Gardner–Salinas braille codes
The Gardner–Salinas braille codes are a proposed method of encoding mathematical and scientific notation linearly using braille cells for tactile reading by the visually impaired. The most common form of Gardner–Salinas braille is the 8-cell variety, commonly called GS8. There is also a corresponding 6-cell form called GS6.[1]
The codes were developed as a replacement for Nemeth Braille by John A. Gardner, a physicist at Oregon State University, and Norberto Salinas, an Argentinian mathematician. However, 15 years later Nemeth code was still the standard, with no further change as of 2024[update].[2]
Table of Gardner–Salinas 8-dot (GS8) braille
The set of lower-case letters, the period, comma, semicolon, colon, exclamation mark, apostrophe, and opening and closing double quotes are the same as in Grade-2 English Braille.[1]
Digits
Apart from 0, this is the same as the Antoine notation used in French and Luxembourgish Braille. Sources disagree on 0. Both claimed forms are presented above. The second is the ISO form. Note however that ISO is concerned only with a one-to-one assignment between 8-dot braille and ASCII, and so has no particular connection to Gardner–Salinas braille.
Upper-case letters
GS8 upper-case letters are indicated by the same cell as standard English braille (and GS8) lower-case letters, with dot #7 added.
Compare Luxembourgish Braille.
Greek letters
Dot 8 is added to the letter forms of International Greek Braille to derive Greek letters:
Characters differing from English Braille
| Symbol | Parentheses | Brackets | single quote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| open | close | open | close | open | close | ? | |
| Braille | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell |
The single quotation marks are the ASCII back tick ` and apostrophe '.
ASCII symbols and mathematical operators
Text symbols
| Symbol | • | © | † | ‡ | £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braille | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell |
Math and science symbols
| Symbol | ≈ | ≅ | ≡ | ∝ | |x| (abs. value) | ∞ | ∫ | line ∫ | closed ∫ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braille | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell...Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell |
Markup
| Symbol | Superscript | Subscript | Left-superscript | Left-subscript | Begin fraction | Denominator | End fraction | Over * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braille |
* Encodes the fraction-slash for the single adjacent digits/letters as numerator and denominator.
| Symbol | √ | complex radicand * | displayed equation ** | math expressions ** | hyperlink ** | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Close | Open | Close | Open | Close | Open | Close | ||
| Braille | |||||||||
* Used for any > 1 digit radicand.
** Used for markup to represent inkprint text.
| Symbol | Array | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Begin | End | End element | End line | vert. stack | horiz. combo | superposition | |
| Braille | |||||||
| Symbol | Misc. Symbol * | Modifiers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Begin | End | Quantity | Markup indicator | Inverted | Stroke/Not | Variant | Large | |
| Braille | ||||||||
Typeface indicators
| Symbol | Script | Bold | Italic | Underline | Definable font 1 | Fractur | Roman | Underline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braille | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell |
The difference between the two underline markers is not explained.
Shape symbols
| Symbol | ⊥ | ∥ | ∠ | Open Square | ⊿ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braille | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell |
Set theory
| Symbol | ∪ | ∩ | ⊂ | ⊃ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braille | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell | Template:Braille Cell |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Index of Topics in Braille Section". Oregon State University Science Access Project Braille topics.. http://dots.physics.orst.edu/gs_index.html.
- ↑ [1]
- Blind physicist creates better Braille — a CNN news item, November 9, 1995
- The world of blind mathematicians — article in Notices of the AMS, November 2002
