University of Birmingham

# ABSTRACT

Part 1 is an evaluative history of the various embossed codes evolved so that blind people could become literate, from 1786 when the first embossed book was produced. The early codes used in France, Britain, and America are described, reasons given for the need to review the code from time to time and the on-going need for co-operation between English speaking peoples to maintain uniformity in the use of braille. Evaluation has taken account not only of the conditions of the times during which the codes were used, but also of the findings of research carried out during the present century.

Part 2 includes evaluations of some of the major works included in the mass of research that has been carried out on braille reading. An introduction to the psychophysical aspects of the tactile system is followed by an account of the effect of elements of the braille code on accuracy, comprehension and rate of reading and attempts to increase the slow rate of braille reading. The final chapter gives information concerning on-going research, and reasons are given for the continuing value of the use of braille which is now being helped and challenged by technological invention.

# DEDICATION

To John

# ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My late husband, John, who was visually impaired, was a braille enthusiast who spent much of his life as a teacher and researcher of the braille code, and was also Vice-chairman of the Braille Authority of the United Kingdom. I worked for many years as his colleague, so my first appreciation must be for all that we learned together.

Dr M.J. Tobin, Director of the Research Centre for the Education of the Visually Handicapped, Birmingham University, first made the suggestion that this thesis should be written. I have much appreciated his enthusiasm for the subject, his high standard, and ready encouragement as my supervisor.

My study has, by its nature, involved extensive reading, and I have received willing help from librarians at the School of Education, Birmingham University; the Reference Library at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, London; the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh; la Bibliothèque Valentin Haüy, Paris; and the Reference Library at Perkins School for the Blind, Massachusetts. In addition, I thank the curators of le Musée Historique de l'Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, Paris; le Musée Valentin Haüy, Paris; and the birthplace of Louis Braille at Coupvray.

Mr. W. Poole (Chairman) and members of the Braille Authority of the United Kingdom have generously lent me their archive collection of minutes of meetings and other papers dating from 1902, and I have also been receiving current copies of minutes of their committee meetings during the past four years. This privilege has enabled me to gain much added interest and insight into the contents of official publications that cover the period.

I am grateful for permission given by the Association Valentin Haüy pour le Bien des Aveugles for the reproductions of photographs which occur in pages 14, 17, 39, and 47, and by Mr. James Stratton, Phillips, Son and Neale, auctioneers, London, for the reproduction of a photograph on page 56. The very clear diagrams which occur on pages 31, 57, and 71 were made by Mrs. Jennifer Whittaker.

I am indebted to Birmingham University and the Royal National Institute for the Blind for grants to subsidise some of the expenses incurred during the project, and to the charity, Blindness: Research for Learning, Work, and Leisure, which gave donations towards the cost of travel to mainland Europe and America.

My thanks go to the braillists who readily gave up their time to describe the various ways in which the use of the code helps with communication, organisation, and leisure reading.

Finally, I wish to thank Mrs. Jennifer Whittaker for the long hours spent at her computer providing the interim and final drafts of my work.

# TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT i

DEDICATION ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvii

LIST OF TABLES xix

LIST OF ACRONYMS xx

## INTRODUCTION 1

1. PARAMETERS OF THE STUDY 2
2. SOURCES, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO PART 1 3
3. THE BRAILLE CODE 4
4. TERMINOLOGY 5

### PART 1

## CHAPTER 1. VALENTIN HAUY (1745-1822) 6

1. ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE BLIND 8
2. THE INFLUENCE OF DIDEROT (1713-1784) 9
3. VALENTIN HAUY 1745-1822 10
4. LA FOIRE ST. OVIDE 11
5. AIMS 11
6. THE FIRST PUPIL 12
7. FIRST ATTEMPTS TO PROVIDE A MEANS OF READING 13
8. THE INSPIRATION 14
9. THE FIRST SCHOOL 15
10. PUBLICITY 16
11. HAUY TYPE 17
12. PRINTING 18
13. WRITING 18
14. FOUR CRITICISMS ANSWERED 19
15. 1791-1801 22
16. NAPOLEON AND L'INSTITUT DES JEUNES AVEUGLES 23
17. THE YEARS IN RUSSIA 24
18. HAUY'S LAST YEARS 24
19. CONCLUSION 25

## CHAPTER 2. LOUIS BRAILLE (1809-1852) 26

1. COUPVRAY 27
2. L'INSTITUTION ROYALE DES JEUNES AVEUGLES 27
3. CHARLES BARBIER 28
4. BARBIER AND BRAILLE CODES COMPARED 33
5. 1928 PROCEDE 35
6. WRITING 38
7. 1829-1837 40
8. 1837 PROCEDE 41
9. NOUVEAU PROCEDE 44
10. THE PLANCHE A PISTONS, LATER KNOWN AS

THE RAPHIGRAPHE 47

11. EPILOGUE 49

Printing 49

The Diffusion of the Braille Code 49

12. CONCLUSION 51

## CHAPTER 3. EARLY BRITISH CODES 53

1. INSTITUTIONS AND ASYLUMS FOR THE BLIND AND THE

FIRST TACTILE MODES OF COMMUNICATION IN BRITAIN 55

2. A COMPETITION 60

3. ROMAN ALPHABET CODES 61

Gall Type 61

Alston Type 64

Littledale Type 65

Roman Upper and Lower Case Type 65

4. ARBITRARY CODES 65

Hughes Type 65

Lucas Type 66

Frere Type 68

5. MIXED ROMAN AND ARBITRARY TYPE 69

Moon Type 69

6. WRITING 72

7. COMPARISONS 73

Size and Shape of Configurations 74

Line Type 74

Punctiform Type 75

Presentation 76

Stenographic, Phonetic, and Full Orthographic Systems77

8. CONCLUSION 78

## CHAPTER 4. UNIFORMITY: FIRST ATTEMPTS 80

1. INTRODUCTION 82
2. THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BLIND ASSOCIATION 82
3. THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 83
4. DECISIONS 84
5. SOURCES SHOWING THE EARLY STAGES OF THE

DEVELOPMENT OF THE LITERARY BRAILLE CODE IN BRITAIN 85

6. ADAPTATION OF THE BRAILLE CODE 86

7. APPARATUS USED FOR HAND WRITING AND PRINTING 87

8. THE FIRST INSTITUTIONS FOR THE BLIND IN AMERICA 89

9. WHICH TYPE FOR THE NEW WORLD? 91

10. HOWE TYPE 92

11. FURTHER TYPE INVESTIGATIONS 94

12. NEW YORK POINT TYPE 98

13. COMPARISON OF ENGLISH BRAILLE AND NEW YORK

POINT SYSTEMS 100

Space Saving 100

Legibility 101

Rapidity of Writing 102

Facility of Correction 102

Facility of Learning 102

Universality 102

14. CONCLUSION 103

## CHAPTER 5. DISSENSIONS 105

1. ROMAN TYPE AGAIN 107
2. OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATION 108
3. THE ARMITAGE DIARIES 109
4. GROWING DISSATISFACTION WITH THE BRAILLE CODE 111
5. "REVISED BRAILLE" 1905 113
6. CODES IN USE IN AMERICA FROM 1871 115
7. MODIFIED, LATER KNOWN AS AMERICAN, BRAILLE 116

Labour of Writing 116

Calculation of Space Saved 117

The New Code 118

8. PRINTING 120

9. MORE COMPARISONS 121

10. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF WORKERS FOR THE BLIND 122

11. COMMISSION ON TYPE FOR THE BLIND 124

## CHAPTER 6. A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING 127

1. BRITAIN - A PERIOD OF CONSOLIDATION 130
2. AMERICAN - THE USE OF GRADE 1½ 131
3. 1929 - 1932 134
4. A SURVEY OF THE FREQUENCY AND SPACE-SAVING

OF THE CONTRACTIONS OF GRADE 2 136

5. THE 1956 BRAILLE WORKING PARTY 137

6. "A STUDY OF BRAILLE CONTRACTIONS", 1982 138

(A) Literature Survey (Pt.2, 115pp.) 139

(B) Questionnaire (Pt.2, Vol.2, pp.1-4) 139

(C) Surveys of Space-saving and Frequency of Contractions

(Pt.1, Vol.2, pp.5-80) 140

(D) Experiments with Modified Grade 2 Braille Codes to

Determine Their Effect on Reading Speed

(Pt.1, Vol.4, p.39; Material Used, Pt.1, Vol.3, pp.1-58) 141

(E) "The Limitations of Braille as a Medium for Communication

and the Possibility of Improving Reading Standards"

(Lorimer, J., 1978) (Pt.1, Vol.4A, pp.1-21) 142

(F) Analysis of Symbols, Meanings and Rules of Standard

English Braille (Pt.1, Vol.4B, pp.1-16) 142

(G) Analysis of Errors (Pt.1, Vol.1, pp.31-34) 143

(H) Outlines of a Short Course to Improve Braille Reading

Efficiency (Pt.1, Vol.4C, pp.1-47) 143

7. THE WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

ENGLISH BRAILLE GRADE 2 (1982) 144

8. POST WASHINGTON 145

Capital Letters 145

Code Revisions 146

The BAUK Questionnaire 146

9. THE LONDON INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

ENGLISH BRAILLE GRADE 2 (1988) 147

10. OBSERVATIONS ON CODE DESIGN AND CHANGES IN

ENGLISH BRAILLE FROM C1870 TO 1960 147

Circa 1870 151

1895 151

1905 Revised Braille 151

1932 Standard English Braille 152

1960 152

### PART 2

## CHAPTER 7. PSYCHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF TOUCH

## PERCEPTION 153

1. INTRODUCTION 155
2. PASSIVE TOUCH, STUDIES OF SEPARATE TOUCH SENSATIONS 157
3. ORGANISATION OF THE HAPTIC SYSTEM 158

The Skeletal System 158

The Neural System 159

4. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PASSIVE AND ACTIVE TOUCH 160

5. THE THEORIES OF J.J. GIBSON 161

Perceptual Meaning 161

Information Pickup 162

Verbal Meaning 163

Evaluation of Gibson's Contribution 163

6. SOME EARLY INVESTIGATIONS INTO BRAILLE READING

BEHAVIOUR 164

7. PERHIPHERAL MECHANISMS 168

Structure of the Glabrous Skin of the Human Hand 168

Receptive Fields 169

8. PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES OF PERIPHERAL MECHANISMS 170

Roughness Discrimination 170

Pressure, Vibration, and Shear 171

9. CENTRAL MECHANISMS 173

Parts of the Brain Involved in Touch Perception 173

10. PSYCHOPHYSICAL STUDIES OF CENTRAL MECHANISMS 174

Hemisphere Asymmetry 174

Convergence 176

Memory 178

11. THE INTERLOCKING STRUCTURE OF VARIABLES 180

## CHAPTER 8. TOUCH PERCEPTION WITH REFERENCE TO

## SPECIFIC PROBLEMS PRESENTED BY READING IN THE

## MEDIUM OF BRAILLE 183

1. COMPARISON OF VISUAL AND TACTUAL METHODS

OF READING 185

2. QUALITY PROVISION 186

Quality of Materials 187

Size and Shape of Dots 188

Spacing Variables 189

Layout 190

3. TECHNIQUES OF READING 190

Use of Hands and Fingers 190

Types of Hand Movement 191

Characteristics of Movement by the Fingers 192

Can the Use of Hands and Fingers be Taught? 194

4. PERCEPTUAL FACTORS 196

Analysis of Errors Within Words 196

The Word Method of Learning to Read 200

Recognition of Single-cell Braille Characters 201

The Effect of the Number of Dots in a Cell 201

Position of Dots Within a Cell 202

The Effect of the Use of Contractions 203

The Effect of Word Length, Familiarity, and Orthography on

Recognition Thresholds for Braille Words 205

Unit of Recognition 206

5. DEVELOPMENTAL FACTORS AND THEIR EFFECT ON BRAILLE

READING 208

General Development and Its Effect on Braille Reading208

Short-term Memory 209

Strategy Choices by Young Braille Readers 210

Strategy Choices by Fluent Braillists 212

6. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF THE RATE OF READING 214

Changing the Code 214

Diagnostic Tests 214

Training in Rapid Reading 216

7. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 219

8. CONCLUSION 221

## CHAPTER 9. BRAILLE TODAY AND TOMORROW 223

1. THE BRAILLE CODE; EVENTS SINCE THE LONDON

CONFERENCE (1988) 224

International Council on English Braille 224

Capitalization 225

2. SOME ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECT 228

The Longitudinal Study of Blind and Partially Sighted

Children in Special Schools in England and Wales 228

The Development of a New Test of Children's Braille

Reading Ability 229

Braille Software Developed at the RCEVH 229

3. OTHER EMBOSSED CODES 230

The Moon Code 230

The Fishburne Alphabet (1979) 232

4. TECHNOLOGY AND THE BRAILLE CODE 233

Aspirations of the 60's and 70's 233

Increase in Variety and Purpose of New Inventions 233

5. ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF BRAILLE 234

Reasons for Disinclination to Learn Braille 234

Examples of Braille in Use Today 235

## REFERENCES 240

## APPENDIX 1. THE INTRODUCTION OF GRADE 2 CONTRACTIONS

## AND SHORTFORMS INTO THE BRITISH LITERARY BRAILLE

## CODE DURING THE YEARS CIRCA 1870 AND 1990 267

INTRODUCTION 268

Sources 268

Key 270

SIMPLE UPPER WORDSIGNS 271

SIMPLE UPPER GROUPSIGNS 273

LOWER CONTRACTIONS 274

Wordsigns 274

Initial Groupsigns 274

Medial Groupsigns 275

Initial, Medial and Terminal Groupsigns 275

COMPOSITE WORDSIGNS 276

COMPOSITE GROUPSIGNS 278

SHORTFORMS (ABBREVIATED WORDS) 279

SUMMARY 283

## APPENDIX 2. EMBOSSED MATERIAL (BEFORE 1870) 284

FRANCE 285

Haüy Type 285

Guillie Type 286

Barbier Type 286

Braille Type 287

Decapointe 289

BRITAIN 289

Gall Type 289

Alston Type 290

Lucas Type 290

AMERICA 291

Boston Line Type 291

# LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. | Embossed tiles used by Haüy to teach reading and mathematics. | 14
2. | Capital letters in Haüy type. | 17
3. | Diagram of Barbier writing board. | 31
4. | Braille's own writing frame showing grooves all down the page. | 39
5. | Raphigraphe. | 47
6. | Mr. Casson's Panogram - open position (reproduction of photograph). | 56
7. | Mr. Casson's Panogram - diagram showing six surfaces of the cubes with corresponding letters. | 57
8. | Mr. Casson's Panogram - diagram of letters I and U with pegs in position. | 57
9. | Knotted String Alphabet. | 59
10. | Gall type. | 62
11. | Alston type. | 64
12. | Lucas type. | 67
13. | Frere type. | 69
14. | Moon type. | 71
15. | The Fishburne Alphabet. | 232

# LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1. | Table to show the number of signs contained in the British Literary Braille Code in 1895 and 1905 respectively. | 114
TABLE 2. | Table to show percentage gains, in the labour of writing New York point over "old braille", modified braille over "old braille", and modified braille over New York point. | 119
TABLE 3. | Table to show the number of new contractions introduced into the British literary braille code between C1870 and 1960, which saved at least one space over Grade 1 per million words. | 150
TABLE 4 | Table to show distribution of eight braille error-type groups. | 199
TABLE 5 | Table to show recognition times of characters grouped according to number of dots. | 202

# LIST OF ACRONYMS

AAIB | American Association of Instructors of the Blind
AAWB | American Association of Workers for the Blind
BANA | Braille Authority of North America
BAUK | Braille Authority of the United Kingdom
BFBA | British and Foreign Blind Association
BFBS | British and Foreign Bible Society
ICEB | International Committee on English Braille
NUTC | National Uniform Type Committee
RCEVH | Research Centre for the Education of the Visually Handicapped
UBC | Uniform Braille Committee

## REFERENCES