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Update on Unified English Braille
Unified English Braille, or UEB for short, is the way of the future for braille readers.
UEB was adopted by New Zealand in 2005 after stakeholder consultation and members can now expect to receive all Foundation materials and publications in UEB.
UEB brings a number of benefits.
UEB symbols are the same in English-speaking countries and across subject areas. That means that an equals sign (=) has the same braille dots whether it appears in a novel, a maths test or a computer tutorial.
This makes the rules easier to learn and understand and ensures braille is more compatible with new technology.
Another advantage of UEB is that it better reflects its print equivalent. For people who used to read print, this makes UEB easier to learn and understand.
People who already read literary braille won't have any trouble reading a novel in UEB. Nine contractions are now spelt out, but the other 180 remain the same.
The major area of change is with maths symbols. Readers coming across braille maths for the first time will find it more approachable, because it no longer uses a separate code.
Australia already uses UEB, so life will be made easier for braille readers crossing the Tasman. Other countries are looking at adopting UEB too.
The Blind and Low Vision Education Network New Zealand (BLENNZ) introduced UEB in September 2007 and, so far, feedback has been extremely positive!
From the start of the 2008 school year, young school children have been using UEB for all their school materials. Older students are still receiving Nemeth texts for their maths and science exam materials, but are using UEB in other areas of the curriculum.
Braille readers should have received a letter from the Foundation at the end of August about the above changes, including a list of common UEB symbols. This list will also be included in all new UEB braille documents sent to members.
For more information on Unified English Braille, contact Maria Stevens on 0800 24 33 33.