{"id":2084,"date":"2021-10-02T05:57:54","date_gmt":"2021-10-02T05:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/achrafothman.net\/site\/?p=2084"},"modified":"2021-10-24T03:37:00","modified_gmt":"2021-10-24T03:37:00","slug":"what-is-arabic-braille-is-it-unified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/achrafothman.net\/site\/what-is-arabic-braille-is-it-unified\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Arabic Braille? Is it Unified?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authors: Achraf Othman<\/span><\/p>\n

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Research and Innovation Letters \u2022 Volume 1 \u2022 Issue 3 \u2022 October 2021 \u2022 Published: October 2, 2021 \u2022 PDF<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Abstract- <\/strong><\/div>\n

Braille is a method of reading and writing that relies on touching prominent dots that people with visual disabilities recognize once they pass their fingers over them. The method was invented in the mid-19th<\/sup> century and got its name from the name of its French founder Louis Braille. Braille helped blind children learn to read and write, and adults who lost their ability to read, due to blindness or vision impairment, continued to enjoy access to books, magazines, and other knowledge resources. Braille characters are written through bands called braille cells so that each cell mostly forms one character. Depending on the shape of these dots within the cell, each character is different. The maximum number of dots per cell is six dots, and the minimum number is one dot. Each cell is a small rectangle with two columns and six dots. This is article is cited from the work of Mada Center responsible for the Unified Arabic Braille Portal.<\/p>\n

Keywords<\/strong>: Unified Arabic Braille, Braille in Arabic, Blind, Persons with Visual Impairments<\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mada Center pays special attention to research and publications in the field of ICTs accessibility, as the center strives to promote leading industry practices at the global, regional, and local levels to empower the education sector for all (UNESCO, 2010<\/span><\/a>). Mada aims to conduct various research to analyze the reality of digital access and develop solutions for ICT accessibility in the Arab region in accordance with the latest trends and international best practices. In this context, the Center launched the Unified Arabic Braille Project and the first electronic portal specialized in the Unified Arabic Braille Language (El Ghoul et al., 2020<\/span><\/a>) supported by the Mada Innovation Program (Al Thani et al., 2019<\/span><\/a>).<\/p>\n

Braille is a method of reading and writing that relies on touching prominent dots that people with visual disabilities recognize once they pass their fingers over them. The method was invented in the mid-19th century and got its name from the name of its French founder Louis Braille. Braille helped blind children learn to read and write, and adults who lost their ability to read, due to blindness or vision impairment, continued to enjoy access to books, magazines, and other knowledge resources. Braille characters are written through bands called braille cells so that each cell mostly forms one character. Depending on the shape of these dots within the cell, each character is different. The maximum number of dots per cell is six dots, and the minimum number is one dot. Each cell is a small rectangle with two columns and six dots.<\/p>\n

Braille is the only and unique method that enables blind or deaf-blind people who have difficulties accessing printed materials to read and write. In fact, the ability to write and read in braille opens the door to knowledge, intellectual freedom, equal opportunity, and personal security. Nowadays, the cost of Braille electronic devices has begun to decrease significantly, which means that a larger segment of the blind \u2013 especially in developing countries \u2013 can access Braille electronic devices, but still there is not enough content to support the Arabic Braille. The ambition of every person who is a beginner at using braille is to have digital resources that he can use to identify the dots of letters and symbols shaped on these letters. Thus, providing Arabic Braille digital resources is an important addition for those wishing to learn braille including parents and academics, and those wishing to stay up to date with Arabic Braille.<\/p>\n

The aim of the Unified Arabic Braille Portal by Mada, is to promote and develop Arabic Braille. Mada started the project after conducting a survey about the use of the Braille system in the Arab world. The survey results confirmed that the blind complain about three important things:<\/p>\n