Braille at 200: The code that changed everyday life
Frenchman Louis Braille was in his teens in the mid-1820s when he began developing the six-dot tactile code that enables millions of blind and partially sighted people around the world to access the power of literacy. Two centuries on from its invention, braille is as vital as ever to those in the blind and partially sighted community.
Braille is a code based on 'cells' of six dots, which are arranged in two columns of three. Variations of the six dots represent the letters of the alphabet, words, numbers, and even music notation. Braille characters are designed to be read by touch rather than visually.
Sue Marshall (80) from Edinburgh, taught braille as a volunteer with RNIB Scotland for many years. Sue has keratoconus, a condition which affects the corneas of the eye. "I was partially sighted until the age of 17 then I became totally blind," she says. Her husband, Alan Dudley, who was born blind, learned braille from the age of six. They both advocate for the practical uses of braille in everyday life.
“When I learned braille in 1962, there wasn’t an alternative.” Sue says. “Nowadays there’s technology, which is compatible with braille, but I find it easier and quicker to use as is.”
Alan adds, “I’m more likely to read with the braille display on my phone or computer- it just pairs up and it means you can read emails, read a digital screen, and write in braille too. Of course there’s often audio for reading things aloud, but braille’s advantage is being able to write things down quickly.”
Sue first learned braille by writing backwards.
“You had to make the dots on the back of the paper - you were writing mirrored, so that when you flipped it over, it was raised up and you could feel and read it the correct way.”
Alan adds, “It wasn’t until the mechanical braillers, like the Perkins Brailler came in, that you could write braille in the way you read it- that really changed things.”
RNIB estimates that seven per cent of people who are registered blind or partially sighted use braille. While some will read braille books and magazines, many more will use braille in small daily doses- to identify medication, food labels, bank statements, and much more.
“I could get my phone out and use it to read the label on this bottle of oil,” Sue says. “But I’ve just put braille onto a sticky label and when I’m cooking, I can read it straight away. It’s really easy. Or when I need to find a stamp, I’ve organised them in this photo album where each pocket has a braille label to tell me if the stamps in it are first or second class.”
“I’ve got braille labels on my clothes,” adds Alan. “I can tell what they are by touch, but I’ve added braille on the labels to tell me what colour the item is.”
Sue and Alan also use braille in their celebrations. “M&S started doing their Christmas food catalogue in braille.” they say. “We always send out birthday cards and Christmas cards in braille, even to our sighted friends, because it’s that extra personal touch, and we love receiving them when they’re in braille too.”
For the couple, braille brings privacy and independence. “When they brought out braille on medications, it made a massive difference,” says Alan. “Even something as simple as paracetamol, when you can read the instructions yourself, the strength and the dose, it means you’re not relying on anyone else. Bank statements in braille too, that was another one that offered a lot of privacy when they started doing those.”
For those wanting to learn braille, Sue advises, “Use it or lose it. You’ve got to have that willingness to learn, and just keep using it in everyday life. You don’t have to be reading volumes of books, but just use it. It’s like learning a language, if you don’t keep it up, you’ll forget it.”
One of Sue’s pupils is Steph Thomson who started learning braille with Sue when she began to struggle with her sight and reading books. Steph volunteers at a nursery and was having issues reading with the children.
“Sue is fabulous, she has mentored me and has personally sacrificed so much in supporting me to study braille,” says Steph. “I am so lucky to have her support, and so grateful to her for giving me her time. I now get to incorporate braille into reading with the kids at work.
“Learning braille is not easy, it takes lots of practice and I sometimes get confused with the contractions. But reading braille is a skill and life is a learning journey so why not with braille? If technology fails you, it can provide another option and it’s fun! Having a skill that others don’t have is a nice place to be.
“Braille has a future, even with the advances in technology. Home videos didn’t spell the end of cinema, and eBooks didn’t spell the end for paperbacks, so my hope is braille continues to have its place for people who see the value in it.”
Since it published its first braille book in 1871, RNIB now has more than 11,000 braille titles for adults and children, which it sends out to anyone with sight loss free of charge. The charity also has products available for using braille in everyday life from labels to tactile maps and Scrabble tiles.
And what would the French teenager who developed the code think now? “I would hope he would be very pleased!” laughs Sue. Alan adds, “You’d think he would be amazed at how it was produced- mechanical machines and how quickly you can get a braille book printed.
“You’d hope Louis Braille would be proud of how much it’s contributed to so many people’s lives. He may not have realised the scale of what he’d done and how it would affect us 200 years later.”
