Mary Schnackenberg writes:
Today we celebrate World Braille Day on the birthday of Louis Braille.
As a lifelong Braille reader I find myself defending literacy through Braille very often. Surely, people tell me, with today's technology Braille is not needed! And I am frequently told today's society does not care they can't spell. Oh really!
Well, I do care about spelling, punctuation and more. I also suspect that employers who fear hiring blind people can use any spelling and punctuation errors as the excuse not to hire.
I have recently begun to use a brand new electronic Braille display. In my reading I have discovered so many unfamiliar spellings of people's names, place names, and all of them are sensitive issues for the people who know and are linked to them.
Growing up I knew two American cities whose names were similar. One is Las Vegas, and the other is Los Angeles. Listening carelessly I thought the city of high end entertainment was Los Vegas. I was an adult before I discovered my spelling error.
Recently I came across an autobiography of a New Zealand politician, written since he left Parliament. His name is Steven Joyce, that is Steven with a "v" not a "ph". He was in the media for many years here, but the correct spelling of his first name was total news to me.
Last year New Zealand Opera launched surtitles in Braille making them available over the internet to readers with electronic Braille displays. One of the people who trialled the Braille told me she was surprised at the number of words she had heard before, but had no idea how they were actually spelt.
So, my print reader friends, when you tell me my proud dots are no longer needed, how would you feel if we took away your "flat hieroglyphs"? So long as print literacy lives, Braille will also live.