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What braille is, and what it is not

Braille is a tactile writing system, not a language. Here is what that distinction actually means in practice.

It is a code, not a language

Braille is a way of writing an existing language by touch. English braille writes English; French braille writes French; Arabic braille writes Arabic. There is no such thing as 'speaking braille', in the same way there is no such thing as speaking the printed alphabet. This matters because it explains why braille tables differ between languages while the six-dot cell stays the same everywhere.

The cell is the whole system

Every braille character is one cell: two columns of three dots, numbered 1 to 3 down the left and 4 to 6 down the right. Six dots give sixty-four possible combinations including the empty cell, which is the space. Sixty-four is not enough for every letter, digit, punctuation mark and contraction in English, so braille reuses cells and disambiguates them with indicator cells — the number sign, the capital sign, and so on.

Why it is still used

Audio does not replace braille for the same reason audiobooks do not replace print. Braille readers get spelling, punctuation, layout and the ability to skim — the things reading gives you and listening does not. Literacy rates and employment outcomes among blind people track braille literacy closely, which is why teaching it remains a priority even in an era of excellent screen readers.