Braille literacy at its most basic is the ability of blind or vision-impaired individuals to read and write. But it is more than this. Braille allows the blind to know the structure of their language.
For the sighted, the syntax of language comes through seeing words, sentences and paragraphs displayed on the page. They can see as well as hear how sentences are formed. They see those endings that often don’t get sounded properly: the rascally regular past tense -ed and often neglected (especially in the Southern English dialect) present participle -ing for example.
For the visually impaired, this ability to know and understand the shape and structure of language is not available – unless they learn to read through braille. Thus, a richer definition of braille[1] literacy encompasses the ability to know through touch how letters, words and sentences appear on the page.
For many sighted individuals braille is a mystery. Is it a special language? What does it look like? When and where did braille originate and how is it used today? These are questions this essay will attempt to explore.
[1] The Braille Authority of North America recommends capitalizing Braille when it refers to Louis Braille but lower case when referring to the braille code (National Braille Press).
Here is a link to the rest of the essay for ENGL C0831 Adult Language & Literacy.
https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AejvYXPv3HOaZGY5N2RucXBfMmNrdzI3dGZq&hl=en
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