Braille:
(Salomon, ix)
Braille is the system of “touch reading and writing”
utilizing raised dots to represent letters of the print alphabet and symbols to
represent punctuation, mathematics and scientific characters to aid those who
are blind or visually impaired (National
Braille Week Exhibition 2013). As
opposed to ASL which relies on a visual-gestural language, Braille relies on
the strengthening of the sense of touch to decipher meaning. It is a tactile TEXT
technology and requires one to improve his sense of touch on his fingertips. Braille
is essentially codified symbology for the written alphabet. Symbols are formed
within units of space called cells, where a full cell consists of six raised
dots “arranged in two parallel vertical rows each having three dots” (National Braille Week Exhibition 2013). The positions of raised dots in a given cell is what distinguishes
a given letter, number, punctuation or even word. Pupils begin to learn Braille
by improving their sense of touch by playing with peas and macaroni to acquire
a nuanced understanding of textuality (Faulke 170). From there, trained instructors
teach the meanings of different combinations of Braille until the individual
can progress to writing their own messages using Braille machines (Salomon).
Apparent
from the way in which Braille is utilized, it offers blind people a great deal
of independence. In order to read or write, a second party is not needed to assist
in the information transfer. So long as a Braille alternative exists, blind
people are able to fully immerse themselves into the same culture of reading
books and written text as those without the disability. Furthermore, their
exists Braille in foreign languages, allowing people to not only learn
communication in English, but also in French, Arabic, etcetera (Faulke 169).
The ability to read and write in foreign languages further underscores its
utility in retaining the essence of what is being communicated as well as full
access to intellectual freedom and literacy.
A viable
question would be to ask what the rationale behind using raised dots
symbolizing the alphabet versus actual raised letters? The prevailing belief is
that a relational method of dots that is formalized and designed for
sensitivity for the human touch may be easier to use than symbols (the
alphabet) that were intended for visual recognition. Braille was intended for
use by touching, thus it functions with that specificity in mind. The mismatch
of intention and function may lower the efficacy of the tactile system.
Furthermore, it can be conceived that typing (in Braille) and reading in
Braille would be faster with uniform, easy-to-create dots as opposed to more
elaborate symbols, such as the alphabet. It is also simpler and can be
analogized to that of present-day computers using binaries of 0 or 1. Either
there is a raised or there is none. There is no room for confusion or doubt,
whereas raised letters would be slower and more difficult to decipher if what
one is feeling is a part of the same letter or a different letter since there
is no uniformity.
Sign
Language:
For the
deaf, sign language allows one to understand verbal communication through
structured visual-gestural actions. The loss of hearing is compensated by
increased, dual use of motion and visuals. Although a “language,” sign language
is in fact a communicative tool, for it attains the goal of universality—universality
referring to the ability to retain meaning and converse in different languages,
similar to that of Braille. Like the spoken word, there are different “sign
languages” for different languages defined through spoken word; there even
exist dialects within these sign languages (Sign Language). Communicating
through ASL utilizes a completely different type of communication modality than
what is trying to be compensated. Although the spoken word is an auditory-vocal
languages/tool and ASL is visual-gestural, ASL still has strict rules of
engagement. In other words, it retains a strict structure of sequences of “movements
and configurations of the hands and arms, face, and upper torso,” analogous to
proper grammar (Sign Language).
ASL
has a structure that can be analyzed and divided into segments based on
sentences, signs, and their components. ASL is composed of manual and non-manual
properties; nonmanual properties are known to play a role in lexical
distinctions and manual properties involve characterization of handshape,
movement of the hand, location, and orientation (Crasborn). ASL adopts an
LML-skeleton in communicating messages (Crasborn). The LML-skeleton is a guideline
for hand motions and guides the initial location, intermediary movement, and
final movement to convey the meaning of what is being gestured. The
mechanization of motion to convey meaning is the tool and substrate for ASL,
and all sign languages for that matter.
The Connection:
In
its endeavors in compensating for its respective sensory disabilities, both
Braille and ASL retain the basic materiality of the original form of
communication being replaced. For example, Braille utilizes a paper substrate
for record-keeping, much like other written text that can be visualized. ASL
retains the use of using the human body to convey messages; just as how
presence is needed to acquire the knowledge stored in the spoken word, presence
and attention is needed to acquire the knowledge stored in ASL. Thus, Braille
and ASL possess the same record-keeping properties as the communication gap caused
by the disability they are restoring, but each provide a different
technological decoder for absorbing the message. In terms of function, whereas
Braille allows for independence, ASL is reliant on a second-individual who is
able to hear and transcribe what is heard into sign language for the deaf
individual. Although both Braille and ASL are very structured, ASL can be
construed as more complex of the two. Whereas Braille aims for simplicity and
faster in- and output, ASL seems to give importance to precision. Perhaps this
is due to the transient nature of the TEXT ASL creates and the degree of chaos
motion allows room for. It would be permissible to identify Braille as more inherently
uniform as opposed to ASL, which must account for variations in human movement.
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
2.
Foulke, Emerson. "5. Reading
braille." Tactual perception: A sourcebook(1982): 168.
3.
"National Braille Week Exhibition 2013." Braille
Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.nationalbrailleweek.org/page/braille-facts>.
4.
Salomon, David. A
guide to data compression methods.
Vol. 1. Springer, 2002.
5.
"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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