What is braille?
Braille is for anyone who has or is likely to lose their sight and would find that using large print becomes difficult.
Braille is the alphabet and numbers, designed to be read by fingers rather than eyes. Braille is a code based on six dots, arranged in two columns of three dots.
There are two grades of braille:
- Uncontracted (previously Grade 1) Braille is a straightforward letter for letter translation from print and includes the alphabet, numbers and punctuation marks.
- Contracted (previously Grade 2) Braille has special signs for combinations of letters and more commonly occuring words, such as 'sh', 'ing', 'the' and 'for'. This reduces the size of Braille documents by about 25 per cent, and generally increases reading speed.
There are also special braille codes, for instance for music, mathematics, science and foreign languages.
The UK has recently adopted a revised Braille code known as Unified English Braille code (UEB) which is replacing Standard English Braille (SEB)
More information is available on our page on braille and other tactile codes or contact our Helpline on:
- 0303 123 9999
- helpline@rnib.org.uk
- Our online contact form
