Guidelines for the Use of Braille Translators

One of the most important, and perhaps obvious, things to watch out for when producing braille, is using the correct Language Translation Tables. An English document, translated using French braille rules, would produce a very strange form of braille.

But prior to UEB even an English document had its own National Braille Table.

BANA has an excellent set of general guidelines for the use of braille translators, entitled "Guidelines for the Production of Braille Materials Through the Use of Braille Translation Software," available on its web site at: http://www.brailleauthority.org.

Many pointers given there are applicable generally, not only in BANA countries.

Likewise, UKAAF publishes material relating to English/British braille. You can find information on UKAAF at http://www.ukaaf.org.

In general, whenever it is important that the braille be of high quality according to applicable standards, which is in most instances - especially for educational or other public uses - a qualified person should proofread or otherwise monitor the braille for translation accuracy and appropriate format. Without such help, it is possible for many factors to adversely affect the quality of automatically translated braille, especially if the content or format is at all complex.

A Braillist's Pledge of Professional Ethics

I pledge to:

- Adopted by the National Braille Association, November 2003