Braille:
The Braille
system was invented by Louis Braille at the age of 15 in 1824 (Foulke 169). The
first implementation of the 6-dot Braille system evolved from a night writing
code used to send military messages that could be read on the battlefield when
no light source was present called “Ecriture Nocturne,” underscoring the
already discovered, albeit not refined, method of utilizing raised print
letters to enable blind people to read independently (National Braille Week Exhibition 2013). Louis Braille was a victim of blindness from the age of
three and was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in
Paris where his desire to read more books increased and lead him to experiment better
ways to do just that (National Braille Week Exhibition 2013). Thus, the Braille system was born out of need: social
determinism. Although the Braille is now known to be a fully equipped tactile
reading and writing system, the first paper published by Louis Braille was Music and Plain Songs by Means of Dots for
Use by the Blind (National Braille Week Exhibition 2013). Music has a very different form of reading and writing,
for it requires a sense of structure and methodology to communicate pauses and
beats. Perhaps the level of eloquence and structure necessitated to write music
in Braille allowed for further inquiry into its use as a tool for more
diversified forms of communication.
Sign
Language:
Sign
language is not simply pantomime, but rather a language that possesses
structural properties that have evolved independently of spoken languages. It
requires verbal agreement, aspectual marking, and has a system for forming agglutinative
classifiers (Sign Language). Although the earliest written record of a sign language can be dated back to the
fifth century BC, it was not until the 1960’s that sign language was formally
researched in the United States under Stokoe (Crasborn). American Sign Language
(ASL) was born only after structured research into sign language as a
communicative tool for the deaf people. Thus, sign language as a text
technology that requires instruction is relatively new.
The
Connection:
ASL, similar
to Braille, was born out of need. However, ASL is unique such that sign
language had already existed prior to its formalization. Social determinism may
have played a factor in birthing sign language, but technological determinism,
defined as formalized research and best practices, played a role in structuring
its use for dissemination, resulting in the advent of ASL. The origins of
Braille and ASL uncovers the underlying nature of disseminating a given text technology
that the masses have affinity towards, at least in respect to text technologies
aimed at enabling communication for the disabled. Whereas Braille began as a
result of focused aim at creating a reading and writing system, sign language evolved
naturally for centuries. Not until sign language was recognized as a discipline
did ASL become more widespread. This suggests that dissemination of a text
technology requires a level of instruction and standardization. In turn, this
requires the recognition of a tool’s value followed by its formal research. Furthermore,
the fact that Braille was formalized earlier implies that it had a greater
perceived value in society. As proposed
earlier, the eloquence of Braille allowed for further exploration in its
applicability to solve communication issues for blind people. Perhaps the
eloquence of research by “experts” provides credibility to a given text
technology. It seems as though formalization and eloquence are high criterion
for continued exploration in alternative communication methods for the
disabled.
1.
Crasborn,
Onno. "Phonetic and phonological distinctions in sign languages." Holland
Institute of Generative Linguistics.
(2000): 1-20. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://www.sign-lang.uni-hamburg.de/intersign/internal/vdhulst2.pdf>Foulke, Emerson. "5. Reading braille." Tactual
perception: A sourcebook(1982):
168.
2.
"National
Braille Week Exhibition 2013." Braille Facts.
N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.nationalbrailleweek.org/page/braille-facts>.
3.
"Sign
Language." WFD World Federation of the Deaf. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.
<http://wfdeaf.org/human-rights/crpd/sign-language>.
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