M.A, M.Ed/Dip STUDY GUIDE Code No. 3602 BRAILLE PRACTICAL COURSE IN ENGLISH Department of Special Education Faculty of Education Allama Iqbal Open University IslamabadAll rights are reserved with the publisher First Edition 4th Printing Number of Copies Price Printer Publisher 1988 2013 500 100/- Sigma Press Urdu Bazar Rawalpindi Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad oe reChairman of the Course Team And Author Course Coordinator Members Editor Designer COURSE TEAM Roger Budd, Ex-Representative British Council, Pakistan. Dr. Mahmood Hussain Awan Associate Professor Department of Special Education 1. Dr. Salma Maqbool President FFB 2. Mrs. Rubina Mahmood Instructor NISE 3. Pervez Adil Senior Braillist 4. Abdul Manan Director DGSE Khalid Mahmood Aftab Ahmed Dr. Muhammad Mahmood Hussain Awan. Course CoordinatorCONTENTS Foreward Prof. Dr. Mahmood H. Butt, Vice Chancellor Preface Prof. Dr. Zafar Iqbal, Dean Acknowledgement 1, 2, 3. 4. 5. 6. 10. 11. Course Introduction Broad Aims and Objectives of the Course Format of the Course Need for Braille Brief History of English Braille ‘The Braille System: 61 Form; 62 — Major Characteristics. ‘The Perkins Brailler: 7.1 Some Hints on Using the Perkins Brailler; 12 Erasing; 7.3 Correcting. Using the Braille Primer The Capital Letter Sign. Setting Out: 10.1 General Hints: 10.2 Some Standard Rules; 10.3 Contents Sheet; 10.4 Word Division; 10.5 Footnotes; 106 Poetry; 10.7 Plays; 10.8 Correspondence; 10.9 Pictures and Illustrations; 10.10 Tables. The Golden Rules of Brailling. Annexure Instructions for Perkin Brailler WS warm wow om 13 14 15 34 37FOREWORD Education continues to be of vital interest in every society, especially a developing one like ours. Any negligence in this regard costs many generations. The Education Policies and plans emphasize providing opportunities to less privileged members of the society by minimizing or compensating their handicaps so that they become healthier and more productive members of the society. The most deserving group of handicapped population is that of the visually handicapped persons. The Braille Practical Course, which forms part of a M.A, M.Ed and Diploma program in Special Education is a pioneer work, which has the promise of bringing hope, inspiration and courage among the blind and providing additional assistance to the visually handicapped pupils in collaboration with the guidance of a special education teacher, No doubt we cannot provide the visually handicapped with the total benefits of the sighted world but with the help of the Braille Practical Course, they can be enlightened to create better understanding of and facilitate smooth interaction with the sighted world. The Successful completion of the Braille Practical Course will enable a teacher to help in educating and rehabilitating the visually impaired children in a better manner as it streamlines, updates and develops the existing skills. However, it is only possible if latest changes are incorporated in teacher-training courses. After taking over as Vice Chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University 1 have emphasized updating the existing courses to bring them to the International standards. Allama Iqbal Open University is indebted to the Directorate General of Special Education, Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education and British Council for their cooperation and collaboration in launching this program. I heartily congratulate Mr. R. F. Budd Ex-Representative of British Council, Pakistan and Faculty members of the Department of Special Educatior for their devoted professional efforts, which they have made to update the “Braille Practical Course in English”. @rof. Dr. MaiPREFACE ‘The Shortage of skilled persons in the field of special education is tre burning issue of the day. In past, most of the efforts for this purpose vere initiated by the NGOs, During the last few years a tremendous -ontribution has been made for the promotion of special education at the jovernment level. The first. priovity is to educate the handicapped children cnrolled in special education institutions. but the shortage of trained nanpower is the real hindrance. Allama Iqbal Open University was approached for training of teachers in special education to meet the required demand of trained manpower through the Directorate General of Special Education. The University accepted the challenge and started working on the program for the training of teachers of the visually handicapped children as a first phase in 1985. As the courses were developed and offered in 1987 obviously, they need revisinn and updating, The revised “Braille Practical Course in English” is developed for M.A, M.Ed. and Diploma in Special Education. This review is the one of the manifestation of the increased emphasis on the subject that will moke a breakthrough to eradicate the dark clouds of ignoranee, which prevent the visually impaired to effectively interact with their environment. To equip them with Braille skills will ultimately enhance their tactile discrimination, kinesthetic sense and practical negotiation with the world around them It is a great privilege from me to congratulate Mr. Roger Budd, the course team Chairman and writer of the study guide for this immense contribution. He has endeavored to make a subject like Braille really exciting (o meet the unique needs of the visuafly impaired children. | am sure that this updated version of the study guide will be a useful study material for the students because their study needs have been fully kept in mind at all the developmental stages of the materials. | think it will provide the students with a sound background of Braille writing and reading. which would not only enhance the trainee teacher's awarcness about the concepts and scope of Braille but also induct them in the skills to interact with the visually impaired childven without much difficulty To conclude i would Like to say that many students will need more than what has heen suggested and o hers may need less but the process of evolution hus been set in, The University plans to undertake periodic evaluation exercise about the effectiveness of these materials, Therefore. comments from the worthy teachers and those concerned with the education of visually impaired will help us to further improve the course to make it more responsive to students’ needsJam thankful to the Vice Chancellor Prof. Dy. Mahmood H. Butt whose kind guidance and inspiration has made us capable of updating such an impertant course. t 1 also congratulate Dr. Muhammad Mahmvod Hussain Awan. and other colleagues of the Department of Special Education for their sincere efforts to review the course in time. (Prof. Dy. Zafar Iqbal Dean1. COURSE INTRODUCTION This course in practical braille is a compulsory part of the Diploma and M.Ed. courses. It is made compulsory because it is essential that all teachers of the visually impaired should know braille — both Urdu and English — thoroughly. This may sound a bit frightening, but learning braille is not such a difficult process. Braille is essentially a code that translates written text into a dot format based on a combination of six dots arranged as follows: This six dot combination is known as a cell, With study and practice you will assimilate the code and be able to write braille without difficulty. The Braille Primers (Urdu and English) and other books are always available for reference. If you are in doubt about a particular codification you should consult these books. Even the most expert . bgaillists still find that from time to time they need to check. Nobody is expected to know everything by heart. However, to be a good braillist you should master the code so that you can correctly transcribe the English or Urdu print into braille without having to refer constantly to your Primer and other books. On the whole braille takes longer to write than does letterpress. A good braillist may be able to write four or five pages of standard 11” x 11%” paper in an hour. However, speed of writing braille is less impor- tant than accuracy which is most important of all. Written braille takes more paper than printed text. Depending on the size of the printed page you will find that braille takes up to two or even three times as much space — ie. for every print page you will find you need two or even three pages of standard size 11” x 1144” braille paper.10 2. BROAD AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE The aim of this course is to teach you to read and write Grade It Standard English braille. Specifically the course is designed to: q) (2) (3) (4) (a) teach you to understand the Braille System of Communica- tion (both reading and writing) as compared with normal print; (b) teach the braille code including contractions for the English language; (c) teach you how to use the Perkins Brailler; (d) develop speed and accuracy in braille writing using the Perkins Brailler; (e) teach you to be able to transcribe correctly and accurately printed copy into braille; (f) help you to master braille so that you can read it quickly and fluently by sighted mehtods, that is by eye rather than by touch. 3. FORMAT OF THE ENGLISH BRAILLE COURSE This is a practical course based on the Royal National Institute for the Blind’s Braille Primer. This course is the first course you begin after enrolment for the Diploma or M.Ed. course. In parallel to this course is a course for learning Urdu braille. The Urdu braille course follows the English braille course. The two braille codes have some common features — the basic form of the braille cell, some letters are identical — but for the most part they are different, especially in the use of contractions. See page 8 for further explanation of the terms cell and contraction. You have to work through each lesson in the Primer in the order in which they are printed. You must perfect yourself in each les-(5) (6) @ (8) (9) 1 son before proceeding to the next. You will find that the lessons are arranged in a logical sequence and that varying the order of the lessons will be of absolutely no help to you — rather it will con- fuse you and impede your progress, At the end of each lesson there is an exercise. Once you complete this successfully without referring to the Primer and you re- transcribe the brailled work correctly back into text you can move on to the next lesson. In addition there are supplementary exercises available which will help you to practice your reading and writing of braille. There are 28 lessons and exercises in the English Braille Primer. We have sub-divided these into groups. After completing each group of lessons you will be asked to write a test paper to check your progress. These tests will comprise transcribing a piece of text into braille, and transcribing a piece of brailled material into text. Test papers and the final examination will be written at the Study Centre at which you are registered. The time scale for the completion of each group of lessons is as follows: (i) Lessons 1-5 1 month Test (ii) Lessons 6— 9 1 month Test (iii) Lessons 10~14 2months Test (iv) Lessons 15—23 2 months Test (v) Lessons 24-28 2 months Final examination. We realise that each student will have a different speed of working. If you find you need less time than that indicated above to com- plete a group of lessons then write the test when you are ready and, provided you have completed the test satisfactorily, you can go on to the next group of lessons. On the other hand if you need more time to complete a group of lessons this is perfectly all right, provided you complete the total course on time. The tests and the final examination will be done without using(10) qi) (12) (13) 12 the Primer or any other reference books. You are expected to be able to read and write braille to the standard required for each test without using books to help you. The final examination will be a timed examination. It will consist of three elements: (a) transcribing a piece of text into braille, (b) transcribing a piece of brailled material into text; (c) reading a piece of brailled material and answering questions onit ‘The Primer covers a wide range of braille codification. Some of this is of now outdated material — for example pre-decimal English currency (pounds, shillings and pences). Some of this is not used in Pakistan — for example measures of distance such as miles. You will need to be familiar with all of this codification as you may meet it in English books. However, material that is outdated or not used in Pakistan will not be included in the final examination, ‘At the beginning of the course and at intervals during it there will be practical workshops for braille which you must attend. You will have a tutor for English braille. You will have weekly tutorial sessions at your local Regional Centre which will cover all the subjects of the course. You will be able to discuss problems and to seek advice and help from your tutor during these weekly tutorial sessions. You will need the following equipment and books for this course: (i) a Perkins Brailler; (ii) an eraser and style; (ii) the Royal National Institute for the Blind’s “Braille Primer with Exercises” (Revised Edition 1969), and the amend- ments; iv) special braille paper. All these will be supplied to you when you begin the course. In addition you will find it helpful to have the following: (i) the R.N.L.B.’s “Re-Statement of the Lay-Out, Definitions and(ii) Gi) 13 Rules of the Standard English Braille System” — Parts I and II, the R.N.LB.’s “New Graduated Braille Readers”. These are based on the R.N.I.B.’s Braille Primer, and they are in both braille and letterpress. They are in four parts. Part I Lessons 1 — 7 Part II Lessons 8 — 11 Part IIL Lessons 12 — 16 Part IV Lessons 17 — 22 the supplementary exercises from Birmingham University. Further supplementary exercises to help you will be pre- pared and be available from the Regional Centres. 4. NEED FOR BRAILLE All teachers in schools for the visually impaired must know braillé for the obvious reason that the children with a total vision loss use braille as their means of written communication — both reading and writing. This is particularly true at the earlier stages of their education but the use of braille continues throughout their education. Teachers will find themselves using braille in a number of ways: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) teaching reading and writing braille ito children learning it for the first time; correcting and improving the braille of children who have not completely mastered the code; marking and correcting the work done by blind students; preparing teaching materials in braille; transcribing textbooks and other printed materials into braille. Sometinies you will be preparing single copies of braille. More often you will be: preparing master copies from which multiple copies will be made. For example if you need ten copies of a textbook or part of a book for your class you can make one master copy which can be reproduced in multiple copies on a machine called a Thermoform.14 5. BRIEF HISTORY OF BRAILLE The Braille code was evolved by a Frenchman whose name was Louis BRAILLE. He lived from 1809 to 1852. In recognition of his great achievement his name has been given to the system. He first published it in 1829 when he was only twenty years old. It has now been adopted as the basic code for the blind throughout the world. The system is so adaptable that, no matter for what language it is used, there is scarcely a print symbol in literature, music, mathema- tics and the sciences that cannot be represented by braille characters. However, for more than fifty years after its publication the fu- ture of the braille system was in doubt. For a long time the preferred system was embossed Roman type — raised print which was as legible to the eye as to the finger. Louis Braille was allowed to experiment with the braille code at the school for the blind in Paris where he was a pupil and then a teacher. However, the authorities of the school did not adopt the system until 1854, two years after Louis Braille’s death. The ultimate triumph of braille in Britain was in large measure due to Dr. Armitage, a wealthy blind man who in 1868 founded in Britain what is now the Royal National Institute for the Blind. With the help of a group of intelligent blind people he assessed the merits of the various systems in existence. After careful examination and thorough testing it was unanimously agreed that braille was the most efficient of the systems. At the time of Dr. Armitage’s death in 1870 almost every school and institution for the blind in Britain was using the braille code. The braille code has been evolved over the period since 1870. At first the code of contractions used in braille books varied somewhat from one publisher to another, causing inconvenience and confusion among readers and teachers. This continued until 1905 when an improved code, known as the Revised Braille, was adopted as the official system for all users in Britain. There were two conferences, one in 1932 and one in 1956, which made a few changes to the 1905 code. Current Grade II English Standard Braille is basically the revised code of 1905.15 6. THE BRAILLE SYSTEM 6.1 Form Braille is a system of raised dotes, and does not in any way resem- ble the printed alphabet. Each character or unit of braille is called a cell, The basic braille cell contains six dots, arranged in pairs like the dots on the domino six, The three dots to the left are known by the numbers 1, 2 and 3; and the three dots to the right are known by the numbers 4, 5 and 6. There are varying patterns and combinations of dots possible. In all there are 63 such combinations, and these represent the letters of the alphabet, punctuation signs, and frequently used combinations of letters such as ~ED, —TION, DIS-, ete. 6.2 Major Characteristics (1) Braille is a very flexible and adaptable system. It can repre- sent print, mathematical symbols, scientific symbols, musical notation, and so on. (2) Braille is always written from left to right on the page. This is true for Urdu as well as for English, (8) English braille has now become standardised.” This is very important. It is essential that material produced in braille should all be in the same system so that all blind people can read it without having to cope with the difficulties of varia- tions in the braille code. Blind people in Pakistan who know Standard English Braille will be able to read not only books produced anywhere in Pakistan, but also books produced in Great Britain, the United States of America, and any other country using the Standard English Braille System. (4) Braille is a very accurate system. When we read unclear or inaccurate print or hand-written English we can usually make out what the correct meaning should be. A mistake in one letter in a printed work will not usually prevent us from understanding it. This is not true of braille, especially when one cell may stand for a complete word. An omitted or16 misplaced dot can completely alter the meaning and make the braille representation meaningless. For example; . 28 If we by mistake add a dot in the wrong placy we can get the fol- lowing possibilities. means knowledge. 1° sees means ‘us’ is or i$ means ‘like tow means ‘more’ ‘These are fairly simple examples, but the reader will find it diffi- cult to read the sentence and guess what the correct word should have been. Another more complicated example comes with some of the final contractions. The only difference between them is the position. of one’ dot, but if we misplace a dot we get a totally different result and the reader will be hopelessly confused. For example (these are all a combination of two cells): ¢ ‘ . tion’ 5 2085 —m ti 3¢ 3g8! means ment! means ‘tion’ a ow? ; 3 means ‘ness’ means ‘ity’ When writing braille we must be absolutely accurate and sure that every dot is correct. 7. THE PERKINS BRAILLER ‘This course is written for use with the Perkins Brailier. The ine- tructions for using the Perkins Brailler are a reproduction of those sup- plied with the machine by the Howe Press. You should read them care- fully before using the machine. 7.1 Some Hints on Using the Perkins Brailler (1) It is very important to make sure that you have a large2) (3) 17 enough work space, You need to have room for the machine; for the book or text you are transcribing into braille; for the eraser and a pencil, for the blank brailling paper; for the com- pleted sheets of brailled material. Yau must make sure you are sitting comfortably with good support for your back. The desk. or table should be at a con- venient height for you so that you.can exert good pressure on the keys. Usually a standard height desk or table is suita ble = roughly about 29" (70-75 centimetres) high. You will find a low table very inconvenient and uncomfortable. You should sit facing the light. The source of light (window, lamp, wall-light, ete.) should be straight in front of you. This is important for reading the brailled work in the ma- chine. Never have the light coming from behind you. (4) It-is very important to learn to depress the keys simulta neously, and with even pressure. It is a very different tech- nique from typing where you only press one key at a time. It is more like playing a piano or harmonium when you strike a chord.18 (5) Decide from the beginning which fingers/thumbs you will use for each key. A standard way is to use the first, second and thire fingers of the left hand for dots 1, 2 and 3 respectively and the first, second and third fingers of the right hand for dots 4, 5 and 6 respectively. This leaves ihe left or right thumb free to operate the spacer. The little finger of the left hand can operate the line spacer, and the little finger of the right: hand can operate the backspacer. However, you will evolve your own fingering technique. Provided it allows you to use the machine smoothly and efficiently, then what- ever suits you best will be the most appropriate method for you. (6) Train yourself from the beginning not te look at your fingers and the keys when operating the machine. You should learn from the outset to ‘touch’ operate the machine. This is very important as you will need to be able to read the text you are transcribing into braille while you are aetually operating the mavhine. With practice this becomes a natural, simultaneous operation.19 7.2 Erasing Inevitably we all make mistakes when writing braille. Even the most expert braillists can and do make slips, omit dots, or put in an extra dot. You must try very hard to be as accurate as possible because it is not easy to erase and correct braille so that the mistakes are completely unnoticeable when erased. The technique of erasing dots is one you will develop for yourself. Using the flat end of the eraser you can simply put it directly.on top of the dot and press down. Then you need to smooth out the edges with a circular motion of the eraser. When you have completed erasing a dot you should feel it with your finger-tip to make sure that the paper is smooth again. After all this is how the blind reader will read the page and any remaining unevenness or marking of the paper may confuse the blind reader. Always remember that the real test is not how the page looks — because the blind reader cannot see it ~ but how it feels to the finger- tips. . 7.3 Correcting ‘There are three main sorts of correction. {a) strengthening weak dots by re-doing them. Particularly when we have to depress five or six keys at the same time we some- times find one or more weak dots, or the whole cel] may be weak, In this case we must re-impress either the weak dot/ dots, or the whole cell. Sometimes it is easier and more effective to do each side separately if the cell has four or more dots, Remember when using this method to backspace for the second half. For example if we have weak dots or a weak cell for the word for which is , first re-do dots 1, 2 and 3; then backspace and re-do dots 4,5 and 6. (b) omitted dots — simply insert the missing dot or dots. When doing this make sure you have the cell in exactly the right position both vertically and horizontally before you make the correction; . (c) wrong dots — these have to be erased and then the correct dots have to be inserted:20 You should look at page _of the instructions for using the Per- kins Brailler. This gives two methods of correction. The ideal solu- tion is to use both methods. We strongly recommend that you correct line by line with the paper in the machine. Then when you have comple- ted the chapter or piece of work read it as a continuous piece of writing ~ just like ordinary proof-reading. If you find errors then mark them with a pencil (preferably a soft 4B pencil). Put the paper back in the machine carefully, making sure that the embossing head is exactly level with a cell on the bottom line — there is usually a small margin of space on each side of the paper and it is important to line it up vertical- ly. Then fully insert the page. Using the line spacer turn the paper up until you get to the line where the correction appears. It is important to insert the page fully. You will find that as the Paper moves up in the machine there is a very slight change in the line spacing. This is called ‘paper creep’ and happens because of the thickness of braille paper. If you insert the paper and only turn it up to the.line where the correction appears you may find that the dot you insert is not in line with the existing dots but comes either dightly higher or slightly lower than them, and that when inserting the dot you spoil the existing dots. If you insert the page fully and then turn the paper up to the relevant place you should find the embossing head is in exactly the right place, . When you have completed the correction you should check it carefully. You may find that the erased dot has re-appeared when you made the correction and needs erasing again. 8. USING THE BRAILLE PRIMER You need to have not only the Braille Primer but also the ‘Amend- ments (1979) to the Print Edition of 1969’ (both will be given to you when you enrol for the course). Before you start to use the Braille Primer you must insert these amendments as they are now incorporated into Standard English Braille. Once you have done this you should read the Introductory Remarks. You need not bother with the ‘Advice to Beginners’ on pages 2 — 5 as this refers to the Stainsbury Braille Writer and the Hand Frame. Instructions and advice on how to use the Perkins Brailler have been included in this Study Guide. Now you are ready to start with Lesson 1. When-you have mnastered this lesson you should complete the exercise. Check the exer-21 cise against the copy: Each line contains 36 cells which will help you to check your work. If you end up with more or less than 36 cells you know you have made a mistake, Then take your completed braille exer- cise and without reference to the Primer put it back into print. This will help you to improve your reading of braille. If you are in any doubt ask your tutor to check the completed exercise, either during your weekly tutorial session or by sending him the exercise by post. When you are sure that you have mastered Lesson 1, you can move on to Lesson 2. In this way work throughthe first five lessons. Then you must complete the test. The test will be written at your Study Centre. It will be checked by your tutor. Don’t forget when writing the test to put your name on your work! When the tutor has checked the test and found that you have completed it satisfactorily you can move on to the next group of lessons. You then repeat this process for each group of lessons, After Lesson 9 you will complete a test, and again after Lessons 14 and 23. After mastering Lesson 28 you are ready to take the final exa- mination. You will find some advice on the test and some specimen Papers at the back of the Primer on pages 72 to 78. These are meant for students in Britain and are not entirely relevant to Pakistan. In addition te these there will also be other specimen papers available which are more relevant to Pakistan and the situation here. These specimen papers can be obtained from’ your tutor, When you tell your tutor that you are ready he will arrange for you to write the final examination at your Study Centre. 9. CAPITAL LETTER SIGN The use of Standard English Braille in: P: R.N.LB. system exactly with one exception, In Britain the capital letter sign (dot 6) is not generally used. In Pakistan as in other countries such as the United States of America it is generally used. One advantage of using the capital letter sign is that it helps people whose knowledge of the English language may be weak. You should distegard the statement on Page 2 of the Primer. For this course ‘the Capital Letter Sign must be used wherever it appears in the printed text.22 ‘The capital letter sign 1s not regarded as a punctuation mark. It is placed before a braille sign to indicate that the letter it represents is a capital letter. In the case of contractions it indicates that the first letter of the contraction is a capital letter. if a word consists of two or more capital letters the capital letter sign is doubled to show that it is written entirely in capitals. For exam- ple TWO is written: If the whole passage is written in capital letters the double capital letter sign must be used before each word in the passage. ‘You can use a capital or double capital letter sgn before a contrac- tion ~ see the example on page 63 of the Primer. : You can use the capital letter sign at the beginning of a sentence before a lower contraction. For example if the sentence begins with the word ‘in’ you can use dot 6, followed by the cell dots 3 and 5. ‘This may all sound confusing at first but it wil! soon become fami- liar and easy. 10. SETTING OUT This section will make sense and be more relevant when you have worked through the Primer. Much of it, particularly the sections on ‘Contents Sheet’, ‘Footnotes’, ‘Poetry’, ‘Plays’, ‘Correspondence’, “Pictures and Illustrations’, and ‘Tables’, is intended more as reference material for later use. 10.1 General Hints They way we set out braille is particularly important for a blind reader, Because the blind reader of braille cannot easily adjust to diffe- rent lay-outs we have to standardise print lay-out when transcribing into braille. Print uses many devices to enliven the text and make it more attractive. The sightea reader can easily cope with such variations. If we try Lo use similar variations in braille we merely confuse the reader. If we are consistent, then the blind reader will be helped enormously in wher reading.23 Unfortunately there are very few rules laid down in the Royal National Institute for tne Blind’s various publications. You will find that in some matters the person or organisation for whom you are writing the braille will have their own specific requirements. This is usually confined to the number of cells in a line and lines on a page. Sometimes the Ther- moform Machine cannot reproduce the complete 11x11!” page. You may be asked to start the line in cell 2 or 3, and end.in cell 40 or 41. You may also be asked to leave the top and bottom lines blank. You must check before you start brailling the work. 10.2 Some Standara Rules (i) Headings — for example the titles of books or chapters — should be put in the centre ofthe page (this is called ‘cent- ring’). On page 78 of the R.N.LB. Primer you will find ins- tructions on how to centre a heading. This is based on a 36 cell braille line. Be very careful when you count the number ‘of cells needed for the heading. Don’t forget to include the capital letter signs and the spaces. Below are tables for 38, 40 and 42 cell braille lines. Count the number of cells required for the heading. Find the number in column A. The corresponding number in column B shows the cell in which the heading begins. 38 Cell Line 40 Cell Line 42 Cell Line A B A B A B 4 18 Si 19 4 20 6 17 6 18 6 19 8 16 8 17 8 18 10 15 10 16 10 17 12 14 42 15 12 16 i 13 14 14 15 15 1€ 12 16 13 16 14 18 il 18 12 18 13 20 10 20 1 20 12 22 9 22 10 22 pet 24 8 24 9 24 10 26 7 26 8 26 9 28 6 28 7 28 824 Examples. For an even number — if the Heading requires 16 spaces, the cor- responding numbers to 16 in column B are: 12, 13, and 14. For an odd number — if the Heading requires 13 spaces, the cor- responding numbers in column B are: 14 and 13; 15 and 14; and 16 and 15. You can begin the Heading in either number 14 or 13; 15 or 14; and 16 or 15. If the Heading is more than 28 cells it is better to spread it over two or more lines. You should try to make the two lines of the Heading roughly equal. Both lines should be centred independently. For example “The Oxford Book of Early English Verse”. Using the capital letter sign as in the print but omitting the inverted commas and final full-stop, in Grade II braille the total number of cells is 35. It will be convenient to break the Heading after “of” giving 16 cells in the first line an 18 cells in the second line (the space between “of” and ‘Early” disappears). The two lines will be centred as follows (for a 38 cell braille line): Line 1 16 cells Begin in cell 12 Line 2 18 cells Begin in cell 1125 (ii) Title Sheets: the title sheet of a volume should be laid out as follows: Line 3 Alice in Wonderland 4 by 3 Lewis Carroll 7 Volume 1 of 4 Volumes 8 9 By kind permission of the author and publishers 10 Hamish Hamilton Ltd. ll London 12 13 14 16 16 M7 18 19 20 21 +22 23 24 Transcribed by 25 Government Braille Press, Bahawalpur 26 1987 Each line should be centred. Any other necessary information, such as copyright details etc., should follow on the next sheet of the first volume only. (iii) Each page of the piece of work must have the following in- formation on the first line. (a) the print page number. On the first page this should be written as follows: beginning in cell 1 braille the word “Print” follow this by one blank braille cell; then braille the letter “p” unspaced ‘from the numeral sign and the print page number. You do not need to use the letter sign to precede the letter “‘p” On succeeding .(b) (c) 26 sheets you can omit the word “print”. You braille the letter “p’’, numeral sign and numbér. Repeat the print page number on as many braille sheets as necessary. You will often find that one print page needs two or three pages of braille If the print page number changes in the middle of a brailled sheet, you should number it as appropriate. For example: letter “‘p”: numeral sign 1~ 2. Note that a hyphen sign separates the numbers (see page 58 of the R NIB Primer). the title of the whole book or piece of work (not of the chapter). If this is too long to go on to one line you should shorten it. For example. “The Oxford Book of Early English Verse” could be shortened to “Early English Verse’. The reason for putting the title is iden- tification of the brailled material, so a recognisable shortened form will serve the purpose. The title is cen- tred (see also the last paragraph of “c” below). the braille page number. This is on the right-hand side of the brailled sheet, ending in the last cell of the line. You do not put the number on the first sheet. You begin the braille page numbers from the second sheet onwards, as follows: 23 45 6 7 8 9 10 ete. When the machine is set to braille 38 cells in each line, begin brailling the page numbers in the appropriate cell number shown in the first column of figures below; OR If you are using a braille line of less or more than 38 cells, begin brailling the page numbers in the appro- priate cell number shown in brackets in the second27 column, after counting back from the right-hand 37 (2) 35 (4) 35 (4) A hyphen sign 32 (7) separates the numbers. 34 (5) 341 (8) 36 (3) 34 (5) 33 (6) 30. (9) 32 (7) 29 (10) 35 (4) . 33° (6) 31 (8) 28 (11) Note the following. 1) ahyphen sign separates numbers; 2) the letter sign is used e.g. in 2a; 8) the numeral sign must be repeated if there is a letter in the se- quence, e.g. in 2a— 3.28 As you can see if it is a long book you will need eight or mote cells for the braille page number. You need to have this in mind when decid- ing on the shortened form of the title (see “b” above). You may have nine cells for the print page number (e.g. “p”. 100 — 101). and 8 for the braille page number. If you are using a 38 cell line you might even- tually get a total of 17 cells for the two page numbers. You must shorten the title to fit this from the beginning of the book. For example: “The Oxford Book of Early English Verse”. You have 17 cells for the two number pages, and in addition-you should leave two blank spaces between them and the title. This gives 21 cells for the numbers and spaces, and leaves only 17 cells for the title. If you abridge the title to “Early English Verse” you will neea 19 cells. So you will have to shorten the title even further, say to “English Verse” (12 cells). (ix) paragraphs — new paragraphs should be indented by two cells if you are beginning each new braille line in cell 1, you start each new paragraph in cell 3 of a new line. (v) breaks in the text — these can be indicated in two ways: a. leave a complete line blank b, use three asterisks with one space between each. The asterisks must be centred on the line following the last brailled piece of text. (vi) end of chapter/book — this is usually marked in braille by a row of twelve hyphen signs (dots 3 and 6), centred on the next line. (vii) emphasis. Often the printed text uses a variety of types to indicate emphasis — italics, heavy print, block capitals, ete. Examples: THIS IS YOUR BRAILLE STUDY GUIDE This is your Braille Study Guide This is your Braille Study Guide This is your Braille Study Guide29 Braille has less ways of showing emphasis. If italics are used in the printed text you can use italics in braille — see pages 60 — 62 of the R NIB Primer. If capital letters are used in the printed text you can use the capital letter sign doubled before each word. If the words are underlined or in bold (heavy) type you will have to decide on one of the following methods a. italics; b. capital letter signs; c. quotation marks. You may, of course, decide that the “emphasis” is not sufficiently important to make it worth using anything in the braille version. Very often fancy printing is for visual effect anu has no significance for the meaning of the text. 10.3 Contents Sheet The contents Sheet of a book is at the beginning of each braille volume and relates only to that volume. It follows immediately after the Title Sheet. If the “Contents” require more than one sheet, all the sheets after the first have “Contents” centred in line 1 with the braille page numbers at the right-hand end of the line in Roman numerals — ii, iii, and so on, a) b) ¢) Page is always written with the capital sign in the last 5 cells of line 4 on the front page of the Contents Sheet only, whatever thé arrangement in print. “Preface”, “Introduction”, etc., start in cell 3, as also do “Notes” at the end. the chapter number starts in the first cell; you should leave one space only between the chapter number and the chapter title, If the title carries over to a second line, you begin the second line in cell 5.d) e) f) 8) b) 30 You should use Arabic numbers for the chapter numbers in the left-hand column of the Contents Sheet, even if the printed text uses Roman numbers. the numeral signs ofthe page numbers should all be written under the “p” of Page. you should use “guide lines”” to bridge the space between the end of the chapter title and the numeral sign. There are two sorts of guide lines. a line of hyphens a line of dots 3 One clear space should be left between the end of the guiding line and the numeral sign. ‘Two hyphens are the minimum for a guiding line — if there are only three cells, leave them blank. a margin of five clear spaces should be left at the end of all lines that do not finish with a page number. you should use a line of twelve hyphen signs centred on the line at the end of the Contents Sheet.3 Here is an example of a Contents Sheets. First side: Line 1 2 3 Contents 4 Chapter (cell 1) (ends in last cell) Page 5 Introduction (cell 3). a seek 6 Preface. . I 7 1 The Pickwickians . .. ‘ 1 8 2 The First Day's Journey, and the First Evening’s Adventure. (5 spaces) 9. with the Consequence (start in cell 5) . 12 10 3 The Second Day’s Journey 18 ete. Second side: 1 Contents 2 10 The Mystery Revealed . - + 120 3 Notes 1—15 (start in cell 3). -- 181 4 12 centred hyphens 10.4 Word Division Lesson 28 of the R N I B Primer gives guidance on how to divide words at the end of the braille line. It is important to get into the habit of counting the cells at the end of the line before actually brailling the words, There is a bell which tells you when you have got to the last 7 cells. Unless it is clear that there is no problem about the end of the line, then it is a good idea to pause when you hear the bell and check the words and the number of cells needed. While space is precious we must also temember that the brailled work must be as easy as possible for the reader to understand. Some- times from the point of view of reading and understanding it may be better not to divide the word at all or to divide it at an earlier point if the word is a long word, even if this means leaving some blank spaces at the end of the line. This may be particularly true of proper names of people and places which may be unfamiliar to the reader. For example32 it may be better to divide Manchester as “Man-chester” rather than “Manche-ster” (which is a perfectly acceptable division) even though there is room for the latter division. While it is permissible to carry over an obvious ending or suffix (see 5 on page 71 of the R NI B Primer) it may be more helpful to the reader to divide the word at an earlier point, for example “abbreviation” might be better divided ‘abbre-viation ’ rather then “abbreviation”. While there are rules for your guidance, word division is more often than not something which the braille writer has to decide for himself. The most important consideration is that the word division should be as easy as possible for the reader to read and understand. 10.5 Footnotes ‘There are three methods for writing footnotes when brailling: i) short notes may be written at the foot of the same page. This is not common practice as it is not easy. The footnote must be brail- led completely on the same page with no carry-over to the next page. This means working out how many cells and lines you need for the footnote and making sure you leave that number of lines at the bottom of the page. If the footnote occurs near the bottom of the braille page, you may not have room for it in any case. ii) footnotes may be written in the text within square brackets. iii) the recommended system is to prepare a separate “Footnotes Sheet”. The way to do this is as follows. All footnotes should be numbered consecutively throughout a volume (not a complete book), whatever the symbol is in the printed text — for example a dagger, an asterisk, a number, and so on. You start at number 1 again in each succeeding volume. These footnotes should begin on a new sheet to be placed at the end of the volume. Normally punctuation should not follow a footnote reference number in the brailled text but should be written after the previous word. For example in the text you might find “. . . in London’, but . . In braille you will write“... in London!2, but . . .” However, a33 dash may follow a footnote number and there should be no space bet- ween them. In braille the footnote number in the text is preceded by an aste- risk, For example zt! ae" An asterisk and footnote number may begin a new braille line or even a new braille page. In print footnote numbers or symbols frequently appear at the end of set-out extracts in quotation marks. In braille the asterisk and footnote number will follow the closing quotation mark of the extract after one blank space. Occasionally text in print will have more than one reference to the same footnote. The first of these should be shown in the way descri- bed above. The page and line reference for it appear on the footnotes page followed by the text of the footnote. When you get to the further references, footnote numbers should be continued consecutively in the sequence. Their page and line references should be given on the Footnotes Sheet in the usual way. The text for these additional numbers will be. “See N-—” (the note number of the first instance of the footnote should be given). (i) Footnotes sneet* The sheet should have the central heading “Footnotes” (or “Footnote” if there is only one) on line 3. ~ If the footnotes extend on to more than one braille sheet, these additional sheets should have centred on line 1 the word “Footnotes” followed after one space by a Numeral Sign and the numbers of the Footnotes appearing on the sheet, for example “Footnotes -7— 14”, The footnote numbers should be brailled in the first cells of the line, In cell 5 of the same line you should braille “p” (for page) followed by the braille page number and the line reference on the braille page unspaced. Each line on the braille page should be counted whether it is written on or not —i.e. you count the blank lines. The text of the note follows the line reference after one space.34 Below is an example. When the footnote occupies more than one line of braille, the following lines should also start in cell 5, under the “p” of the page refe- rence. If a paragraph occurs within the footnote, then the new line should start in cell 7. ° If a footnote begins with verse, the introductory poetry sign (see page 64 of the R NI B Primer) should follow the page and line reference after one space. You should keep a record as you work of the braille footnote numbers and their page and line references, so that you can compile the footnotes sheet. 10.6 Poetry ‘There are two methods of writing poetry in braille. i) Each line of poetry should begin on a new braille line. The first line of each stanza should begin in the third cell. Succeeding lines should begin in the first cell. If the verse line is too long for one braille line, the carry-over should begin in the fifth cell. ii) Poetry may be written continuously as prose, with the poetry- line sign placed after the last word of each line of poetry. The poetry-line sign is followed by one space, and then you continue with the next line of verse. ‘The rules for the use of the poetry-line sign are on page 63 of the RNIB Primer. Usually the first method, although it requires more space, is pre- ferred as it is clearer. However, you should check with the person who35 has asked for the verse to be brailled on which method they want you to use. The rules for brailling poetry which occurs within prose, for example as a quotation, are on page 64 of the R NIB Primer. 10.7 Plays There are rules for the setting-out of plays. They are as follows: i) the names of the speakers (even if they are abbreviated) should be preceded by the italics sign, both at the beginning of speeches and in stage directions, but not where they occur in the text of the dialogue, For example: Peter: (speaking to John) I think Mary has gone out. ‘You use the italics sign before Peter, and John; but not before Mary. ii) stage directions, however they are written in print, must be enclosed in square brackets (see page 49 of the R N I B Primer) This applies also to the description at the beginning or end of a seene. The square bracket should be re-opened for each new para- graph. For example: John (standing by the chair): I hate you. (He moves across the stage.) In both cases you use square brackets and you do not use italics. iii) when a stage direction is set out on a line alone in print that is not in the middle of a piece of dialogue it should start in cell 3 of a new line and begin with the opening square bracket (see above). When the dialogue begins again a new line should be used starting in cell 3 for a new speakers name, or in cell 1 for the continuation of a speech by the same speaker. In the latter case you do not need to repeat the speaker's name, even if this is done in print, For example: a) Peter: I will kill you, (He takes a revolver out of his pocket.)iv) v) 36 John: Have pity on me. The stage direction begins in cell 3 with the opening of the square bracket. The continuation of the dialogue begins in cell 3, and you must use the italic sign before “John”. b) John: Have pity on me. (Peter raises the revolver and takes aim.) John; Don’t shoot! ‘The stage direction begins in cell 3 with the opening of the square bracket. The continuation of the dialogue begins in cells 1 and you omit “John”. Each speech should be treated as a paragraph with the speaker's name starting in cell 3 of a new line. The first word of dialogue or stage direction should follow on the same line after one blank space. Each succeeding line of the same speech should begin in cell 1. the punctuation in the print version should be retained after a speaker's name — this is usually a colon or a fullstop. If there is no punctuation after the speaker's name, you should add a full- stop in braille. If the speaker’s name is followed by a stage direc- tion, this punctuation should follow the closing square bracket of the stage direction. For example: vi) Peter (turning round quickly) I don’t think you understand. ‘You begin in cell 3 with “Peter” using the italics sign; you leave ‘one space and then open the square bracket; you braille the stage direction; you close the square bracket; you put a full-stop imme- diately after the square bracket (without leaving a space); you leave one space, and then you braille the speech. if a speech in verse follows a speech in prose, the speech in verse should start with the introductory Poetry Sign in cells 3 and 4 of a new line, followed after one blank space by the speaker's name. When prose is resumed it should start on a new line — see (ii) above,37 10.8 Correspondence ii) iii) iv) vy) vi) The print lay-out of letters should be followed as far as possible. However, some standardisation is necessary in braille. The elements of the sender’s address at the head of a letter should be arranged so that each line ends in the last cell of the braille lin When the addressee’s name and address are printed above the gree- ting, each element of it should start in cell 1. A valediction, for example “Yours sincerely” or “Yours faith- fully”, should be centred (however it is shown in print). The signature and/or subscript, which may be divided on to more than one line in print, should be brailled to end in the last cell of the line or lines. If the signature and/or subscript is too long to be written on one braille line, each portion should end in the last cell. Tne address, date and greeting must not be separated by the turn of the braille page from at least one line (or part of a line) of the text of the letter. Similarly the valediction and signature must not be separated from at least one line of the text of the letter. You may have to leave several lines blank at the bottom of the braille page.38 Here is an example of the standard braille lay-out; Cell 1 Last Cell 5 H. Smith and Sons, 9, Bridge Road, Sevenoaks, Kent. Mrs. J. Green, July 19 1987. 3, The Drive, Orpington, Ket. Dear Mrs. Green, (start in cell 1) ‘Thank you for your letter .. *(start in cell 3) T hope we will be able to fulfil your order before the end of this month, Yours faithfully, (Centred) P.R. Smith, General Manager. 10.9 Pictures and Ihstrations Print books often have pictures and illustrations. Sometimes these are put in to break up the text and add to the attractiveness of the book for the reader. Such pictures and illustrations are not essential to the meaning of the text and can be omitted in braille without any loss of comprehension or text for the blind reader. Sometimes the pictures and illustrations are essential to the text, In such cases your should not try to reproduce the picture or illustration. Instead you should describe it in sufficient detail for the purposes of the text, You should introduce the picture by some phrase such as: “Here in the text there is a picture (illustration).” Your description should then follow.39 For example: “Here in the text is a picture. We see a corner of one room with a wall on the rignt and a wall in front of us. In the wall in front of us isa window through which we can see the roof and chimneys of a house. Attached to the window frame on wire hooks are bunches of papers. Im- mediately under the window is a table. Behind the table a man is sitting on a chair. On the table is a pile of letters. To the right of the table as we look at it is an empty chair. In front of the table a man is standing. He is wearing an overcoat and carrying a book in his right hand.”40 10.10 Tables For a simple table you need first to count the greatest number of cells any one line will need. When doing this remember to count two spaces between each column. If you can fit the table on to the braille line then you should write it as in the print version, For example: Year No. of Passes No. of Failures 1956 13 2 1957 WL 4 If necessary you can braille the column headings on two lines. For example: Year No. of No. of Passes Failures 1958 12 ° 3 1959 15 0 If you cannot fit the table on to the braille line then you should braille it as follows, a) Before beginning the table, put the column headings in square brackets as a paragraph. b) Then make each print line across the table into a braille paragraph. For example: “The figures for the last general election are instructive, . . because they show some of the results of the British system of single-member constituencies: Conservatives Labour and Liberals Co-operative 1959 Votes 13,750,935 12,216,166 1,640,761 Seats 365, 258 6