[nabs-l] How you read, Braille or voice

Tue Feb 17 03:17:34 UTC 2009

I'm struggling to find the main point in your message, but I would like to
address the issue of mediums such as e-mail/instant messaging/texting. There
are a handful of people who are lacking in the Braille skills department,
and that pertains to the proofreading issue you mentioned. I don't believe
that Braille is archaic or unnecessary. I do however think that it isn't as
efficient as other mediums. It's doubtful that the volume of reading I do in
college would permit me to use Braille as my primary reading medium; it
seems that there simply aren't enough hours in the day. Especially for a
child who has been blind since birth, Braille aids in creating a solid
foundation for them so that they may learn to read and write with proper
spelling and syntax. Things like spelling cannot be properly conveied, or is
that conveyed through passive listening. I see an increasing problem
occurring, or occurring with those who heavily rely on synthetic speech,
especially the eloquence synth found in JAWS. It doesn't make proofreading
very easy because words have the tendency to sound like they're written with
proper spelling if they're close enough to sounding like whatever word
you're really aiming to write. Spellcheck exists in computers, but some
people can be too lazy to use automation, autimation, or is that audimation
to make their writing look more presentable, or presentable. It's a setback
that I've seen many blind people face, myself included.
I don't use much Braille these days due to a heavy workload and the
ever-growing need for efficiency, but there are times when I don't know the
spelling of common words that I probably would have known had I actually
read them on a regular basis.
Also, I'm wondering if for blind people, the term "reading" contains about
as much ambiguity as terms like "watching" a show or going to "see" an old
friend. I don't think of myself listening to a book that I scanned for a
class, listening to the TV, or hearing someone later. If you want to get
picky though, perhaps using speech or an audio book isn't exactly reading by
definition.
I think that only having the ability to use auditory or electronic mediums
to access written material makes a person literate just as much as
collecting jazz records makes them a musician. The term "functionally
illiterate" comes to mind.
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Serena
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 9:19 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] How you read, Braille or voice

Joseph

That's true, but don't many sighted people write emails, without 
proofreading them, as well?  I'm sure many of them are literate!  And what 
about instant messaging and text messaging?  There are tons of abbreviations

people use, but that doesn't mean they're illiterate.

Serena

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "T. Joseph Carter" <carter.tjoseph at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 7:29 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] How you read, Braille or voice

> Antonio,
>
> I would argue that being literate and being informed are two distinct and 
> separate things.  I know many people who are literate and yet blissfully 
> unaware of a great many things.
>
> Contrarily, I know a few people who seem to be pretty well informed, and 
> yet I would question their literacy.  You've encountered some of them on 
> these NFB lists, actually--but I know others who are sighted whose 
> literacy I also question.
>
> Literacy to my mind connotes both the ability to read and the ability to 
> write.  While it is true that reading can take many forms, those forms of 
> reading that involve the spoken word do not generally assist in writing.
>
> Consider, how many very intelligent people on these lists use spellings 
> indicative of working almost entirely with speech rather than access to 
> the written word in a way that includes some form of letter-sound 
> correspondence.  Or for that matter, how many posters to these lists write

> their messages as single long paragraphs?  These types of errors 
> negatively impact what others' think of them, particularly if those others

> do not use a screen reader to access their world.
>
> Some of the people I'm thinking of are undeniably brilliant, so that is 
> truly a shame.  The sighted world judges by appearance.  If we are going 
> to compete on equal terms in the sighted world in any way that includes 
> written communication, we must learn to write in a way that is meant to be

> read with the eye, rather than heard with the ear.
>
> This to me is why literacy is more than just reading and the ability to 
> hear and understand an audio book or access the contents of a website 
> through a screen reader is simply not enough.
>
> Joseph
>
> On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 06:32:56PM -0500, Antonio M. Guimaraes wrote:
>>Hello all,
>>
>>I am a braille reader, though not  a very fast one. I'd like to throw some

>>thought in about reading and literacy.
>>
>>First, what is literacy? Is braille the only way to literacy? Is getting 
>>reading done part of being literate, and informed, no matter the method?
>>
>>I have as many questions as I think I have the answers.
>>First, for me literacy is the ability to read and right, and the 
>>discernment to stay informed by reading a wide variety of books, articles,

>>magazines, journals, and any other form where words are conveyed.
>>
>>By my definition, literacy can and does include spoken language, an text 
>>to speech.
>>I am a firm believer that braille is an integral vehicle for literacy, but

>>not the soul vehicle. Without braille, one can not learn to spell 
>>properly. I am also tempted to argue that perfect spelling is not 
>>indicative of, or a prerequisit for literacy.
>>I should disclose, in case you didn't notice, that I am not the best 
>>speller, and that I do make quite a few spelling mistakes in my writing.
>>Still, the literate person does not read in braille only, even though she 
>>or he needs a good amount of it to be a good, reputable communicator.
>>
>>I use speech on my computer, and was able to get through 300 nabs messages

>>in one sitting. I think this was done on less than two hours, and without 
>>braille. I wanted a quick and efficient way to get at these mailings, and 
>>with my braille reading speed, I would only be able to read a small 
>>fraction of the material.
>>
>>A well-read person is more literate, and best exposed to the world than 
>>the passive listener who has no developed interests. So, the literate 
>>person is by some measures a more interesting person because she or he is 
>>better informed, and can discuss with some authority about a wider array 
>>of topics. To this effect, I have set out a reading list with books on 
>>topics of interest to me. I limmited myself to learning about one topic 
>>for a month, then moving on to something else.
>>
>>So, March might be Antonio's philosophy month, and not the kind we 
>>tipically talk about. April could be birds month, may would the the time 
>>to read about religion, and so fourth.
>>
>>I feel some reservation and small amount of guilt for not devoting as much

>>time to reading in braille. After all, braille for some is the only way to

>>being literate, and if I sell out and read on Kurzweil, or in spoken 
>>media, I would not be aquiring knowledge, or practicing good literacy 
>>skills.
>>
>>Do you see the hole in the argument of braille as the only way? Do you see

>>that I would still be accessing and gaining knowledge by reading an 
>>electronic file with my text to speech features?
>>
>>What are your thoughts as we embark on the biggest braille literacy 
>>promotion campaign? Keep it honest, and inspiring if you can.
>>
>>Antonio Guimaraes
>>Shop online and support the NFB of RI at no additional cost to you.
>>http://www.givebackamerica.com/charity.php?b=169 Givebackamerica.org, 
>>America's Online Charity Shopping Mall 
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