[nfbwatlk] FW: BANA Press Release - Adoption of UEB

[Mike Freeman]

From: Dean Stenehjem [mailto:Dean.Stenehjem at wssb.wa.gov] 
Sent: Monday, November 05, 2012 8:41 AM
Subject: BANA Press Release - Adoption of UEB

 

 

 

 

 

This press release is also attached in WORD and in PDF.

 

 

  



Press Release

November 2012

For Immediate Release

  _____  

CONTACT: Frances Mary D'Andrea, Chair

Braille Authority of North America

Phone: 412-521-5797

Email: literacy2 at mindspring.com

BANA Adopts Unified English Braille (UEB) for United States

On November 2, 2012, the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) set a new
course for the future of braille in the United States (U.S.) when it adopted
Unified English Braille (UEB). The motion, which passed decisively,
specifies that UEB will eventually replace the current English Braille
American Edition and that the U.S. will retain the Nemeth Code for
Mathematics and Science Notation.

The transition to UEB will not be immediate and will follow a carefully
crafted timeline. Implementation plans will be formulated with the input and
participation of stakeholders from the consumer, education, rehabilitation,
transcription, and production communities. Plans will take into
consideration the various aspects of creating, teaching, learning, and using
braille in a wide variety of settings. The plans will be designed to provide
workable transitions for all involved in braille use and production and to
minimize disruption for current braille readers. 

UEB is based on the current literary braille code and was developed with
input from many people, primarily braille readers, who worked to achieve an
optimal balance among many key factors. Those factors include keeping the
general-purpose literary code as its base, allowing the addition of new
symbols, providing flexibility for change as print changes, reducing the
complexity of rules, and allowing greater accuracy in back translation. 

Letters and numbers will stay the same as they are in the current literary
code. There will be some changes to punctuation, but most will remain the
same. Some rules for the use of contractions will change. Nine contractions
will be eliminated, and some contractions will be used more often. A FAQ
providing more detail about changes is available on the BANA website. 

After implementation, the official braille codes for the United States will
be Unified English Braille; Nemeth Code for Mathematics and Science
Notation, 1972 Revision and published updates; Music Braille Code, 1997; and
The IPA Braille Code, 2008.

More detailed information about UEB and the motion that BANA passed can be
found on the BANA website at www.brailleauthority.org.

 

 

The Board of BANA consists of appointed representatives from fifteen member
organizations of braille producers, transcribers, teachers, and consumers.

 

The mission and purpose of the Braille Authority of North America are to
assure literacy for tactile readers through the standardization of braille
and/or tactile graphics. BANA promotes and facilitates the use, teaching,
and production of braille. It publishes rules, interprets, and renders
opinions pertaining to braille in all existing codes. It deals with codes
now in existence or to be developed in the future, in collaboration with
other countries using English braille. In exercising its function and
authority, BANA considers the effects of its decisions on other existing
braille codes and formats; the ease of production by various methods; and
acceptability to readers. 

 

 

 

Below are the direct links to the actual motion that BANA passed and to the
press release on the BANA website. 

 

Here is the link to the press release:
<http://www.brailleauthority.org/pressreleases/pr-2012november.html>
http://www.brailleauthority.org/pressreleases/pr-2012november.html

 

Here is the link to the actual motion:
<http://www.brailleauthority.org/ueb/UEBpassed.html>
http://www.brailleauthority.org/ueb/UEBpassed.html

 

 

Dean O. Stenehjem, Ed.D. 

Superintendent

Washington State School for the Blind 

2214 E. 13th Street 

Vancouver, WA 98661

Dean.stenehjem at wssb.wa.gov 

www.wssb.wa.gov 

 

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