This term paper focuses mainly on the characteristics of Braille which are relevant from a linguistic point of view, but also discusses historical events of how Louis Braille invented the aforesaid writing system, as well as how the aforesaid writing system evolved over the past 187 years. It must also be said that this term paper focuses mainly on American English Braille (AEB), because this particular writing system is widely used, well documented, and has evolved faster than any other tactile writing system. However, other types of Braille are occasionally mentioned in this paper, too.
Braille is a writing system that is mostly used by blind people or people who suffer from significant vision loss. However, individuals who are not visually impaired can also read it by using their eyesight. A special feature about Braille is that it can be read by using just one’s finger tips.
The first chapter deals with tactile alphabets in general. Since Braille is just one type of many existing tactile alphabets, this chapter clarifies its definition and variations. There are two different types of tactile alphabets. One is based on embossed Roman letters, and the second type of tactile alphabet is based on arbitrary symbols. Each type is further explained in a subchapter. The second chapter is about the invention and development of Braille. This chapter focuses, among other things, on the life of Braille, how he became blind and created his own writing system that evolved to be the most important reading and writing tool to many blind communities all over the world. In subchapter 2.2, it is also explained how Braille derived from an already existing tactile alphabet called night writing, and how this aforesaid writing system is structured.
The third chapter discusses linguistic features and structures of Braille. The arrangement of AEB is discussed, as well as the difference between Grade 1 Braille and Grade 2 Braille. Moreover, the third chapter discusses how Braille can be used alternatively for all other writing systems, which, among other things, do not resemble the Latin alphabet, and how that leads eventually to different variations of Braille. Finally, the Unified English Braille (UEB) code is also included as a topic in the third chapter. The aforesaid chapter is followed by a conclusion, a list of references and a declaration of authenticity.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
1. Introduction to Tactile Alphabets
1.1 Systems Based on Embossed Roman Letters
1.2 Systems Based on Arbitrary Symbols
2. The Invention and Development of Braille
2.1 The Life of Louis Braille and His Revolutionary Invention
2.2 The Origin of Braille: Night Writing
3. The Structure of Braille
3.1 The Structure of American English Braille
3.2 The Difference between Grade 1 Braille and Grade 2 Braille
3.3 Braille Variations: How to Deal with Different Language Structures?
3.3.1 Unified English Braille Code
Zielsetzung & Themen der Publikation
Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die historischen und linguistischen Aspekte taktiler Schriftsysteme mit einem primären Fokus auf die Entwicklung und Struktur des Braille-Systems. Ziel ist es, die Evolution von der „Night Writing“-Methode hin zum modernen American English Braille (AEB) nachzuvollziehen und die Herausforderungen bei der Adaptation des Systems auf verschiedene Sprachen und Strukturen zu analysieren.
- Historische Entwicklung taktiler Schriftsysteme
- Die Entstehungsgeschichte und das Leben von Louis Braille
- Linguistische Analyse der Braille-Struktur (Grade 1 vs. Grade 2)
- Herausforderungen bei der Adaptation an nicht-lateinische Schriftsysteme
- Vergleich zwischen verschiedenen Braille-Codes und der Unified English Braille Code (UEB)
Auszug aus dem Buch
2.1 The Life of Louis Braille and His Revolutionary Invention
Louis Braille, who is the inventor of a tactile writing system that bears his name, was born in 1809 at Coupvray, a small village close to Paris. He lived there with his parents, Simon- René Braille and Monique Baron, and his three siblings (Jiménez, 2009, p. 142). At the age of three, Braille had an accident while playing with a curved knife, which he had found in his father’s workshop. Accidently, he had stabbed himself in the right eye. With the medical knowledge at that time nobody could neither heal properly the wound nor save his right eye. Eventually it became severely infected. Due to subsequent sympathetic ophthalmia, his left eye became also infected. At the age of five, Braille was completely blind (Jiménez, 2009, p. 143).
Unfortunately for Braille, he lived at a time in which the blind and visually impaired people were considered second-class citizens and cripples, whose only income option was to beg on the streets (Mellor, 2006, p. 23). However, Braille’s parents wanted their youngest son, Louis, to be educated and become independent, and not live a miserable live on the streets. Therefore, they sent him to the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. It was a boarding school for blind students who learned, among other things, to read and write. The writing technique that was being taught at that time was based on embossed letters. Like so many other students, Braille was not content with that method and wished for a more convenient reading and writing system (Mellor, 2006, p. 30).
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel
1. Introduction to Tactile Alphabets: Dieses Kapitel gibt einen Überblick über taktile Schriftsysteme und unterscheidet zwischen Systemen, die auf geprägten lateinischen Buchstaben basieren, und solchen, die mit willkürlichen Symbolen arbeiten.
2. The Invention and Development of Braille: Hier wird die Biografie von Louis Braille beleuchtet und dargelegt, wie die Militärtechnologie der "Night Writing" als Grundlage für sein revolutionäres System diente.
3. The Structure of Braille: Dieses Kapitel analysiert die technische Beschaffenheit von Braille, die Unterschiede zwischen den Graden 1 und 2 sowie die Herausforderungen bei der internationalen Adaptation an verschiedene Sprachstrukturen, einschließlich des Unified English Braille Code.
Schlüsselwörter
Braille, taktile Schriftsysteme, Louis Braille, Night Writing, American English Braille, Grade 1 Braille, Grade 2 Braille, Unified English Braille Code, Tastschrift, Blindenschrift, Schriftsysteme, Phonographie, Logographie, Barrierefreiheit, Adaptation.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Worum geht es in dieser Arbeit grundsätzlich?
Die Arbeit bietet eine fundierte Analyse der Entwicklung und Struktur von Braille als wichtigstem taktilen Schriftsystem für blinde und sehbehinderte Menschen.
Was sind die zentralen Themenfelder?
Die Themenfelder umfassen die Geschichte des Braille-Systems, die technische Struktur des Braille-Punktrasters und die sprachwissenschaftliche Adaptation des Systems weltweit.
Was ist das primäre Ziel der Arbeit?
Das Ziel ist die Darstellung der evolutionären Entwicklung von Braille sowie die Aufarbeitung seiner linguistischen Merkmale und der Standardisierungsbestrebungen wie dem Unified English Braille Code.
Welche wissenschaftliche Methode wird verwendet?
Es handelt sich um eine theoretische Arbeit, die auf einer Literaturanalyse historischer Aufzeichnungen und sprachwissenschaftlicher Fachliteratur basiert.
Was wird im Hauptteil behandelt?
Der Hauptteil gliedert sich in die Vorstellung taktiler Alphabete, die Biografie von Louis Braille samt Einflüssen durch das "Night Writing" und eine detaillierte technische Analyse der Struktur von Braille.
Welche Schlüsselwörter charakterisieren die Arbeit?
Die Arbeit wird durch Begriffe wie Braille, Taktilität, Schriftsysteme, Blindenschrift und linguistische Adaptation charakterisiert.
Wie unterscheidet sich Braille von anderen frühen taktilen Systemen wie dem von William Moon?
Während Systeme wie das von Moon auf vereinfachten lateinischen Buchstaben basieren, nutzt Braille ein auf Punkten basierendes, hochgradig flexibles und für die taktile Wahrnehmung optimiertes Rastersystem.
Warum war der Unified English Braille Code (UEB) notwendig?
Der UEB wurde eingeführt, um die verschiedenen, inkompatiblen Braille-Codes in englischsprachigen Ländern zu harmonisieren und einen einheitlichen Standard für Literatur und Wissenschaft zu schaffen.
- Quote paper
- Yasmin Barrachini-Haß (Author), 2012, Introduction to Tactile Alphabets. The Invention, Development and Structure of Braille, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/320533
