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

Tue Feb 17 06:01:42 UTC 2009

Hi Antonio and List,

I agree wholeheartedly with what Joseph has said regarding this topic. I 
definitely draw a distinction between literacy (the ability to read and 
write) and being informed, and believe that, with the widespread use of 
text-to-speech and other auditory means of conveying printed information, 
the former is rapidly becoming far less of a challenge to achieving the 
latter. Although I would not be surprised if such audio materials help to 
increase literacy to some extent, I firmly believe that, for those of us who 
cannot easily access printed materials, we must be able to know Braille and 
read it fluently if we are to achieve our full potential as far as literacy 
is concerned. I must disagree with the idea that understanding spoken 
language is a useful criterion for achieving literacy. The truth is that 
spoken and written language are in some ways very different. As I learned 
the first week in my introductory linguistics course, every person (with the 
possible exception of those with certain cognitive impairments affecting 
language) naturally and effortlessly acquires spoken language regardless of 
his/her ability to read, and the way we speak is not always reflected in our 
writing. This is where I believe that audio materials often fall short, and 
good Braille skills are essential. Now, I realize that, audio books, 
newspapers, magazines, etc. are usually read verbatim and that they 
therefore provide the same content that we would otherwise be reading in 
Braille or print. In listening to them, however, it is difficult, if not 
impossible, to pick up on spelling, grammar, and other written conventions 
which are crucial to polished writing. The truth is that, in the world of 
writing, we are judged just as much by our use of proper spelling and 
grammar as we are by our ability to express whatever it is that we are 
trying to say, and I therefore believe that both of these factors are 
important in assessing one's literacy. I am the first to admit that I am 
somewhat of a spelling and grammar snob, and often find myself making 
(sometimes, but not always incorrect) judgments about a person's 
intelligence based on his/her writing. I have certainly seen plenty of posts 
on this list by people who I would consider intelligent, but not necessarily 
the most literate (I expect that many of these posters are probably not 
efficient Braille readers), and must therefore stress that intelligence and 
literacy are not necessarily the same thing! I have also found from my own 
experiences correcting my schoolwork and other writing using a screen reader 
that it is easy to overlook certain errors which may be acceptable in 
everyday speech, but not necessarily in writing. Fortunately, I have been an 
avid Braille reader since childhood, and am usually able to notice and 
correct such errors using my Braille display.

All this being said, I find myself using synthesized speech considerably 
more often than I use Braille, although in many ways I still prefer the 
experience of reading Braille and feel that I don't retain information as 
well when using speech. I consider myself a relatively fast Braille reader, 
but still find it more efficient to accomplish certain tasks such as 
checking e-mail, surfing the net, and reading textbooks using a screen 
reader. I sometimes regret that I don't use Braille more often, but know 
that It would literally be impossible to get most things done if this were 
the case.

I must also add that I view literacy as a continuum, and don't believe that 
anyone, even the most avid readers and eloquent writers, is ever completely 
literate. Literacy is a process which spans a lifetime, and we learn more 
about our written language every day, whether or not we realize it.

Thanks, Antonio, for posting this topic! I certainly find it interesting, 
and look forward to reading (or perhaps I should say "listening?") to what 
others have to say!

Lindsay

Lindsay Yazzolino
Lindsay3.14 at gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter! Username: Pi3_14
----- 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 
>>_______________________________________________
>>nabs-l mailing list
>>nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>>nabs-l:
>>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/carter.tjoseph%40gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nabs-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/lindsay3.14%40gmail.com
> 