[BlindMath] Questions about Nemeth and UEB

[Donald Winiecki]

For what it's worth...

As the USA representative on the ICEB committee for technical braille codes
I'd like to note the following. (ICEB is "International Council on English
Braille.")

Yes, most current mathematics and technical texts in use in the USA will
use Nemeth. Nemeth isn't perfect, but it is the historical norm in the USA
and it has a very good track record.

I don't think it's safe to call Nemeth a dying braille code. It is
supported by NFB and used by a *lot* of people. UEB is *also* supported by
the NFB. The USA is the only country I know of that has two accepted codes
for mathematics and technical content. All other English speaking countries
have agreed to use UEB for mathematics content in their schooling systems.
As noted elsewhere, while some US States have indicated a preference for
either Nemeth or UEB technical codes, a student's IEP committee is supposed
to decide what system is best for a student.

I also don't think we can say that UEB was intended to replace Nemeth.
However, to produce a complete braille code, UEB had to contain the ability
to represent maths across all levels. It can do just that, though Nemeth
proponents have their criticisms. The ICEB committee is working to smooth
out some things.

Beyond all of that, and all things considered, even if we decided to stop
using Nemeth right now (which nobody in any position of authority is
suggesting), anyone serious about maths would have to learn it *and* UEB,
simply because there is a very large archive of maths materials already
prepared in Nemeth. Even if we had a tool to do that automatically (which
we don't, despite some claims) it will take a long time to convert those
materials to UEB.

Best,

DON WINIECKI


On Wed, Apr 5, 2023 at 7:49 PM Mac David via BlindMath <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> I would start with Nemeth Braille  first. That is what you are going to
> see most books written in. Nemeth Braille is a dying language but a good
> book to learn this code is “The Nemeth Braille Code for Mathmatics and
> Science Notation 1972 Revision” with a 2007 update. It is available for
> download in various formats from www.brailleauthority.org. I think that
> UEB has been in use for only about 15 years, and is intended to replace
> Nemeth.
> Hope this helps,
> Mac David
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> > On Apr 5, 2023, at 7:18 PM, dana mohsen via BlindMath <
> blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >
> > Hello everyone, I hope everyone is doing well.
> > I had a question about Braille math.
> > I work with math audibly, using a screen reader, but I have been
> interested in learning braille math recently. I can read both contracted,
> and I’m contracted braille.. my question is: should I learn Nemeth or UEB
> math? I definitely love to learn both, but I’d like to learn one of them
> fully before doing the other. Which one is the better one? Which one is
> more efficient, and which one is more common in the United States.?
> > Thank you.
> > Best regards,
> > Dana Ibrahim
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