The literary braille code uses the traditional alphabet along with 189 contractions that represent a group of letters or whole words. For example, most letters of the alphabet stand for a word when there is a space on both sides of it. For example, the letter “b” stands for but and the letter “e” stands for every. Learning the contractions may seem a little like learning shorthand or figuring out a secret code. It takes time and lots of practice!

There are more than 450 rules that govern the use of the contractions. Oh, the rules we must learn in order to read and write in braille! In addition, we also need to know the basics of formatting. Some principles of braille formatting parallels that of print materials, while others do not.

From time to time I will offer information or a strategy for learning the contractions, rules, or basic formatting. Whether you are just learning braille or have known the braille code for many years, I hope you will find the tips helpful! If you have specific areas or questions you would like for me to address, just send me an email at therzberg@uscupstate.edu.

Punctuation

Let’s begin with punctuation. There is no space between the end of a word and a punctuation sign. This is an example of where braille follows the conventions of print.

Queens

I think of the contractions in terms of royalty where the queens are in charge and the less powerful princes and peons must defer to the queen’s authority. Let’s start this month with the queens.

Queens in braille include the following: the, of, and, for, with. I think of them as royalty or queens because they can stand for whole words or be used as parts of words.

Here’s an example of queens being used in a sentence.

Snugglers

The queens and “a” can be written together without a space between them. This makes them a snuggler to me. Others call them huggers.

In addition, the queens take priority over other part-word signs. For example, in the words then and them, we would use the, not th.

In office and official, we would use of, not ff.

Just remember that the queens rule!

Check back in October to learn about the princes and peons.

For more braille tips, visit the Braille Tip section of BrailleSC.org.