Translations and Other Language Solutions in French Language

BRAILLE

Braille is a writing system used by blind or visually impaired people to be able to write and read. This writing method was invented by a Frenchman named Louis Braille in 1821. Braille lost his sight when he was three years old as a result of a domestic accident. When he was ten years old, he had the opportunity to study at the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, which was one of the first educational institutions of this type. The blind students at the National Institute for Blind Youth had to learn reading by a system devised by the institute’s founder Valentin Haüy. The reading system used a copper wire, pasted in between two pieces of paper. This method had multiple drawbacks. First of all, students could not learn writing, and second of all, one book had many different types of texts. The books were quite thick and heavy and their weight could reach up to tens of kilograms. The institute had only three books of this type. In 1821, the former captain of the French army, Charles Barbier, visited the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. At one point, Napoleon demanded somebody to invent a writing system that could help soldiers communicate with each other at night, in complete darkness and silence, with no source of light. For this purpose, Barbier invented ‘night writing’, where letters on the paper were marked by poking twelve holes in different combinations. When Barbier arrived at the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, he introduced ‘night writing’ to the students. In the same year, Braille started developing his own writing method inspired by ‘night writing’, which he finished in 1824 when he was only fifteen years old. The main difference was that he implemented the use of six instead of twelve dots that he divided into three rows with two dots in each row. In this way, one letter could be read with one touch of the finger, which sped up the reading process. It was also easier to learn this writing system. A significant advantage over Haüy’s writing system was that Braille allowed to learn not only how to read, but also how to write. Later on, Braille also invented a writing method for math and musical notes based on his writing system. The first book in Braille was published in 1829. A book dedicated to the Braille writing method and use was published ten years later. He was an acknowledged teacher among his students at the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. Two years after his death, Braille writing was officially recognised in France. In 1878, Braille was recognised as the international writing system for the visually impaired.