Implementing UEB in the UK presented

byClaire Maxwell RNIB

&

James Bowden UKAAF

The main differences betweenUnified English Braille (UEB) and Standard English Braille (SEB)

Unified English Braille (UEB)Summary of changes for

ordinary braille

• Introductions

• Draft version of summary document

• Braille signs now only represent one character – removing ambiguity

Some familiar contractionsthat are no longer used

in UEB

ble unablecom comedd daddyation na;nally tallyo’clock #c o'clockto to "winto 9to piecesby by !n

Further examples

addition table addi;n table

station /a;n

into space 9to space

the toddler tumbled

! Toddl] tumbl$

Sequencing has beenabolished in UEB

Sequencing

All of these wordsigns must now be spaced from each other:

and &for =of (the !with )a a

Examples

for the time being = ! "t ;+

of and for the people ( & = ! p

and with the result & ) ! result

Use of the ence contraction

In words containing “enced” or “encer” the contraction ence is used rather than en then ed or er

silencer sil;er

silenced sil;ed

Lower wordsigns

Lower wordsigns such as in, be and his can be used in contact with capital indicators or terminators even if the string does not include an upper sign.

Be Calm! ,2 ,calm6

His head ,8 h1d

The ea contraction

The ea contraction is now permissible in words like caveat, genealogy, Montreal, pancreas, Neapolitan and Seattle.

The ea contraction can also be used as part of diphthongs as in Judaean.

Contractions and the oblique strokeThe oblique stroke is not treated as a word boundary for some of the contraction rules in UEB.

Simple upper wordsigns (such as but and can) or lower groupsigns (such as be, con and dis) cannot be used in contact with the oblique stroke.

Examples

print/audio pr9t_/audio

above/below above_/below

quite/very quite_/v]y

CapitalsCapital indicators are the same as for SEB.

Symbol ,

Word ,,

Passage ,,,

Terminator ,'

Examples

LEFT-HAND ,,left-,,h&

I AM HERE! ,,,I am "h6,'

NORTH/SOUTH ,,nor?_/,,s\?

Italics, bold and underline

UEB has separate indicators for italics, bold and underline.

Italic Bold Underlinesymbol .2 ^2 _2

word .1 ^1 _1

passage .7 ^7 _7

terminator .' ^' _'

Examples

books book^2s

reading The Times r1d+ .1,! .1,"ts

avant-garde .1avant-g>de

February _1,febru>y

Quotation marks

Outer quotation marks have generic braille signs in UEB (the same as SEB) regardless of what is used in print.

Inner quotation marks have new signs in UEB

Outer: 8 0

Inner single: ,8 ,0

Inner double: ^8 ^0

Email and web addresses

Email and web addresses are treated as normal text.

mark@trade123.co.uk

m>k@atrade#abc4;co4uk

friend@rogers.com

fri5d@arog]s4com

ukaaf.orgukaaf4org

Training and resources

What happens next?

22

Academic year 2012/13

• Funding issues• Development of basic reference materials• Raise awareness of UEB• Develop course to upgrade from SEB to

UEB

23

Academic year 2013/14• Updating of production software • Update braille learning courses

(prioritising those for younger learners)• Library titles to be converted to UEB or

purchased• Workshops for teachers on upgrading to

UEB

24

Academic year 2014/15

• Children's braille courses complete. Conversion of adult courses begins

• All children's books and magazines being produced in UEB

• Second strand of workshops for teachers dealing with technical subjects in UEB

• Taster sessions etc for general readers

RNIB certificated course in 2nd grade Braille to include UEB

25

Academic year 2015 to 2016• Most school children should be using

literary braille by year end• State exams in SEB and UEB for the

last year (apart from some agreed technical subjects)

• All general production of magazines and books in UEB

26

When to start teaching UEB

27

Resources and References

www.ukaaf.org

Or

enquiries@ukaaf.org

http://www.iceb.org/

http://www.clearvisionproject.org

Thank you for listening