Bharati Braille

Bharati braille (/ˈbɑːrəti/ BAR-ə-tee), or Bharatiya Braille (Hindi: भारती ब्रेल bhāratī brēl IPA: [bʱaːɾət̪iː bɾɛːl] "Indian braille"), is a largely unified braille script for writing the languages of India. When India gained independence, eleven braille scripts were in use, in different parts of the country and for different languages. By 1951, a single national standard had been settled on, Bharati braille, which has since been adopted by Sri Lanka,[1] Nepal, and Bangladesh.[2] There are slight differences in the orthographies for Nepali in India and Nepal, and for Tamil in India and Sri Lanka. There are significant differences in Bengali Braille between India and Bangladesh, with several letters differing. Pakistan has not adopted Bharati braille, so the Urdu Braille of Pakistan is an entirely different alphabet than the Urdu Braille of India, with their commonalities largely due to their common inheritance from English or International Braille. Sinhala Braille largely conforms to other Bharati, but differs significantly toward the end of the alphabet, and is covered in its own article.

Bharati braille
⠘⠜⠗⠀⠞⠔⠀⠈⠃⠗⠑⠇
Type
Languagesvarious
Parent systems
Child systems

Bharati braille alphabets use a 6-dot cell with values based largely on English Braille. Letters are assigned as consistently as possible across the various regional scripts of India as they are transliterated in the Latin script, so that, for example, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, and English are rendered largely the same in braille.

System

Although basically alphabetic, Bharati braille retains one aspect of Indian abugidas, in that the default vowel a is not written unless it occurs at the beginning of a syllable or before a vowel. This has been called a "linearized alphasyllabary abugida".[3] For example, and taking Devanagari as a representative printed script, the braille letter ⠅ (the consonant K) renders print क ka, and braille ⠹ (TH) renders print थ tha. To indicate that a consonant occurs without a following vowel (as when followed by another consonant, or at the end of a syllable), a virama (vowel-canceling) prefix is used: ⠈⠅ (virama-K) is क k, and ⠈⠹ (virama-TH) is थ th. However, unlike in print, there are no vowel diacritics in Bharati braille; vowels are written as full letters following the consonant, regardless of their order in print. For example, in print the vowel i is prefixed to a consonant in a reduced diacritic form, कि ki, but in braille it follows the consonant in its full form: ⠅⠊ (K-I), equivalent to writing ⟨कइ⟩ for ki in print. Thus print क्लिक klika is written in braille as ⠈⠅⠇⠊⠅ (virama-K-L-I-K). The one time a non-initial short a is written in braille is when it is followed by another vowel. In this environment the a must be written, because otherwise the subsequent vowel will be read as following the consonant immediately. Thus print ⟨कइ⟩ kai is rendered in braille as ⠅⠁⠊ (K–A–I), to disambiguate it from ⠅⠊ for कि ki.

Apart from the kṣ and jñ, Bharati braille does not handle conjuncts. Consonant clusters written as conjuncts in print are handled with the virama in braille, just as they are with computer fonts that lack the conjuncts. Bharati braille is thus equivalent to Grade-1 English braille, though there are plans to extend all the Bharati alphabets to include conjuncts.

Alphabet

Following are the charts of the braille correspondences of the main Indian scripts.[4] Irregularities, where a letter does not match the romanized heading, are placed in parentheses.

ISOaāiīuūeēaioōau
Braille
Gurmukhi ਅਆਇਈਉਊਏਐ(ਖ਼ x)[5]ਓਔ
Urdu آیوےے (خ‎ x)[5] وو
Devanagari[6] अआइईउऊऎएऐऒओऔ
Gujarati અઆઇઈઉઊએઐઓઔ
Bengali অআইঈউঊ(য় y)[7]এঐওঔ
Oriya ଅଆଇଈଉଊ(ୟ ẏ)[7]ଏଐଓଔ
Telugu అఆఇఈఉఊఎఏఐఒఓఔ
Kannada ಅಆಇಈಉಊಎಏಐಒಓಔ
Malayalam അആഇഈഉഊഎഏഐഒഓഔ
Tamil அஆஇஈஉஊஎஏஐஒஓஔ
ISOr̥r̥̄l̥l̥̄
Braille
Devanagari ऋॠऌॡ
Gujarati ઋૠ
Bengali ঋঌ
Oriya ଋୠଌୡ
Telugu ఋౠఌౡ
Kannada ಋೠ
Malayalam ഋൠഌൡ
ISOkkhgghṅ
Braille
Gurmukhi ਕਖਗਘਙ
Urdu ککھگگھ
Devanagari कखगघङ
Gujarati કખગઘઙ
Bengali কখগঘঙ
Oriya କଖଗଘଙ
Telugu కఖగఘఙ
Kannada ಕಖಗಘಙ
Malayalam കഖഗഘങ
Tamil கங
ISOcchjjhñ
Braille
Gurmukhi ਚਛਜਝਞ
Urdu چچھججھ
Devanagari चछजझञ
Gujarati ચછજઝઞ
Bengali চছজঝঞ
Oriya ଚଛଜଝଞ
Telugu చఛజఝఞ
Kannada ಚಛಜಝಞ
Malayalam ചഛജഝഞ
Tamil சஜஞ
ISOṭṭhḍḍhṇ
Braille
Gurmukhi ਟਠਡਢਣ
Urdu ٹٹھڈڈھ
Devanagari टठडढण
Gujarati ટઠડઢણ
Bengali টঠডঢণ
Oriya ଟଠଡଢଣ
Telugu టఠడఢణ
Kannada ಟಠಡಢಣ
Malayalam ടഠഡഢണ
Tamil டண
ISOtthddhn
Braille
Gurmukhi ਤਥਦਧਨ
Urdu تتھددھن
Devanagari तथदधन
Gujarati તથદધન
Bengali তথদধন
Oriya ତଥଦଧନ
Telugu తథదధన
Kannada ತಥದಧನ
Malayalam തഥദധന
Tamil தந
ISOpphbbhm
Braille
Gurmukhi ਪਫਬਭਮ
Urdu پپھببھم
Devanagari पफबभम
Gujarati પફબભમ
Bengali পফবভম
Oriya ପଫବଭମ
Telugu పఫబభమ
Kannada ಪಫಬಭಮ
Malayalam പഫബഭമ
Tamil பம
ISOyrlḷv
Braille
Gurmukhi ਯਰਲਲ਼ਵ
Urdu یرلو
Devanagari यरलळव
Gujarati યરલળવ
Bengali যর/ৰ[8]লৱ[8]
Oriya ଯରଳଲୱ/ଵ[9]
Telugu యరలళవ
Kannada ಯರಲಳವ
Malayalam യരലളവ
Tamil யரலளவ
ISOśṣsh
Braille
Gurmukhi ਸ਼ਸਹ
Urdu شصسہ
Devanagari शषसह
Gujarati શષસહ
Bengali শষসহ
Oriya ଶଷସହ
Telugu శషసహ
Kannada ಶಷಸಹ
Malayalam ശഷസഹ
Tamil ஶஷஸஹ
ISOkṣjñṛ/ṟṛhḻṉfz
Braille
Gurmukhi ੜ[10]ਫ਼ਜ਼
Urdu (ق‎ q)[11] (ح‎ ḥ)[11] ڑ ڑھ (ع‎ ʿ)[11] فز
Devanagari क्षज्ञड़ढ़[12]फ़ज़
Gujarati ક્ષજ્ઞ
Bengali ক্ষজ্ঞড়ঢ়
Oriya କ୍ଷଜ୍ଞଡ଼ଢ଼
Telugu క్షఱ
Kannada ಕ್ಷಱ
Malayalam ക്ഷജ്ഞറഴ
Tamil க்ஷறழன

Codas
ISOHalantAnusvaraVisargaCandrabinduAvagraha
Braille
Gurmukhi ਕ੍ਕਂਕਃਕਁ
Urdu ں
Devanagari क्कंकःकँकऽ
Gujarati ક્કંકઃકઁકઽ
Bengali ক্কংকঃকঁকঽ
Oriya କ୍କଂକଃକଁକଽ
Telugu క్కంకఃకఁకఽ
Kannada ಕ್ಕಂಕಃ
Malayalam ക്കംകഃ
Tamil க்ஃ
In Hindi (written in Devanagari), halanta is not used with the last letter when a word ends in a consonant.

Punctuation

Some of the punctuation marks (comma, close quote) duplicate letters. The caps mark is only used when transcribing English.

PunctuationComma /
Apostrophe		;:।
(danda)		॥
(double danda)		!? / Open
quote		Close
quote
Braille
PunctuationAccentHyphenDashPointingAsteriskItalics(        )
Braille

The 'accent', ⠈, transcribes Urdu ّ shaddah (tashdeed), and the colon, ⠒, is also used for Urdu ة ta marbuta.

In Bangladesh and Nepal, several additional punctuation marks are noted, but they do not agree with each other. It is not clear which are used in India. (See Bengali Braille and Nepali Braille.)

Pointing and Urdu
Main articles: Urdu Braille and Hindi Braille

The pointing symbol, ⠐, is used for consonant letters that in print are derived by adding a dot to another consonant. For Urdu, the base letter in Devanagari is used: the pointing of the Arabic/Persian script is not reflected. For example, Gurmukhi ਗ਼ / Urdu غ / Devanagari ग़ ġa [ɣ], formed by adding a dot to g in Gurmukhi and Devanagari, is written ⠐⠛ point-G in all three. With Urdu, this is only done in India.

Other languages

Ethnologue 17 reports braille usage for Mizo, Garo, and Meitei. It is not clear if these are obsolete alphabets, or if they have been unified with Bharati Braille.

Digits

Digits follow international conventions and are marked by ⠼.

See also
A sample of Moon type in various languages including "Hindustanee".
  • Moon type is a simplification of the Latin alphabet for embossing. An adaptation for "Hindustanee"-reading blind people as proposed.

References
  1. With a few inconsistencies in non-native sounds in Sinhala
  2. "Braille Chapter VI" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2012-08-30.
  3. Richard Sproat, Language, Technology, and Society
  4. UNESCO (2013) World Braille Usage, 3rd edition.
  5. In Urdu and Gurmukhi, ⠭ is used for خ/ਖ਼ x, based on its value in unified international braille. For the equivalent letter in Devanagari, ख़, the pointing diacritic can be used.
  6. Hindi, Nepali, Marathi
  7. In Bengali and Oriya, ⠢ is a consonant y-sound. In the national scripts, the letters are derived from the original y, which had shifted to a j-sound. The Oriya letter, ୟ, is transcribed ẏ.
  8. ৰ and ৱ are Assamese.
  9. These have the same sound value in Oriya.
  10. Unesco (2013) also has ⠐⠻ for Gurmukhi ੜ੍ਹ ṛh, but this is an apparent error; ੜ੍ਹ is a sequence ṛ-h, not a letter of the Gurmukhi script.
  11. In Urdu, ⠟ (kṣ) is used for ق q, the value it has in Unified Braille; ⠱ (jñ) is used for ح ḥ, and ⠷ (ḻ) for ع ʿ. For Devanagari क़ q, the pointing diacritic can be used.
  12. According to Unesco (2013), this is the value in Indian Nepali, but in Nepalese Nepali it transcribes tr, and several of the other Sanskrit letters are not used. There is no indication of how r is written after other consonants.
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