
1,3,4,6 |
| y |
1,3,4,5,6 |
z |
1,3,5,6 |
Diphthongs
| áé |
1,2,6 |
| áõ |
1,6 |
| åé |
1,4,6 |
| åõ |
1,5,6 |
| çõ |
1,2,5,6 |
| ïé |
2,4,6 |
| ïõ |
1,3,6 |
| õé |
1,2,4,5,6 |
Punctuation symbols
| comma |
2 |
| colon |
2,5 |
| greek semicolon |
2,3 |
| period |
2,5,6 |
| question mark |
2,6 |
| exclamation mark |
2,3,5 |
| hyphen |
2,5 |
| underscore |
3,6 |
| apostrophe |
3 |
| signs of ellipsis |
3,3,3 |
| quotes(open) |
2,3,6 |
| quotes(close) |
3,5,6 |
| parenthesis |
2,3,5,6 |
Numerical digits
| Ï |
2,4,5 |
| 1 |
1 |
| 2 |
1,2 |
| 3 |
1,4 |
| 4 |
1,4,5 |
| 5 |
1,5 |
| 6 |
1,2,4 |
| 7 |
1,2,4,5 |
| 8 |
1,2,5 |
| 9 |
2,4 |
Special symbols
| Number sign |
3,4,5,6 |
| Capital sign |
1 |
| plus |
2,3,4,6 |
| minus |
3,6 |
| divided by |
3,4 |
| multiplied by |
1,6 |
| equal sign |
3,6 3,6 |
| / (fraction) |
3,4 |