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Question: Can Braille be written in different fonts? (self.Blind)
submitted by morallyequivocal
Hi, I am not blind but I just had this thought the other day that I cannot shake off - can braille be written in different fonts? By this I don't mean fonts you can download to a computer and punch through later. I mean the physical process of punching through to make those little raised dots. Human fingertips are extremely sensitive to touch and a font could alter the entire context of what is being said. For example, if you wanted to write a birthday card or something, you could use very rounded dots like one might use their best calligraphy-like handwriting for such a task. Or if you wanted to accentuate a point, more pointed dots would be used. Dots with different edges could be used to convey different meanings. If anyone could shed some light on whether braille has fonts or not I would appreciate it - I tried googling it this morning to no avail.
Marconius 6 points 6y ago
No, braille does not work this way, and doing so would make it more difficult to read. People have different levels of sensitivity, and keeping it universal to the way we all learn it is the best way to ensure literacy. Suddenly encountering a different dot style would throw a lot of people off when attempting to read it.
morallyequivocal [OP] 4 points 6y ago
But some fonts are easier to read than others in standard writing. Every literate sighted person would be able to read comic sans or calibri but many would find it harder to read Palace Script MT. This doesn't stop companies using the latter to look fancy and the majority of people falling for their fake-fanciness.
Marconius 5 points 6y ago
What do visual fonts have to do with anything in this conversation? The sense of sight and using it to enjoy different type faces is completely and utterly different from the sense of touch and using it to ingest information. The braille cells are set at universal 29pt size as it is the maximum size for fingertip comprehension from children two adults. We are focused on what the dots mean, not how they are shaped, and in countering different shapes or elevations on the page will break normal reading flow and can mess up sensitivity. We already have braille symbols that indicate specifics when it comes to typeface styles, such as if everything is inall caps bold, italic, all of that is already indicated to us. Not to mention that the physical act of creating braille with different dot shapes and elevations would be very difficult requiring new types of Brailer's and embossing machines, or different styluses when using a slate.
morallyequivocal [OP] 1 points 6y ago
I mentioned visual fonts because there is nothing else comparable. A font only refers to typography and lettering and since braille is a form of lettering I was only asking if the same rules applied.
Have you ever been to the UK? In most of our public buildings when you walk in there are signs for accessibility (e.g. what frequency to turn a hearing aid to and there is usually something in braille saying where you are). The braille on these plastic signs is very obviously different in size from say, a menu in braille and the dots are flatter (whether by erosion or by choice - I do not know). If this were by choice and not ignorance, could it then be said that the flatter more spaced out, larger dots would be an "official" font?
Have you ever been to the UK? In most of our public buildings when you walk in there are signs for accessibility (e.g. what frequency to turn a hearing aid to and there is usually something in braille saying where you are). The braille on these plastic signs is very obviously different in size from say, a menu in braille and the dots are flatter (whether by erosion or by choice - I do not know). If this were by choice and not ignorance, could it then be said that the flatter more spaced out, larger dots would be an "official" font?
iLarsNL 1 points 6y ago
Yes that's true, but you've got to keep in mind that sighted people use their eyes to read, blind people rely on their fingers.
fastfinge 3 points 6y ago
Braille fonts could be done, sure. But it would be an expensive and difficult process, with an end result that nobody wants. Currently, because of how expensive Braille already is, and the cost of qualified teachers, Braille literacy rates are falling enormously. In 1960, 50 percent of blind children in the US could read and write. Today, that has fallen to 10 percent. So making Braille harder and more complex is not something we want! If the responses you've gotten in this thread seem a little abrupt, and I think they are, perhaps that stat will help to explain why most of us are violently uninterested in this idea.
1000100001 3 points 6y ago
>50 percent of blind children in the US could read and write. Today, that has fallen to 10 percent.
That is frightening.
That is frightening.
morallyequivocal [OP] 2 points 6y ago
I'm not trying to put it forward as an idea, I just wondered if they existed. That really is a shocking statistic and it's probably due to an abhorrent lack of funding. Do you think Braille eReaders becoming more mainstream will improve literacy though as the medium will have more to offer?
fastfinge 1 points 6y ago
> I'm not trying to put it forward as an idea, I just wondered if they existed.
Good to know. But I could easily see some well-meaning person not doing the research, collecting up a bunch of grants from other well-meaning organizations who also did not do the research, and spending thousands and thousands of dollars to make braille fonts, when the money would be better spent funding Braille education. That sort of thing has happened many times before, unfortunately.
> Braille eReaders becoming more mainstream
I hope so! Until recently (as in, just this year), the cost of an electronic braille display was about $10,000. That puts them out of reach of almost all students, and many schools. However, a display called the Orbit Reader is launching this year; they say it'll be available in "the Spring of 2017". The cost of the Orbit Reader is going to be about $500. That's still expensive, but it's a lot better! Hopefully, once cheaper braille displays hit the market, school boards will decide it's worth funding Braille education once again.
Good to know. But I could easily see some well-meaning person not doing the research, collecting up a bunch of grants from other well-meaning organizations who also did not do the research, and spending thousands and thousands of dollars to make braille fonts, when the money would be better spent funding Braille education. That sort of thing has happened many times before, unfortunately.
> Braille eReaders becoming more mainstream
I hope so! Until recently (as in, just this year), the cost of an electronic braille display was about $10,000. That puts them out of reach of almost all students, and many schools. However, a display called the Orbit Reader is launching this year; they say it'll be available in "the Spring of 2017". The cost of the Orbit Reader is going to be about $500. That's still expensive, but it's a lot better! Hopefully, once cheaper braille displays hit the market, school boards will decide it's worth funding Braille education once again.
jogajaja 2 points 6y ago
I'm so excited about the Orbit Reader!!!
morallyequivocal [OP] 1 points 6y ago
I blame the EU, had they not cut funding to Anagraphs, this could have all been developed years ago and the price would have already reduced.
fastfinge 1 points 6y ago
Maybe. But according to $1, it was still going to cost 7000 euros to manufacture each display. So the cost to purchase would still have been over $10,000 per unit. Sure, the ability to have both graphics and Braille would have been nice. But at least IMHO, when so many blind people just have to make do without any braille at all, lowering the cost is more important than new functions.
Unuhi 1 points 6y ago
The dots are just dots. Standard size and spacing, should be a uniform feel.
In practice, some metal door signs feel rough as the dots seem more rough to fingers than paper or cardboard.
With paper and cardboard there is a bit of difference you can feel (and see i guess) depending on the material. A bit thicker cardboard, like postcard, feels lovely brailled (slate or other method) as the dots are easier to read than on thinner paper, and just feel more ... punctual i guess.
In practice, some metal door signs feel rough as the dots seem more rough to fingers than paper or cardboard.
With paper and cardboard there is a bit of difference you can feel (and see i guess) depending on the material. A bit thicker cardboard, like postcard, feels lovely brailled (slate or other method) as the dots are easier to read than on thinner paper, and just feel more ... punctual i guess.
Vaelian 1 points 6y ago
No, Braille doesn't support font faces, however digital Braille has two additional dots that can be used to mark up text any way you like.
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