English Braille

English Braille is a tactile writing system that uses raised-dot cells to represent English letters, punctuation, numbers, and other symbols. Its codes vary by context and include contracted forms that shorten common words and letter groups.

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Braille cell: A standard Braille unit is a rectangle of six or eight positions arranged in two columns. Its six-dot form is the basic space in which English Braille patterns are written.
Grade 1 Braille: Uncontracted Braille that writes letters and symbols without word or letter-group contractions. It shows English text without the shortening conventions used in contracted Braille.
Louis Braille: French educator Louis Braille developed a tactile reading and writing system based on raised dots in the 1820s. His dot system became the foundation adapted for writing English.
Braille literacy: The ability to read and write Braille using touch. Literacy depends on mastering English Braille's cells, contractions, and conventions.
Print disability: A disability that prevents or limits access to printed material in its conventional visual form. English Braille is one format used to make text accessible to people with print disabilities.
Braille alphabet: A set of raised-dot patterns representing letters in a Braille writing system. English Braille assigns letter patterns to the alphabet through combinations within the cell.
Grade 2 Braille: Contracted Braille that uses signs for common words and letter groups. It illustrates how English Braille reduces space and reading time through contractions.
Charles Barbier: A French army officer who devised a raised-dot communication system called night writing. Barbier's system supplied the tactile-dot idea that Louis Braille reworked into a practical code.
Refreshable Braille display: An electronic device that raises and lowers pins to display changing Braille text. It renders digital English text as tactile Braille cells.
Moon type: A tactile reading system that uses raised simplified letter shapes rather than dot cells. Moon type is a distinct tactile alternative to English Braille's dot-pattern code.