Polish Braille

Polish Braille
Script type
alphabet
Print basis
Polish alphabet
LanguagesPolish
Related scripts
Parent systems
Braille
  • Polish Braille

Polish Braille (alfabet Braille'a) is a braille alphabet for writing the Polish language. It is based on international braille conventions, with the following extensions:[1]

Base
letter
⠁ (braille pattern dots-1)
a
⠉ (braille pattern dots-14)
c
⠑ (braille pattern dots-15)
e
⠇ (braille pattern dots-123)
l
⠝ (braille pattern dots-1345)
n
⠎ (braille pattern dots-234)
s
⠥ (braille pattern dots-136)
u
⠽ (braille pattern dots-13456)
y
⠵ (braille pattern dots-1356)
z
Derived
letter
⠡ (braille pattern dots-16)
ą
⠩ (braille pattern dots-146)
ć
⠱ (braille pattern dots-156)
ę
⠣ (braille pattern dots-126)
ł
⠹ (braille pattern dots-1456)
ń
⠪ (braille pattern dots-246)
ś
⠬ (braille pattern dots-346)
ó
⠯ (braille pattern dots-12346)
ż
⠮ (braille pattern dots-2346)
ź

That is, for letters of the first and second decade of the braille script (a, c, e, l, n, s), a diacritic is written as dot 6, and any dot 3 is removed (or, equivalently, is moved to position 6)—that is, the base letter is moved to the fourth decade. For letters of the third decade (u, y, z), which already have a dot 6, the derivation is a mirror image. Ó is derived from u, which is how it is pronounced (also, the mirror image of o is already taken). Several of these conventions are used in Lithuanian Braille.

History

[edit]

Some form of a Braille alphabet had been adapted to the Polish language by 1957.[2]

Alphabet

[edit]

The full alphabet is this:

⠁ (braille pattern dots-1)
a
⠡ (braille pattern dots-16)
ą
⠃ (braille pattern dots-12)
b
⠉ (braille pattern dots-14)
c
⠩ (braille pattern dots-146)
ć
⠙ (braille pattern dots-145)
d
⠑ (braille pattern dots-15)
e
⠱ (braille pattern dots-156)
ę
⠋ (braille pattern dots-124)
f
⠛ (braille pattern dots-1245)
g
⠓ (braille pattern dots-125)
h
⠊ (braille pattern dots-24)
i
⠚ (braille pattern dots-245)
j
⠅ (braille pattern dots-13)
k
⠇ (braille pattern dots-123)
l
⠣ (braille pattern dots-126)
ł
⠍ (braille pattern dots-134)
m
⠝ (braille pattern dots-1345)
n
⠹ (braille pattern dots-1456)
ń
⠕ (braille pattern dots-135)
o
⠬ (braille pattern dots-346)
ó
⠏ (braille pattern dots-1234)
p
⠗ (braille pattern dots-1235)
r
⠎ (braille pattern dots-234)
s
⠪ (braille pattern dots-246)
ś
⠞ (braille pattern dots-2345)
t
⠥ (braille pattern dots-136)
u
⠺ (braille pattern dots-2456)
w
⠽ (braille pattern dots-13456)
y
⠵ (braille pattern dots-1356)
z
⠯ (braille pattern dots-12346)
ż
⠮ (braille pattern dots-2346)
ź

Print digraphs in z are written as two letters in braille as well: cz, rz, sz.

Punctuation

[edit]
⠂ (braille pattern dots-2)
,
⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)
.   '[3]
⠆ (braille pattern dots-23)
 ;
⠒ (braille pattern dots-25)
 :
⠢ (braille pattern dots-26)
 ?
⠖ (braille pattern dots-235)
 !
⠤ (braille pattern dots-36)
-   —
⠜ (braille pattern dots-345)
@
⠔ (braille pattern dots-35)
*
⠲ (braille pattern dots-256)
/
⠫ (braille pattern dots-1246)
\
⠈ (braille pattern dots-4)⠼ (braille pattern dots-3456)
#
⠢ (braille pattern dots-26)⠢ (braille pattern dots-26)
⠼ (braille pattern dots-3456)⠚ (braille pattern dots-245)⠴ (braille pattern dots-356)
 %
⠼ (braille pattern dots-3456)⠚ (braille pattern dots-245)⠴ (braille pattern dots-356)⠴ (braille pattern dots-356)
⠴ (braille pattern dots-356)
°
⠔ (braille pattern dots-35)
⠔ (braille pattern dots-35)⠔ (braille pattern dots-35)
⠲ (braille pattern dots-256)
$
⠈ (braille pattern dots-4)⠉ (braille pattern dots-14)
¢
⠈ (braille pattern dots-4)⠇ (braille pattern dots-123)
⠈ (braille pattern dots-4)⠑ (braille pattern dots-15)
⠘ (braille pattern dots-45)⠉ (braille pattern dots-14)
©
⠘ (braille pattern dots-45)⠞ (braille pattern dots-2345)
Paired punctuation
⠦ (braille pattern dots-236)...⠴ (braille pattern dots-356)
“ ... ”
⠠ (braille pattern dots-6)⠦ (braille pattern dots-236)...⠴ (braille pattern dots-356)⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)
‘ ... ’
⠶ (braille pattern dots-2356)...⠶ (braille pattern dots-2356)
( ... )
⠶ (braille pattern dots-2356)⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)...⠠ (braille pattern dots-6)⠶ (braille pattern dots-2356)
{ ... } (?)[4]
⠷ (braille pattern dots-12356)...⠾ (braille pattern dots-23456)
[ ... ]
⠷ (braille pattern dots-12356)⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)...⠠ (braille pattern dots-6)⠾ (braille pattern dots-23456)
⟨ ... ⟩

Formatting

[edit]
⠨ (braille pattern dots-46)
(cap)
⠠ (braille pattern dots-6)
(l.c.)
⠸ (braille pattern dots-456)
(emph.)
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Braille - pismo punktowe dla niewidomych". Braille - pismo punktowe dla niewidomych (in Polish). Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  2. ^ Morrissey, Patrick (October 1957). "Reading Braille in Foreign Languages". The Modern Language Journal. 41 (6): 266. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.1957.tb01695.x. JSTOR 321522.
  3. ^ And thus for ellipsis.
  4. ^ It is not clear which brackets these are. In Polish, their name is nawias wydzielający, a phrase that refers specifically to these braille characters.