Most of us know about grade 2, of course, with its 180 contractions designed to make braille quicker to read and write and occupy less space.
Grade 3 extends this concept still further with over 300 additional contractions, rules to allow vowels to be omitted, and provisions for reducing spaces and new lines. Whilst it’s not an officially recognised code, it has a loyal following amongst long-time braillists, who have used it very successfully to take shorthand notes or transcribe passages of text for reading aloud. It’s especially useful in conjunction with a hand frame or slate and stylus.
James Bowden will be leading this session. Whilst he won’t be able to cover all of the 300+ contractions in an hour, he’ll explain the concepts used to form them, introduce some of the most useful ones and the rules which govern their use, and signpost to resources with more information.
A handout will be made available after the session, but if you’d like to follow along live, you are encouraged to have a means of writing braille to hand, such as a slate and stylus or Perkins brailler.
Grade 3 is not easily back-translatable, so if you wish to follow along on a braille notetaker, please ensure that braille translation is disabled or set to computer braille (preferably US). If your notetaker has a B RF editor, you are strongly encouraged to use this. You could also use Perky Duck or BrailleZephyr on your computer.
The pace of the session is likely to be quite brisk.