Tool
Which contractions apply?
Type anything and see what Grade 2 does to it and why — which contractions were used, which were available and passed over, and which a rule forbade. The reasoning the translator leaves out.
Nothing you type leaves this page — the whole translator runs in your browser.
What the three lists mean
Used
The contractions in the finished word. Each links to its own page, with the position rule that governs it.
Passed over
Legal at that spot, offered, and not taken. UEB writes the version with the fewest cells, so a longer contraction can lose to a shorter route.
Barred
Never a candidate, because a rule forbade it: ing may not begin a word, ea needs a letter on both sides, a final-letter sign may not open one. The reason is given in words.
Why shortest, not longest
It is tempting to think a braille translator matches the longest contraction it can find and moves on. The Rules of Unified English Braille say otherwise: the groupsign that makes the word occupy fewer cells is preferred (10.10.2), and where nothing is saved the one-cell groupsigns are preferred to the two-cell contractions (10.10.7), except that the sign for ence is used before a, d and r (10.10.6).
The first of those explains cases that look arbitrary. “thence” contains “the”, which is one cell and looks like a bargain — but writing th-ence takes three cells and the-n-c-e takes four, so the shorter route wins and the “the” sign goes unused. The finder shows it in the passed-over list rather than leaving you to wonder.
The rest is position. A contraction can be barred where it sits even though its letters are right there, and the reasons are specific rather than general: the ing sign may not open a word, the lower signs need a letter on either side, the final-letter signs may not begin one.
For the two-cell contractions the rulebook gives a rule for each (Rules of Unified English Braille 10.7), and where the rule turns on pronunciation it gives the words by example; the finder shows which of them fired. Where a contraction may sit inside a word is the survey of 11,014 English words this site used to decide by position, and why it stopped.
Questions and answers
Which braille contractions apply to a word?
Three lists. Used are the contractions in the finished word. Passed over were legal at that spot, offered, and not taken. Barred were never candidates because a rule forbade them.
Does braille always use the longest contraction available?
No. The Rules of Unified English Braille prefer the groupsign that makes the word occupy fewer cells (10.10.2), and where nothing is saved they prefer the one-cell groupsigns to the two-cell contractions (10.10.7).