The Power Of Braille Literacy

Short Wave

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4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2024

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

For blind and low vision adults, the ability to read braille can be life-changing. Braille literacy is directly linked to higher rates of academic success and better employment outcomes for them. But there's a problem. The U.S. is facing a national shortage of qualified braille teachers and there's a lack of scientific research around braille overall. An interdisciplinary team led by linguist Robert Englebretson wants to change that.

Read some of the team's work here:
- Englebretson R, Holbrook MC, Fischer-Baum S. A position paper on researching braille in the cognitive sciences: decentering the sighted norm. Applied Psycholinguistics. 2023.
- Englebretson, R., Holbrook, M.C., Treiman, R. et al. The primacy of morphology in English braille spelling: an analysis of bridging contractions. Morphology. 2024.

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0:00.0	This summer on Planet Money, we're bringing you the entire history of the world.
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0:25.0	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:30.0	Hey Shortwaivers, Regina Barbara here.
0:32.0	Joined by my beloved co-host, Emily.
0:35.0	Hey Emily!
0:36.0	Well, thank you. Very glad to be here.
0:39.0	I'm excited to talk to you because you've been working on a story for about a year now about how a group of
0:44.0	researchers are studying Braille.
0:46.0	Yes, I've been following this group that researches Braille.
0:49.4	Braille, as you probably know, it's a tactile writing system that can be felt by running your
0:54.1	finger across embossed rail paper or braille display which raises the dots
0:58.5	electronically and most people who read braille are blind or have low vision.
1:05.0	Yeah, the raised dots electronically sounds like really, really cool.
1:09.1	How many languages are represented by Braille?
1:11.5	There are Braille systems for over 130. are Braille systems for about 135 of the world's languages.
1:24.0	There are Braille systems for notating mathematics and science
1:28.2	and even hobbies like chess and knitting and crocheting. This is Robert Engelbrethson. and always loved language and learned Braille really young. I was really quite a bookworm as a kid and
	...

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