Addbookmark said:
What is the best Text-to-Speech program you've found so far? Do you use a braille keyboard and type, or do you use just use a Speech-to-Text program? Does
braille have any non-gendered pronouns, or do you have to use context? (like with the English they/them being contextually dependent in order to know if
it's a plural or a pronoun)
Is it presumptuous to automatically assume that blind people use braille? Are there braille dialects? Is braille hard or tricky to learn?
Right, by the numbers:
The best screen-reader I’ve used so far has to be Java Acquisition With Speech, or JAWS, and you can make all the shark jokes you want. While I’ve not personally used Window Eyes, other blind friends of mine have, and say its as good. These are screen-readers, not to be confused with type-to-speak programs, like dragon.
I use a regular keyboard, not a braille one. Braille keyboards are expensive, braille screens, even more so, with the cheapest integrated system — both screen and keyboard — being five hundred dollars.
Braille has two grades, grade one where each individual character is represented, and grade 2, which is short hand. If you encounter braille on a sign, odds are it is grade 2. Grade 2, in addition to the typical we, they, he, she, etc, has a pai of symbols that mean he/she. The context determines if this is in the general sense, kas covering everyone, or the singlular sense, as in it could be a he, or a she. Braille isn’t as hard as Japanese, but its not super easy. You need to have somewhat sensitive fingers for one thing, and baby powder will only go so far. Grade 1 braille is easier than grade 2, and the general concept of the eight cdot combination for each cell, or character space, isn’t that hard to learn. The biggest limitation factor though, is the fact that some prisons have stopped allowing prisoners to braille, and the increasing mentality that electronic text is just as good as braille. For this reason, older individuals that have been blind for a while are more likely to know braille, than younger folks. This is not a hard and fast rule, but a general indicator. Also I’ve personally found that those that have been blind longer often use braille to supplement other adaptive techniques. I have a braille type-writer, which I use regularly, and also have braille labeling material.