Topic: OK, I have a way to remember the Braille alphabet.
boof started this discussion 1 year ago #121,005
As any resource should point out to you, the first 10 letters A to J have their patterns repeated for the next 10 letters K to T, with the difference that the second set has another dot at the lower left. The five letters U, V, X, Y, and Z have the same pattern as from A to E, but with two dots in the third row. The letter W is the odd one out, because Mr. Braille was French and the French alphabet did not have W. The extended Braille alphabet has several accented letters used in French, and the bonus W at the end of the set.More discussion to follow.
(Edited 41 seconds later.)
Dana joined in and replied with this 1 year ago, 6 minutes later[^] [v] #1,323,527
Can blind people read it quickly? I've always wondered that.
boof (OP) replied with this 1 year ago, 3 minutes later, 9 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,323,528
Oh I'd say some can. Depending on the person, it can be a tough skill to develop if the sense in the fingers is not satisfactory for whatever reason though.
Dana replied with this 1 year ago, 1 minute later, 11 minutes after the original post[^] [v] #1,323,529
boof (OP) replied with this 1 year ago, 11 hours later, 11 hours after the original post[^] [v] #1,323,599
So now I'll describe how I remember the Braille alphabet. Firstly, recall that if you can remember A to J, all the need to know for the remaining letters is that they have the same pattern but with one or two dots in the third row.
What I do is imagine animation, as I do for the Morse code mnemonics. Rehearse the animation in your mind and on paper enough, and it becomes easy enough to remember. OK, start with the single dot for A. I imagine a second dot emerging from the first and settling below, for B. Next I imagine the pattern rotating upward 90 degrees, for C. Then another dot emerges from the upper right dot and settles below, for D. Then I mentally strike off the dot at the upper right, for E. Next the lower dot diagonally moves to the higher dot, hitting it and splitting to form two dots, one of which settles below the upper left dot and the other to the right of the upper left dot, for F. Then another dot emerges from the upper right dot and settles below, for G. Then I again mentally strike off the dot at the upper right, for H. Next, I do a reversal type of move compared to the transition from E to F: I imagine the upper left and lower right dots diagonally moving together to merge into one dot and then bounce to settle in the upper right position, for I. And finally, another dot emerges from the upper right dot and settles below, for J.
What I do is imagine animation, as I do for the Morse code mnemonics. Rehearse the animation in your mind and on paper enough, and it becomes easy enough to remember. OK, start with the single dot for A. I imagine a second dot emerging from the first and settling below, for B. Next I imagine the pattern rotating upward 90 degrees, for C. Then another dot emerges from the upper right dot and settles below, for D. Then I mentally strike off the dot at the upper right, for E. Next the lower dot diagonally moves to the higher dot, hitting it and splitting to form two dots, one of which settles below the upper left dot and the other to the right of the upper left dot, for F. Then another dot emerges from the upper right dot and settles below, for G. Then I again mentally strike off the dot at the upper right, for H. Next, I do a reversal type of move compared to the transition from E to F: I imagine the upper left and lower right dots diagonally moving together to merge into one dot and then bounce to settle in the upper right position, for I. And finally, another dot emerges from the upper right dot and settles below, for J.
Anonymous C joined in and replied with this 1 year ago, 15 hours later, 1 day after the original post[^] [v] #1,323,682
What's "Danger, do not touch!", in Braille?
boof (OP) replied with this 1 year ago, 6 hours later, 1 day after the original post[^] [v] #1,323,704
Chuffed !m8sJfgzmLE joined in and replied with this 1 year ago, 2 hours later, 1 day after the original post[^] [v] #1,323,729
boof (OP) replied with this 1 year ago, 9 hours later, 1 day after the original post[^] [v] #1,323,823
Unlike the Morse code alphabet, Unicode has characters for Braille.
⠁ a ⠃ b ⠉ c ⠙ d ⠑ e ⠋ f ⠛ g ⠓ h ⠊ i ⠚ j
⠅ k ⠇ l ⠍ m ⠝ n ⠕ o ⠏ p ⠟ q ⠗ r ⠎ s ⠞ t
⠥ u ⠧ v ⠭ x ⠽ y ⠵ z ⠺ w
⠁ a ⠃ b ⠉ c ⠙ d ⠑ e ⠋ f ⠛ g ⠓ h ⠊ i ⠚ j
⠅ k ⠇ l ⠍ m ⠝ n ⠕ o ⠏ p ⠟ q ⠗ r ⠎ s ⠞ t
⠥ u ⠧ v ⠭ x ⠽ y ⠵ z ⠺ w
boof (OP) double-posted this 1 year ago, 2 days later, 4 days after the original post[^] [v] #1,324,146
There are some things worthwhile to notice in the Braille alphabet. Three of them at least vaguely look like the letter that they represent: F ⠋, J ⠚, and L ⠇. The one for X ⠭ can relate to the letter by joining pairs of dots diagonally.
boof (OP) triple-posted this 1 year ago, 1 day later, 6 days after the original post[^] [v] #1,324,481
Now look at the letters from D to J, but skip one as you go, so just D, F, H, and J. They are all the same arrangement of three dots, but rotated 90 degrees backwards as you go: ⠙, ⠋, ⠓, ⠚.