Grade 3 English Braille (using Grade 2 English Braille signs)

Grade 3 English Braille extends Grade 2 English Braille. Many of the concepts, signs, and rules are the same. We focus on the differences, because people usually learn Grade 2 before learning Grade 3.

Characters

The lists and tables of braille characters on this page use the traditional order for the 64 braille characters and sometimes group these characters into their traditional groupings. Many different braille codes use this order. The groupings help to show that the order is not entirely arbitrary. We show the usual Grade 2 English Braille sign for many of the characters in this list.

Group 0 character

The only character in group 0 is the space character, which does not use any dots.

Group 1 characters

The ten characters in group 1 use either dot 1 or dot 4 or both and can also use dot 2 and dot 5. These characters do not use dot 3 or dot 6.

Group 2 characters

The ten characters in group 2 repeat the pattern of the ten characters in group 1 with the addition of dot 3. These characters do not use dot 6.

Group 3 characters

The ten characters in group 3 repeat the pattern of the ten characters in group 1 with the addition of dot 3 and dot 6.

Group 4 characters

The ten characters in group 4 repeat the pattern of the ten characters in group 1 with the addition of dot 6. These characters do not use dot 3.

Group 5 characters

The 10 characters in group 5 repeat the pattern of the 10 characters in group 1 using the lower four dots instead of the upper four dots, so that a dot 1 in group 1 becomes a dot 2 in group 5, a dot 2 in group 1 becomes a dot 3 in group 5, a dot 4 in group 1 becomes a dot 5 in group 5, and a dot 5 in group 1 becomes a dot 6 in group 5. These characters do not use dot 1 or dot 4.

Group 6 characters

The six characters in group 6 all use dot 3 and never use dot 1 or dot 2. These characters can use dot 4 or dot 6 or both. They can only use dot 5 if they also use dot 4.

Group 7 characters

The seven characters in group 7 do not use any dots from the left-hand column and use at least one dot from the right-hand column.

Terminology

We describe a character that uses dots 1 or 4 (or both) as an upper character. We describe a non-space character that does not use dots 1 or dot 4 (or both) as a lower character.

An upper sign contains an upper character. A lower sign contains only lower characters. We can use any number of lower signs together.

A group sign represents a group of letters in a word. Context-insensitive group signs represent the same letters wherever that group sign appears in a word. Context-sensitive group signs represent different letters, depending on the position of that sign in a word.

Three types of context-sensitive group signs exist:

We can write a braille character by itself (as a word) to represent a word: We call this a one-cell word sign.

We call the seven characters in group 7 right-hand characters, because they consist only of dots 4, 5, and 6 (the dots in the right-hand column of the cell). These right-hand characters can precede any of the other characters to form two-cell signs.

We use the first four characters in group 7 to form two-cell word signs. Two-cell word signs represent words or groups of letters and we can use them in a larger word.

We use the last three characters in group 7 to form two-cell group signs. Two-cell group signs represent groups of letters and we can use them medially or terminally in a word.

A short form is a combination of braille signs that represents a word in an abbreviated form.

Outlining is the selective omission of the vowels "a", "e", "i", "o", and "u" from between two consonants of a word.

Sequencing is when we write two or more words without an intervening space: this creates a word sequence.

One-cell group signs

A group sign represents a group of letters in a word. Context-insensitive group signs represent the same letters wherever that group sign appears in a word. Context-sensitive group signs represent different letters, depending on the position of that sign in a word.

Context-insensitive group signs

Context-sensitive group signs

Three types of context-sensitive group signs exist:

Context-sensitive one-cell group signs
CharacterInitialMedialTerminal
i (dots 24)[i][i]ire
j (dots 245)de (syllable)[j]de (including ade ide ode ude)
q (dots 12345)ququle
u (dots 136)[u][u]ure
v (dots 1236)[v][v]ve (including ave ive ove) (extendable)
x (dots 1346)ex (syllable)[x][x]
z (dots 1356)[z][z]es
gh (dots 126)sp ghghgh
wh (dots 156)whwh se (end of syllable)wh se ose ise ize
ou (dots 1256)ou out (syllable)ouou ous (extendable)
ow (dots 246)ow re (syllable)owow
w (dots 2456)[w][w]ward (extendable)
lower a (dot 2)an (sequenced)ea[,]
lower b (dots 23)be (syllable)bb[;]
lower c (dots 25)concc[:]
lower d (dots 256)disdd[.]
lower f (dots 235)[to (sequenced)]ff[!]
lower g (dots 2356)[(]gg[)] ge (extendable)
lower h (dots 236)[“]rr[?]
lower j (dots 356)[by sequenced)]tt[”] te (including ate ete ite ote ute) (extendable)
ing (dots 346)ing un (syllable)inging
ble (dots 3456)[numeral sign]bleble
dot 3 (dot 3[at (sequenced)] [']['][']
dots 36 (dots 36compp[-] ce cy
dot 4 (dot 4[accent sign] [dot 4][accent sign] aa ae ai ao au ayay
dots 45 (dots 45[dots 45]oa oe io oo oyly
dots 456 (dots 456[dots 456]llll
dot 5 (dot 5[an (sequenced)] [dot 5]ee ei eo eu eyry
dots 46 (dots 46[italic sign]ssss
dots 56 (dots 56[letter sign]ua ue ui uu uyity ty
dot 6 (dot 6[capital sign]ia ie ii io iu iyian ion

We use square brackets ("[" and "]") to indicate other meanings of a character. These signs are not group signs, but they avoid having empty cells in the table.

We use "(syllable)" to indicate that we can only use a group sign when it forms a complete syllable.

We use "(extendable)" to indicate that we can follow a terminal group sign with the two-cell group signs dots 56 s ("ness") and dots 56 t ("ment") or with a one-cell sign necessary to complete the word. Examples:

We use "(end of syllable)" to indicate that we can only use a medial group sign at the end of a syllable.

We use "(sequenced)" to indicate that an initial sign represents a word sign that usually precedes the following word without a space.

One-cell initial group signs can follow each other. Examples:

We must not use the terminal group signs lower g (dots 2356) ("ge"), lower j (dots 356) ("te"), or dots 36 (dots 36 ("ce" or "cy") when our reader could mistake them for punctuation.

For words that end with "ies", we tend to use the terminal group sign z (dots 1356) ("es") to give i z rather than using the medial group sign dot 6 (dot 6 ("ie") to give dot 6 s.

Word signs and two-cell group signs

We can write a braille character by itself (as a word) to represent a word: We call this a one-cell word sign.

We call the seven characters in group 7 right-hand characters, because they consist only of dots 4, 5, and 6 (the dots in the right-hand column of the cell). These right-hand characters can precede any of the other characters to form two-cell signs.

We use the first four characters in group 7 to form two-cell word signs. Two-cell word signs represent words or groups of letters and we can use them in a larger word.

We use the last three characters in group 7 to form two-cell group signs. Two-cell group signs represent groups of letters and we can use them medially or terminally in a word.

Group 1 word signs and two-cell group signs

Word signs and two-cell group signs using characters from group 1
CharacterOne-cell word signTwo-cell word signsTwo-cell group signs
dot 4 (dot 4dots 45 (dots 45dots 456 (dots 456dot 5 (dot 5dots 46 (dots 46dots 56 (dots 56
a (dot 1)adot 4 a actdots 45 a appeardots 456 a alldot 5 a among  
b (dots 12)butdot 4 b betterdots 45 b beardots 456 b broughtdot 5 b bring  
c (dots 14)candot 4 c coursedots 45 c cleardots 456 c cannotdot 5 c Christ  
d (dots 145)dodot 4 d doingdots 45 d doesdots 456 d did donedot 5 d daydots 46 d ound 
e (dots 15)everydot 4 e etcdots 45 e eachdots 456 e evendot 5 e everdots 46 e ancedots 56 e ence
f (dots 124)fromdot 4 f firstdots 45 f feardots 456 f followdot 5 f father  
g (dots 1245)godot 4 g goingdots 45 g goesdots 456 g gonedot 5 g God dots 56 g ong
h (dots 125)havedot 4 h havingdots 45 h hasdots 456 h haddot 5 h here  
i (dots 24)Idot 4 i ifdots 45 i ideadots 456 i improvedot 5 i import  
j (dots 245)justdot 4 j joindots 45 j judgedots 456 j judgmentdot 5 j Jesus  

Group 2 word signs and two-cell group signs

Word signs and two-cell group signs using characters from group 2
CharacterOne-cell word signTwo-cell word signsTwo-cell group signs
dot 4 (dot 4dots 45 (dots 45dots 456 (dots 456dot 5 (dot 5dots 46 (dots 46dots 56 (dots 56dot 6 (dot 6
k (dots 13)knowledgedot 4 k kinddots 45 k keepdots 456 k knew knowndot 5 k know   
l (dots 123)likedot 4 l lifedots 45 l leastdots 456 l longdot 5 l lord dots 56 l ful (rarely used) 
m (dots 134)moredot 4 m maydots 45 m mostdots 456 m manydot 5 m mother   
n (dots 1345)notdot 4 n nextdots 45 n neardots 456 n neverdot 5 n namedots 46 n siondots 56 n tiondot 6 n ation
o (dots 135)O ondot 4 o olddots 45 o otherdots 456 o overdot 5 o one   
p (dots 1234)peopledot 4 p pre (syllable)dots 45 p pleasedots 456 p pro (syllable)dot 5 p part   
q (dots 12345)quitedot 4 q quietdots 45 q quickdots 456 q qualitydot 5 q question   
r (dots 1235)ratherdot 4 r representdots 45 r readdots 456 r regulardot 5 r right   
s (dots 234)sodot 4 s samedots 45 s sea seedots 456 s spiritdot 5 s somedots 46 s lessdots 56 s ness 
t (dots 2345)thatdot 4 t TRUEdots 45 t treatdots 456 t trulydot 5 t timedots 46 t ountdots 56 t ment 

We use "(rarely used)" to indicate that we do not usually use the two-cell group sign "ful", because we usually outline "ful" as "fl" and we take dots 56 l in a word to be the medial group sign dots 56 followed by the letter "l", indicating "ual", "uel", "uil", "uol", "uul", or "uyl".

We use "(syllable)" to indicate that we can only use the two-cell word signs "pre" and "pro" when these letters form a complete syllable.

Group 3 word signs and two-cell group signs

Word signs and two-cell group signs using characters from group 3
CharacterOne-cell word signTwo-cell word signsTwo-cell group signs
dot 4 (dot 4dots 45 (dots 45dots 456 (dots 456dot 5 (dot 5dots 46 (dots 46dots 56 (dots 56dot 6 (dot 6
u (dots 136)usdot 4 u updots 45 u upondots 456 u untodot 5 u under   
v (dots 1236)verydot 4 v livedots 45 v leavedots 456 v leftdot 5 v love   
x (dots 1346)itdot 4 x exceptdots 45 x extremedots 456 x exampledot 5 x extra   
y (dots 13456)youdot 4 y yetdots 45 y yeardots 456 y yourdot 5 y youngdots 46 y blydots 56 y itydot 6 y ally
z (dots 1356)asdot 4 z sidedots 45 z seemdots 456 z soondot 5 z askdots 46 z ancesdots 56 z ences 
and (dots 12346)anddot 4 and anydots 45 and anybodydots 456 and anythingdot 5 and anyone   
for (dots 123456)fordot 4 for forgetdots 45 for fortunedots 456 for fortunatedot 5 for foreign   
of (dots 12356)ofdot 4 of offerdots 45 of officedots 456 of officialdot 5 of often   
the (dots 2346)thedot 4 the thendots 45 the thesedots 456 the theirdot 5 the there   
with (dots 23456)withdot 4 with withindots 45 with withoutdots 456 with madedot 5 with make   

Group 4 word signs

Word signs using characters from group 4
CharacterOne-cell word signTwo-cell word signs
dot 4 (dot 4dots 45 (dots 45dots 456 (dots 456dot 5 (dot 5
ch (dots 16)childdot 4 ch changedots 45 ch chiefdots 456 ch chargedot 5 ch character
gh (dots 126)themdot 4 gh theydots 45 gh speakdots 456 gh spoke spokendot 5 gh special
sh (dots 146)shalldot 4 sh shedots 45 sh sharedots 456 sh shaltdot 5 sh short
th (dots 1456)thisdot 4 th thandots 45 th thosedots 456 th thoughdot 5 th through
wh (dots 156)whichdot 4 wh whodots 45 wh whosedots 456 wh wholedot 5 wh where
ed (dots 1246)whatdot 4 ed whendots 45 ed whetherdots 456 ed whiledot 5 ed why
er (dots 12456)wedot 4 er wantdots 45 er weak weekdots 456 er welldot 5 er went
ou (dots 1256)outdot 4 ou outsidedots 45 ou ouncedots 456 ou ourdot 5 ou ought
ow (dots 246)nowdot 4 ow owndots 45 ow howeverdots 456 ow allowdot 5 ow how
w (dots 2456)willdot 4 w willingdots 45 w worddots 456 w worlddot 5 w work

Group 5 word signs

Word signs using characters from group 5
CharacterOne-cell word signTwo-cell word signs
dot 4 (dot 4dots 45 (dots 45dots 456 (dots 456dot 5 (dot 5
lower a (dot 2)am an dots 45 lower a anotherdots 456 lower a alongdot 5 lower a alone
lower b (dots 23)bedot 4 lower b beginningdots 45 lower b believedots 456 lower b belongdot 5 lower b become
lower c (dots 25)isdot 4 lower c concerndots 45 lower c considerdots 456 lower c continuedot 5 lower c condition
lower d (dots 256)aredot 4 lower d differdots 45 lower d deardots 456 lower d downdot 5 lower d during
en (dots 26)enoughdot 4 en enterdots 45 en endeavourdots 456 en enclose inclosedot 5 en entire
lower f (dots 235)been to (sequenced)dot 4 lower f togetherdots 45 lower f toodots 456 lower f twodot 5 lower f toward towards
lower g (dots 2356)weredot 4 lower g givingdots 45 lower g greatdots 456 lower g gave givendot 5 lower g give
lower h (dots 236)hisdot 4 lower h hedots 45 lower h heardots 456 lower h herdot 5 lower h house
in (dots 35)indot 4 in insidedots 45 in insteaddots 456 in interestdot 5 in instant
lower j (dots 356)was by (sequenced)dot 4 lower j writingdots 45 lower j writesdots 456 lower j written wrotedot 5 lower j write

We use "(sequenced)" to indicate that when we use the one-cell word signs "to" and "by" (and also in lower f "into"), we must omit the space before the next word.

We must not use the lower one-cell word signs when our reader could reasonably mistake them for punctuation.

Group 6 word signs

Word signs using characters from group 6
CharacterOne-cell word signTwo-cell word signs
dot 4 (dot 4dots 45 (dots 45dots 456 (dots 456dot 5 (dot 5
st (dots 34)stilldot 4 st strangedots 45 st strengthdots 456 st strongdot 5 st straight
ing (dots 346)ordot 4 ing origindots 45 ing ordinarydots 456 ing ordinarilydot 5 ing order
ble (dots 3456)nodot 4 ble numberdots 45 ble nobodydots 456 ble nothingdot 5 ble none
ar (dots 345)medot 4 ar mightdots 45 ar meandots 456 ar mydot 5 ar mind
dot 3 (dot 3atdot 4 dot 3 somethingdots 45 dot 3 thingdots 456 dot 3 thingsdot 5 dot 3 someone
dots 36 (dots 36comedot 4 dots 36 comingdots 45 dots 36 comesdots 456 dots 36 camedot 5 dots 36 common

We must not use the lower one-cell word signs when our reader could reasonably mistake them for punctuation.

Forming the "ing" form of two-cell word signs that end with the letter "e"

We can form the "ing" form of a two-cell word sign that ends with the letter "e" by adding a letter "g". Examples:

Short forms

A short form is a combination of braille signs that represents a word in an abbreviated form.

Alphabetical list of words with short forms, subdivided by the initial letter of the word

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Inflecting short form words that end with the letter "e"

We can form the "ed" form of a short form word whose short form ends with the letter "e" by replacing that letter "e" with the letter "d". Examples:

We can form the "es" form of a short form word whose short form ends with the letter "e" by replacing that letter "e" with the letter "z". Examples:

We can form the "ing" form of a short form word whose short form ends with the letter "e" by replacing that letter "e" with the letter "g". Examples:

When we have a short form for a word that ends with the letter "e" and we form the "ing" form of that word by replacing that letter "e" with the letters "ing", we can form the short form of the "ing" form of the word by adding the letter "g" to the end of the short form of the word that ends with the letter "e". Examples:

Outlining

Outlining is the selective omission of the vowels "a", "e", "i", "o", and "u" from between two consonants of a word.

We can omit the vowel "a" from the first or only syllable of a word. We can omit the vowel "i" from the first or only syllable of a word when the vowel precedes the group sign "gh".

We can omit any of the vowels "a", "e", "i", "o", and "u" from second and subsequent syllables of a word of more than one syllable.

We cannot omit a vowel when:

Sequencing

Sequencing is when we write two or more words without an intervening space: this creates a word sequence.

  1. We can omit the space after the word signs "and", "for", "of", "with", "it", and "as" when:
    • The next word is not either of the word signs "to" or "by".
    • The next word does not begin with any of the lower initial group signs "be", "con", or "dis".
  2. We can omit the space after the word sign "the" when the next word is not either of the word signs "to" or "by".
  3. We can omit the space before the word signs "and", "for", "of", "the", and "with" when the preceding word is a word sign.
  4. We usually write the lower linking word signs ("am", "be", "is", "are", "been", "were", "his", and "was") without spaces before or after them. They should not begin or end a word sequence, unless the sequence begins "am I" or "is" or "are" precede a word sign.
  5. We can omit the space after the word signs "an" and "at".
  6. The word signs "come", "enough", and "in" can precede any word sign without a space.
  7. The word signs "a" and "have" can follow any word without a space.
  8. Most of the time, we can omit the space after a two-cell word sign. We use a space when:
    • The next word is either of the word signs "to" or "by".
    • The next word begins with any of the lower initial group signs "be", "con", or "dis".
  9. We never sequence the word "o".
  10. We must not omit spaces when doing so would create ambiguity in that situation.

Examples:

Other rules

Formatting

Rather than starting a new line and indenting with two spaces, we can use three spaces to separate paragraphs.

Unusual words

We usually do not use Grade 3 for unusual spellings, dialect, proper names, and foreign words. However, we can use Grade 3 with words of this sort that occur frequently, when they have become familiar to our reader. Alternatively, we can use special abbreviations for such words.

Special abbreviations

We can introduce special abbreviations for long or common words that appear in our text. For example, we could decide to write "parliament" as p dots 56 t or p ar dot 3. We should introduce the special abbreviations in a note in our text. We should position this note where our reader should easily find it. If we decide to use just an initial letter as an abbreviation, we should precede it with the letter sign (dots 56).

Choice of signs

When we have a choice between two or more ways of writing a word with equal brevity, we use the one that is clearest, which usually means we choose the form with the fewest alternative meanings.

Capitalization

We usually omit the capital sign (dot 6), unless it is necessary to give a special effect or emphasis or to clearly identify an unusual proper noun.

Numbers

We can use the 64 braille characters after the numeral sign (ble) to represent the numbers 0 to 63. We can use these characters to represent these numbers or we can use them to represent digits in larger numbers.

Numbers represented by braille characters subdivided by group

Group 0 number 0

  1. space (no dots)

Group 1 numbers 1 to 10

  1. a (dot 1)
  2. b (dots 12)
  3. c (dots 14)
  4. d (dots 145)
  5. e (dots 15)
  6. f (dots 124)
  7. g (dots 1245)
  8. h (dots 125)
  9. i (dots 24)
  10. j (dots 245)

We can also use ble j to mean 0 as in Grade 2, but this creates an ambiguity that might cause confusion. I have proposed some extensions to represent 0 in a less ambiguous way.

Group 2 numbers 11 to 20

  1. k (dots 13)
  2. l (dots 123)
  3. m (dots 134)
  4. n (dots 1345)
  5. o (dots 135)
  6. p (dots 1234)
  7. q (dots 12345)
  8. r (dots 1235)
  9. s (dots 234)
  10. t (dots 2345)

Group 3 numbers 21 to 30

  1. u (dots 136)
  2. v (dots 1236)
  3. x (dots 1346)
  4. y (dots 13456)
  5. z (dots 1356)
  6. and (dots 12346)
  7. for (dots 123456)
  8. of (dots 12356)
  9. the (dots 2346)
  10. with (dots 23456)

Group 4 numbers 31 to 40

  1. ch (dots 16)
  2. gh (dots 126)
  3. sh (dots 146)
  4. th (dots 1456)
  5. wh (dots 156)
  6. ed (dots 1246)
  7. er (dots 12456)
  8. ou (dots 1256)
  9. ow (dots 246)
  10. w (dots 2456)

Group 5 numbers 41 to 50

  1. lower a (dot 2)
  2. lower b (dots 23)
  3. lower c (dots 25)
  4. lower d (dots 256)
  5. en (dots 26)
  6. lower f (dots 235)
  7. lower g (dots 2356)
  8. lower h (dots 236)
  9. in (dots 35)
  10. lower j (dots 356)

Group 6 numbers 51 to 56

  1. st (dots 34)
  2. ing (dots 346)
  3. ble (dots 3456)
  4. ar (dots 345)
  5. dot 3 (dot 3
  6. dots 36 (dots 36

Group 7 numbers 57 to 63

  1. dot 4 (dot 4
  2. dots 45 (dots 45
  3. dots 456 (dots 456
  4. dot 5 (dot 5
  5. dots 46 (dots 46
  6. dots 56 (dots 56
  7. dot 6 (dot 6

Using numbers to represent dates and times

We can use the braille characters to represent dates numerically, without any characters to separate the numbers that represent the year, month, and day.

We can use the braille characters to represent times numerically, without any characters to separate the numbers that represent the hour, minute, and second.

Proposed extensions

I propose some small extensions to Grade 3 in this section. These extensions have no official standing, but you can use them if you like them. Please tell me about your own suggestions for extending Grade 3.

Proposed group signs

I propose the following two-cell group sign that we can use medially or terminally:

  • dots 56 b (dots 56 dots 12) bility

Proposed short forms

I propose the following short form:

  • parliament: p dots 56 t (dots 1234 dots 56 dots 2345)

Proposed outlining simplification

I propose simplifying the outlining rules.

We can omit any of the vowels "a", "e", "i", "o", and "u" that occur between two consonants of a word provided that the word remains unambiguously recognizable in the current context. We treat the group sign "qu" as a consonant. The second consonant cannot be the letter "y".

We should only omit vowels when we believe that the reader should be able to recognize two or more consonants that do not usually occur together in English words and can easily determine the word by considering each of the possible vowel omissions in turn. The reader should consider each pair of consonants where a vowel might have been omitted and each of the possible vowels that might have been omitted. When a group of more than two consonants could suggest that multiple vowels have been omitted, the reader should consider the possibility of the lowest number of vowels being omitted before considering higher numbers of vowels being omitted. If the possible words of the same length were arranged in alphabetical order, the first word that fits the context should be the correct word.

We should only omit vowels from words that we believe will be familiar to our reader. Although we give examples of many unusual or meaningless words to demonstrate the process, our reader should be able to quickly determine the word by considering the short list of possible words that make sense in the context and should not need to struggle to recognize unfamiliar words.

Examples:

  • b n ch: The letters "bn" do not usually occur together in English at the beginning of a word and the characters do not form one of the short form words, so a vowel must have been omitted between "b" and "n". The vowel before the letter "n" was not "e" or "i", because otherwise the group signs "en" or "in" would have been used. The possible words are "banch", "bonch", and "bunch". The first possible word in most contexts would be "bunch".
  • m n d n e: The letters "mndne" do not usually occur together in English and do not form one of the short form words, so at least one vowel must have been omitted. If a vowel was omitted before the letter "n", it was not "e" or "i", because otherwise the group signs "en" or "in" would have been used. If a vowel was omitted before the letter "d", it was not "e", because otherwise the group sign "ed" would have been used. If a vowel was omitted before the letters "ne", it was not "o", because otherwise the word sign "one" would have been used. If only one vowel was omitted, the possible words are "mandne", "mnadne", "mndane", "mndune", "mnidne", "mnodne", "mondne", and "mundne". If none of these seem like possibilities in the context, we consider that more than one vowel was omitted. If two vowels were omitted, the possible words are "manadne", "mandane", "mandune", "manidne", "manodne", "manudne", "mnadane", "mnadune", "mnidane", "mnidune", "mnodane", "mnodune", "monadne", "mondane", "mondune", "monidne", "monodne", "monudne", "munadne", "mundane", "mundune", "munidne", "munodne", and "munudne". The first possible word in most contexts would be "mundane".
  • st r k: The letters "strk" do not usually occur together in English and these characters do not form one of the short form words, so at least one vowel must have been omitted. A vowel was not omitted between the letters "s" and "t", because the group sign "st" was used. If a vowel was omitted before the letter "r", it was not "a" or "e", because otherwise the group signs "ar" or "er" would have been used. If only one vowel was omitted, the possible words are "stirk", "stork", "strak", "strek", "strik", "strok", "struk", and "sturk". The first possible word in most contexts would be "stork".
  • st r k e: The letters "strke" do not usually occur together in English and do not form one of the short form words, so at least one vowel must have been omitted. A vowel was not omitted between the letters "s" and "t", because the group sign "st" was used. If a vowel was omitted before the letter "r", it was not "a" or "e", because otherwise the group signs "ar" or "er" would have been used. If only one vowel was omitted, the possible words are "stirke", "storke", "strake", "streke", "strike", "stroke", "struke", and "sturke". The first possible word in most contexts would be "strike".

Proposed sequencing simplification

I propose simplifying the sequencing rules.

We can omit spaces between words in the same phrase whenever doing so does not create an ambiguity in that context.

Examples:

  • Can we do this or not?: c er d th ing n lower h
  • I just do not know what to do with it: i j d n dot 5 k ed lower f d with x

Proposal for including uncontracted braille

I propose a simple way to include uncontracted braille characters.

We can use the letter sign (dots 56) to introduce a sequence of uncontracted braille that is terminated by a space. We can use the letter sign immediately followed by a space to introduce a passage of uncontracted braille that is terminated by another letter sign followed by a space.

We can borrow many features of six-dot Computer Braille Code to use in our sequences and passages of uncontracted braille.

Printable ASCII characters

  • ! the (dots 2346)
  • " dot 5 (dot 5
  • # ble (dots 3456) (when in a passage of uncontracted braille) or ble dots 56 (dots 3456 dots 56) (when in a sequence of uncontracted braille)
  • $ ed (dots 1246)
  • % sh (dots 146)
  • & and (dots 12346)
  • ' dot 3 (dot 3
  • ( of (dots 12356)
  • ) with (dots 23456)
  • * ch (dots 16)
  • + ing (dots 346)
  • , dot 6 (dot 6
  • - dots 36 (dots 36
  • . dots 46 (dots 46
  • / st (dots 34)
  • 0 lower j (dots 356)
  • 1 lower a (dot 2)
  • 2 lower b (dots 23)
  • 3 lower c (dots 25)
  • 4 lower d (dots 256)
  • 5 en (dots 26)
  • 6 lower f (dots 235)
  • 7 lower g (dots 2356)
  • 8 lower h (dots 236)
  • 9 in (dots 35)
  • : wh (dots 156)
  • ; dots 56 (dots 56
  • < gh (dots 126)
  • = for (dots 123456)
  • > ar (dots 345)
  • ? th (dots 1456)
  • @ dot 4 (dot 4
  • A dots 456 a (dots 456 dot 1)
  • B dots 456 b (dots 456 dots 12)
  • C dots 456 c (dots 456 dots 14)
  • D dots 456 d (dots 456 dots 145)
  • E dots 456 e (dots 456 dots 15)
  • F dots 456 f (dots 456 dots 124)
  • G dots 456 g (dots 456 dots 1245)
  • H dots 456 h (dots 456 dots 125)
  • I dots 456 i (dots 456 dots 24)
  • J dots 456 j (dots 456 dots 245)
  • K dots 456 k (dots 456 dots 13)
  • L dots 456 l (dots 456 dots 123)
  • M dots 456 m (dots 456 dots 134)
  • N dots 456 n (dots 456 dots 1345)
  • O dots 456 o (dots 456 dots 135)
  • P dots 456 p (dots 456 dots 1234)
  • Q dots 456 q (dots 456 dots 12345)
  • R dots 456 r (dots 456 dots 1235)
  • S dots 456 s (dots 456 dots 234)
  • T dots 456 t (dots 456 dots 2345)
  • U dots 456 u (dots 456 dots 136)
  • V dots 456 v (dots 456 dots 1236)
  • W dots 456 w (dots 456 dots 2456)
  • X dots 456 x (dots 456 dots 1346)
  • Y dots 456 y (dots 456 dots 13456)
  • Z dots 456 z (dots 456 dots 1356)
  • [ ow (dots 246)
  • \ ou (dots 1256)
  • ] er (dots 12456)
  • ^ dots 45 (dots 45
  • _ dots 456 dots 456 (dots 456 dots 456)
  • ` dots 456 dot 4 (dots 456 dot 4)
  • a a (dot 1)
  • b b (dots 12)
  • c c (dots 14)
  • d d (dots 145)
  • e e (dots 15)
  • f f (dots 124)
  • g g (dots 1245)
  • h h (dots 125)
  • i i (dots 24)
  • j j (dots 245)
  • k k (dots 13)
  • l l (dots 123)
  • m m (dots 134)
  • n n (dots 1345)
  • o o (dots 135)
  • p p (dots 1234)
  • q q (dots 12345)
  • r r (dots 1235)
  • s s (dots 234)
  • t t (dots 2345)
  • u u (dots 136)
  • v v (dots 1236)
  • w w (dots 2456)
  • x x (dots 1346)
  • y y (dots 13456)
  • z z (dots 1356)
  • { dots 456 ow (dots 456 dots 246)
  • | dots 456 ou (dots 456 dots 1256)
  • } dots 456 er (dots 456 dots 12456)
  • ~ dots 456 dots 45 (dots 456 dots 45)

Indicators in uncontracted braille

  • dots 456 ing (dots 456 dots 346): Computer Braille Code indicator, terminated by the termination indicator dots 456 wh (dots 456 dots 156)
  • dots 456 and (dots 456 dots 12346): continuation indicator, indicates that the line break that follows it in braille is not present in the original
  • dots 456 ch (dots 456 dots 16): Emphasis indicator, terminated with dots 456 st (dots 456 dots 34)
  • dots 456 ar (dots 456 dots 345): Caps lock indicator, terminated by the caps release indicator dots 456 gh (dots 456 dots 126) or space. After the caps lock sign, we represent the upper case letters from "A" to "Z" without the shift indicator (dots 456 (dots 456) and we represent the lower case letters from "a" to "z" with the shift indicator.
  • dots 456 sh (dots 456 dots 146): Nemeth Code indicator, terminated by the termination indicator dots 456 wh (dots 456 dots 156)
  • dots 456 th (dots 456 dots 1456): Half-line shift down (subscript) indicator, terminated by space or the termination indicator dots 456 wh (dots 456 dots 156)
  • dots 456 ble (dots 456 dots 3456): Half-line shift up (superscript) indicator, terminated by space or the termination indicator dots 456 wh (dots 456 dots 156)
  • dots 456 ed (dots 456 dots 1246): Shape indicator for describing shapes and other characters, terminated by the termination indicator dots 456 wh (dots 456 dots 156)
  • dots 456 (dots 456: Numeral sign (in an uncontracted sequence) or the number symbol # (in an uncontracted passage)

Examples of uncontracted braille

  • 25%: ble z dots 56 sh
  • $15: dots 56 ed ble o
  • P#11(b): dots 56 dots 456 p ble ble k dots 56 of b with
  • #tag: ble dots 56 t a g

Proposed numeric signs

Sometimes we need to represent the digit 0 unambiguously and we need to represent other numerical concepts. We can do this by using the characters in groups 1 to 5 after the numeral sign (ble) to represent the numbers from 1 to 50 (and the digits of these numbers in larger numbers) and use the characters in groups 6 and 7 after the numeral sign to take other meanings .

Group 6 numeric signs

  • st (dots 34): Slash symbol ("/"), used to separate the numerator from the denominator of a fraction or as a separator elsewhere (for example, in dates) (We can omit a numerator of 1 from a fraction.)
  • ing (dots 346): Superscript, terminated with a space or ing dot 3
  • ble (dots 3456): Number sign (#) (when it immediately follows the numeral sign) or space or other character used as an unspecified separator (for example, in telephone numbers or dates) or to separate the whole and fractional parts of a mixed fraction
  • dot 3 (dot 3: Comma (","), used as a numerical separator
  • dots 36 (dots 36: Subscript, terminated with a space or dots 36 dot 3

Group 7 numeric signs

  • dot 4 (dot 4: 0
  • dots 45 (dots 45: 00
  • dots 456 (dots 456: 000 (We can omit any thousands separator occurring immediately before or after this sign.)
  • dot 5 (dot 5: Mathematical symbol prefix, used when symbols might otherwise be mistaken for numbers
  • dots 46 (dots 46: Decimal point or full stop ("."), used as a numerical separator (When a zero immediately follows a numeral sign and precedes a decimal point, we can omit the zero.)
  • dots 56 (dots 56: Letter sign (When a number sign immediately follows the numeral sign and precedes the letter sign, we can omit the number sign.)
  • dot 6 (dot 6: Comma (","), used as a numerical separator