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Tips and Resources for Learning More about
Unified English Braille

September 2013

At this time, material transcribed on paper in Unified English Braille (UEB) is not yet widely available in the United States. The UEB implementation process is likely to take several years. However, braille readers, particularly those with access to refreshable braille displays or embossers, may begin learning about the changes and using UEB whenever they choose to do so. Here are some ideas to help you get started.

Braille Notetakers such as BrailleNote or BrailleSense:

You can switch your notetaker to UEB by selecting the preferred braille code under the Options or Global Options menu. This will affect what you read on your display as well as what happens when you type using six keys. Be aware of the following:

• If you have switched your unit to UEB and then open a BRF or a KWB file that was previously created in current literary braille, it will still display in current braille, not UEB. However, if you import a Word, plain text, DAISY, or other file that is not originally in braille, it will display in UEB, as will the menu items for interacting with your device.
• When you type using the six keys, you must type in UEB in order for the document to translate to print accurately. For instance, if you type the word "middle" using the "dd" contraction, it will back translate as "mi.le" (with a period where the "dd" should be), because there is no contraction for "dd" in UEB. If you have the speech turned on while typing, the speech can provide you with immediate feedback about the back translation.

Refreshable Braille Displays Used with Macintosh computers or iOS Devices:

For iOs 7: UEB is the default English braille translation table in iOs 7, regardless of which dialect of English is selected. It is possible to switch to "English US" in VoiceOver settings, but consider leaving it on UEB to familiarize yourself with the changes. This will affect what you read on your display as well as what happens when you type using six keys.

For Earlier Versions of iOs: If you change the speech on your device to "Australian English" or to "South African English," the braille will display in UEB. Change the language by using the language selection options in "settings" (or via the rotor, if languages have been enabled there). This will affect what you read on your display as well as what happens when you type using six keys.

Be aware of the following:

• With your device set to UEB, reading material in UEB is plentiful and easy to obtain. It will apply to Web sites; ebooks downloaded with apps like Kindle, iBooks, or Bookshare's Read2Go; and more, including the interface and content of all your apps and of your device itself. Note that braille books downloaded through the National Library Service's BARD Mobile app will not display in UEB because the braille translation of these files is not processed through VoiceOver's translation software.
• When you type using six keys, you must type in UEB in order for the document to translate to print accurately. For instance, if you type the word "middle" using the "dd" contraction, it will back translate as "mi.le" (with a period where the "dd" should be), because there is no contraction for "dd" in UEB. If you have the speech turned on while typing, the speech can provide you with immediate feedback about the back translation.
• The UEB translation in VoiceOver is generally accurate, with one notable exception. When reading material from Web sites or in ebooks, you may notice that sometimes apostrophes are displayed as single quotation marks (dots 6, 356). This is not a UEB convention; rather, it is an issue with the software's translation rules which needs correcting to bring it in line with UEB rules.

Refreshable Braille Displays with Android Devices:

BrailleBack, the software that provides braille support for the TalkBack screen reader for Android, does not support UEB at this time.

Refreshable Braille Displays with PC Screen Readers:

WindowEyes can be set to display UEB by going to the braille menu and selecting the UEB checkbox under "Translation Tables".

JAWS for Windows also offers UEB (Options, Braille, Advanced, and Translation Mode UEB). However, as of the end of September 2013, there are many problems with the UEB implementation in JAWS—some symbols display incorrectly, many contractions are not used properly, etc. It is not recommended to use JAWS to learn about UEB at this time. The developers are currently working to make improvements.

NVDA can display UEB (Preferences, Braille Settings). There are some issues, but as of this writing, developers are working to make improvements.

Duxbury:

Using Duxbury, you can create a document in UEB by changing the translation table. Create or import a print document, then go to the "Document" menu, under Translation tables, and select English/Unified. Of course, it is still necessary to work with the formatting of a document before embossing it to get the headings, paragraphs and the like into the proper format. Also, in the current version of Duxbury, the American templates contain some elements that will cause pre-UEB conventions to be applied. Therefore, until new templates are built in to Duxbury specific to American formatting with UEB, it is necessary to do some manual manipulation of email addresses, web sites, transcribers' notes and the like to cause them to translate into correct UEB.

Sample Documents:

The Web site of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) www.brailleauthority.org includes a number of braille-formatted documents that can be embossed or read using a refreshable braille display. These documents include a brief overview of the changes from English Braille American Edition (EBAE) to UEB as well as sample documents such as a menu, instructions on cutting a turkey, tips for using Google, chapters from a book, and more.

The BANA website also includes information from other countries such as update courses. Update training materials for braille readers, teachers, and transcribers are currently being developed for the United States as well.

Last Updated: September 22, 2013

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