How to Read Braille Books

Braille appears on many household products.

Braille is a method of reading by using touch instead of sight. Letters and text are written as a series of bumps on the page and are read by running fingers over the page. Braille is designed to enable visually impaired people to read but can be learned by sighted people. This might be done to help a visually impaired family member learn to read. Braille is printed in different forms for mathematics and music, and is also printed in different forms for different languages. Learning to read braille will require dedication, perseverance and practice.

Things You'll Need

• Braille book
• Internet connection

Instructions

1. Learn the braille cell basics. Each cell contains six areas where a bump can be inserted. The combination of bumps within the cell determines the letter, number or punctuation mark being displayed. Various websites show the basic construction of a braille cell and alphabet.

2. Learn braille shorthand and contractions. Braille features various short terms for common words. For example, a cell with all six positions filled with a bump is braille shorthand for the word "for." There are contractions for other words such as "and" and "the." Braille also contracts common prefixes and suffixes like "ing" and "ed" to a single cell, so that words like "sing" can be displayed using two cells, one for "s" and one for "ing."

3. Practice reading literary braille. Literary braille uses the contractions and shorthand as well as including context-dependent semantics in sentences. Literary, or "Braille 2" code makes use of multiple cells for word contractions and is used for writing books, magazines and leaflets for the visually impaired.

4. Consider taking literary braille lessons. Use your local telephone book or perform a Web search to find classes near you. Taking classes will allow you to learn to read braille faster than teaching yourself. It will also give you access to a greater amount of braille material than you might have in your home.

References

• Dotless Braille: About
• American Foundation for the Blind: Deciphering Braille

Resources

• OmniGlot: Braille Alphabet