When do blind children begin to learn Nemeth code? Is Nemeth introduced gradually alongside math or do young learners exclusively use literary UEB until they reach a certain complexity of math? For example, would blind students learning numbers learn numbers in just UEB or in both UEB and Nemeth? What about learning addition, subtraction, fractions, multiplication, division, simple equations, superscripts, and subscripts?
Unfortunately for your question, I went to school before UEB was a thing. I’ve considered learning it as an adult, but it’s SO UGLY! It was designed to make Braille translation easier for computers, not to be a good reading experience for humans. All of my devices can use Grade 2 American Braille, so I continue to use that, and will keep doing so until support is completely removed. As I recall, I was introduced to the Braille symbols for each math concept as they came up during my math lessons. The primary difference between my math education and that of my peers was that I was taught to use an abacus instead of trying to replicate pencil and paper calculations in Braille. The size of Braille, and the difficulty of lining up numbers on the page, made it just not worth learning that way. The same concepts of decimal numbers, adding, subtracting, etc were still introduced, while giving me a small, quick, powerful way to do quick math that didn’t require a keyboard or even electricity.
Thank you for your answer! It was fascinating!
When you learned Braille symbols for math, did you learn them in both Nemeth and literary American Braille or just literary American Braille? As a young student, could you read “1+1=2” in both literary and technical Braille? Which was more typical to encounter?
I cannot read Braille, so my knowledge is theoretical. I thought UEB was mainly adopted to ease printed communication between English-speaking people in different countries. I assumed that computers could transcribe Unicode characters to American Braille just as easily as to UEB. What makes UEB easier for computers, but less readable for people? Do bathroom signs and elevator buttons use UEB or American Braille? Which is more prevalent in printed books? How does Nemeth compare for readability?
I did not consider the value of an abacus for teaching math today! I was mildly curious about how to use them, but now I need to learn. Thank you for that insight!
Okay, get comfortable. This answer is going to take a minute. First, I need to introduce you to the concept of Braille contractions. A Braille contraction is a set of symbols used to represent a longer group of letters, or an abbreviation for a longer word. For example, there are symbols to represent frequently used English letter groupings like “ing”, “ation”, “ed”, “and”, and so on. There are also short forms for frequently used words, like “cd” for could, “l” for like and many more. These contractions were introduced to Braille because of how large Braille is. The idea is to compress writing to take up less space, making books smaller, and reading quicker and easier on the Fingers. However, these contractions are different from one Braille system to another. In Grade 2 literary Braille, some of the contractions could be ambiguous. However, the meaning was always clear to human readers thanks to context. In UEB, the contractions were changed to make sure none are ambiguous and to simplify the rules for there use, so it would be easier for computers to translate between contracted and uncontracted Braille.In the case of signs in public buildings, these are almost always written in what’s called Grade 1 Braille. All that means is Braille that doesn’t use any of these contractions. In fact, in UEB, I believe grade 1 Braille was renamed to be called Uncontracted Braille. This was done because not everyone wants to, or can, memorize the hundreds of Braille contractions; perhaps due to age, cognitive challenges, etc. Now, we get to math! A single Braille character is composed of six dots (I’m not going to get into eight dot computer Braille right now). This means there are only so many symbols to go around. So what Nemeth did is remove all of the Braille contractions, and replace them with math symbols. But the basic numbers from 1 to 9 are nearly identical between the two systems. The symbols that are different are things like brackets. As I’m writing this, I’m realizing that I don’t even know if literary Braille has a plus symbol. When I want that, I type the “number sign”, indicating that I’m switching to Nemeth Braille. After a number sign, all Braille is assumed to be math, until the next space character. I hope that helped, even if it wasn’t a direct answer to your questions!
Thank you! The difference between American and universal grade-2 contractions is interesting. I understand now why UEB would be easier for computers to translate, especially if the source content is grade 2. What makes the universal contractions less readable than the American contractions? Would it not be easier to understand a language with less ambiguity?
I mistakenly thought that public signs used grade-2 Braille. Do they use American or universal grade-1 Braille?
The plus and equals signs in UEB differ from those in Nemeth. This is my major cause for concern about whether or not to use Nemeth for young students. It sounds like this dilemma is absent when it comes to American Braille; if it lacks these characters, then the only choice would be to use Nemeth.
Some of the universal contractions require more symbols than the American ones do. As well, some contractions were eliminated entirely in UEB because they could cause ambiguity. Others had more strict rules instituted about when and how they could be used, to make those rules easier and avoid having rules with exceptions.
Please note, however, that I am extremely biased. The way I learned Braille (grade 2 American, and all Nemeth for math) when I was seven years old is, obviously, the way God intended Braille to be written, and probably how he wrote the ten commandments on those tablets he gave Moses back in the day. Modern changes to it are obviously abominations, and go against the natural order of things. Lucky for me, all of my devices still let me switch to Grade 2 American Braille anyway, so I can ignore this new fangled universal Braille code the kids want me to learn, and shake my cane angrily at them. Okay, Okay, I’m only 36. But that’s how I feel! LOL. If you want the pro-UEB argument, maybe one of the younger commenters who actually likes it can be provoked into an argument…uh…I mean debate. I think maybe @dhamlinmusic@dragonscave.space uses UEB?
As for signs, I have seen some with grade 2 Braille on them, especially when they have a lot of information to convey, like on a plaque with fire exit/emergency instructions for example, or in some museum exhibits with Braille information. But stuff like “bathroom”, button labels like open/on/off/start/stop, or elevator buttons, or room/class/office numbers, will generally be in grade 1, even when they could save a few symbols by using grade 2.
Oh also US rules for signage is to use contracted in general.
@fastfinge @thistledown I did not realize we’re basically same age, also yes I use UEB but have only been using #braille for just under 2 years, and have also been learning the older codes because of written works not being in UEB.