Judy Dixon
Part 1 of this article discussed the history of braille codes in the United States. Part 2 will look at the braille codes used by screen readers on computers and mobile devices and how those codes are being used to allow braille readers to access different types of print representations.
Screen Readers and Braille
When using a braille display directly with a computer or mobile device, it is the screen reader that determines the braille codes available on the device, not the braille display itself.
Over time, in an effort to represent all the languages of the world and all the alphabets that had ever been in use, a system called Unicode was created to provide a way to represent hundreds of thousands of characters. The Unicode standard now forms the basis for virtually all the characters on modern computers and mobile devices.
The initial Unicode standard was published in 1991 by the Unicode Consortium. Its goal was to create a variable bit standard to represent all the characters in modern text including all the Latin, Asian, Greek, Arabic, Cyrillic, and Hebrew alphabets, music, the International Phonetic alphabet, emojis, and even braille. All 256 eight-dot braille characters have a Unicode value in the range from U+2800 to U+28ff.
The screen reader is responsible for rendering these characters in braille. For the most part, this is a fairly smooth process but there are still hiccups from time to time.
A good example of this is the apostrophe character. In Unicode, the character U+2019 is often used to represent both the apostrophe and the single closing quotation mark. Print readers don’t even notice the difference because the two characters are visually the same. For braille readers, this is a problem because the apostrophe and the closing single quote are very different characters in braille. The apostrophe is dot 3 and the closing single quote is a two-cell symbol, dot 6, dots 3-5-6. Braille readers often wonder why braille translated by a screen reader often contains the symbol for the closing single quote where the apostrophe should be. Changes to UEB rules have been made to attempt to alleviate this situation but the problem has not been entirely solved.
There are many other examples where the print text contains a character that looks correct on the screen, but is, in fact, not the correct character so the braille translation is not correct. This happens frequently with symbols such as the degree sign or the multiplication sign where the author simply uses a lowercase letter instead of the correct symbol.
Many braille readers prefer to read contracted braille. As screen readers have evolved, a contracted braille option for electronically displayed braille has become the norm. The screen reader accesses a braille table that provides information on how the text should be contracted. These tables contain algorithms which transform character sequences in the source text and apply these transformations based on rules which consider the surrounding text. The available tables vary somewhat depending on the operating system and/or the screen reader being used.
Braille on iOS and iPadOS Devices
In Settings, Accessibility, VoiceOver, Braille, there are three settings that relate directly to the braille code that is being used on an iPhone or iPad. The options available in these settings depend on the default language for the device. It is possible to choose a language for VoiceOver, separate from the default language for the device. In VoiceOver Speech settings, the user can choose to have VoiceOver detect language, and choose which language(s) appear on the rotor. The current VoiceOver language is used with a braille display.
The first option in braille settings is Output. It determines what code of braille you will see on your display. The options are:
Six-dot: (Uncontracted Six-dot braille),
Eight-dot (Uncontracted Eight-dot braille), or
Contracted (contracted braille).
Uncontracted six-dot braille does not use any contractions as the name suggests but it does use dot 6 to indicate capital letters, dots 3-4-5-6 as a number sign to indicate numbers, and it uses braille punctuation. Uncontracted eight-dot braille also does not have any contractions but it uses dot 7 to indicate capital letters, numbers are written in the lower portion of the cell, and punctuation characters are from the original North American ASCII Braille code which were also used in the Computer Braille Code.
You can change the braille output code by tapping on the Output button and selecting from the available options or you can change it on the fly at any time by typing a g-chord (dots 1-2-4-5-space) on the braille display.
The second option in braille settings is Input. The available options here are exactly the same as those for Output. You can change the braille input code by tapping on the Input button and selecting from the available options or you can change it on the fly at any time by typing an 8-chord (dots 2-3-6-space) on the braille display.
The third option is in braille settings Braille Tables. By default, in the United States, one table is loaded—English Unified. This is what Apple calls Unified English Braille (UEB). If you tap the Braille Tables button, an Add Braille Table option will appear. This list is organized by language with English at the top. Under English, there are nine tables available, listed in three groups:
RTFC
- English Unified
Liblouis
English (Canada)
English, (North American Braille Computer Code)
English (UK)
English (US)
English (Unified)
System
English (UK)
English (US)
English (Unified)
The table referred to as English (US) is the code called English Braille, American Edition that was used in the United States prior to the adoption of Unified English Braille in 2012.
Braille on Android Devices
In August 2022, with the release of Android 13.0, braille features were integrated into Google’s screen reader, TalkBack. Prior to version 13, Android users who wanted to use a braille display with TalkBack had to install a separate application to support braille. Google offered a limited application called BrailleBack, but there were other options as well.
In TalkBack 13.0 Settings, under Braille Display, Languages, two English-language braille codes were offered—Unified English Braille Contracted and Unified English Braille Uncontracted. There was no option for Computer Braille, ASCII Braille, or any code that would offer a one-to-one representation. This meant that it was not possible to read a translated braille file such as a book on BARD Mobile on an Android device with TalkBack.
In January 2023, Google released TalkBack version 13.1 with an expanded list of available braille tables. Under English, the available tables now are:
Unified English Braille contracted
Unified English Braille uncontracted
English 6-dot Computer Braille
North American Braille Computer Code
English U.S. Braille (EBAE)
English Braille (U.K.)
English Braille (India)
Braille on a Windows PC
At the moment, the most popular screen readers for a Windows computer are JAWS and NVDA. Both screen readers offer a selection of braille settings.
In JAWS, under Settings, Braille, General, Translation, JAWS offers braille translation for dozens of languages. When set to English, Output has five options:
Computer braille
U.S. English grade 1
U.S. English grade 2
Unified English Braille grade 1
Unified English Braille grade 2
Input options vary depending on what has been selected for Output.
JAWS also has an option to display text in 8-dot braille mode. This setting is very helpful when reading documents that have already been translated into braille. With Output set to Computer Braille and eight-dot braille turned off, material already translated into braille, including contracted braille, music, and so on can easily be read with a braille display.
In NVDA, available Input and Output tables for English in the U.S. are:
English U.S. 6-dot computer braille
English U.S. 8-dot computer braille
English U.S. Grade 1
English U.S. Grade 2
English North American Braille Computer Code
Unified English Braille Code Grade 1
Unified English Braille Code Grade 2
The fact that different braille codes have similar names and the same braille codes have different names from screen reader to screen reader can be very confusing to braille readers.
Braille on a Mac
On the Mac, braille settings are in VoiceOver Utility under the Braille category. The Braille category starts with a tab control with 4 tabs: Translation, Layout, Status, and Displays. Translation is selected by default. The first option on the Translation tab is Output. The options are the same as with iOS except that the Uncontracted six-dot braille option is just called “Six dot.” The next option, Input, has the same options as Output.
Further along in VoiceOver Utility is the Braille Translations table option. The table lists tables that have been installed, and there are Add Braille Table and Remove Braille Table buttons. If Add Braille Table is chosen, a screen with two tables opens. The first table is for selecting a language. English is at the top, followed by an alphabetical list of languages. The next table shows whatever tables are available for the language selected in the first table. The options for English are:
Liblouis:
English (Canada)
English (North American Braille Computer Code)
English (UK)
English (US)
English (Unified)
RTFC:
- English (Unified)
System:
English (UK)
English (US)
Choosing a Braille Table
Most screen readers sold in the United States have a default braille table, usually Unified English Braille. This table will display contracted braille. Some screen readers have a setting or command allowing the user to untranslate the word at the cursor. This can be helpful when one is not sure of the braille translation being used, the braille translation is incorrect, or there are special characters that are not understood by the braille table being used.
For those who prefer not to see contracted braille, an uncontracted braille option may be a better choice. It will show only six-dot braille with braille capital signs and number signs, but all the words will be fully spelled.
A “computer braille” option would be the best choice for those who want to see exactly what is on the computer screen. In general, each character is presented in a single braille cell. There are some characters, such as various bullets that are shown as two- or three-cell characters even in computer braille.
Reading Transcribed and Formatted Braille
Documents that contain transcribed and formatted braille are available for download from several sources, most notably as books and magazines from BARD and as books from Bookshare. These documents are often referred to as BRF files because they usually have a .brf file extension. They are plain-text files that are best read with one of the computer braille tables. In iOS, BARD Mobile, the app from the National Library Service presents a six-dot braille view of the .brf files. iOS does not have a six-dot computer braille option so reading .brf files with other applications can be a bit difficult.
Reading Languages other than English
Many languages use accented letters. Often, the braille characters used for those letters in the native braille code of the language are different from the braille code used for the accented letters in English braille.
If you select an uncontracted version of a braille code for a language with a Latin alphabet, it should be very similar to uncontracted Unified English Braille. Spanish, for example, has the same dot configurations for all letters of the alphabet as well as most punctuation. Spanish does have seven symbols for accented letters (á, é, í, ó, ú, ü and ñ) that are not used in English. there are some differences in the way punctuation is used as well, with question marks and exclamation marks both before and after text.
The contracted braille codes of English and Spanish do have significant differences.
Conclusion
Modern screen readers and braille-aware applications offer many options for braille readers. While reading braille, it can be very helpful for a braille reader to be aware of the current braille code being read, and to understand the available options. In this way, braille readers can benefit from the flexibility of changing braille codes to meet their personal reading preferences, as well as to adjust the braille code to the material being read.
In the future, the structure of braille files will very likely be in Unicode. Screen readers will need to display them correctly to the user and embossers will need to just emboss the dots they are being sent. The advantage of this is that the creator of the file will be able to specify exactly what dots are conveyed to the user.
