||boek: Louis Braille|De blinde jongen uit Frankrijk die de blinden leerde lezen met hun vingers|Infodok Mensen voor mensen

||door: Beverley Birch
||over: Louis Braille

||taal: nl
||jaar: 1990
||druk: ?
||pag.: 63p
||opm.: hardcover|zo goed als nieuw

||isbn: 90-6565-329-5
||code: 2:000384

--- Over het boek (foto 1): Louis Braille ---

Het verhaal van Louis Braille, de dertienjarige blinde jongen die braille uitvond: het eenvoudige, maar duidelijke systeem van reliëfpunten. Daarmee kunnen miljoenen blinden over de hele wereld boeken lezen.

[bron: https--www.bol.com]

Louis Braille is another book in the "People Who have Helped the World" series. This series, which covers the lives of leading humanitarians, peacemakers and conservationists is aimed at young people between the ages of 11 and 14. The books are designed to give children greater awareness and knowledge of the people who have made a major contribution to the world around them. "Louis Braille" is a lively and concise biography of the thirteen-year-old blind boy who invented Braille, the simple system of raised dots, which has enabled millions of blind people all over the world to read. Braille is now the international alphabet of the blind and this book follows the determination and belief behind the person who invented it.

[source: https--www.goodreads.com]

Lezen IN DUISTERNIS

Een visuele beperking hoeft een mens niet te beroven van de mogelijkheid weg te dromen in de verborgen wereld van boeken. veel gedrukte boeken zijn tegenwoordig ook beschikbaar als 'audioboek', waarin het verhaal wordt voorgelezen. Het relatief nieuwe daisy-systeem maakt het bovendien mogelijk steeds flexibeler om te gaan met gesproken teksten in relatie tot de geschreven tekst. Op die manier kan iemand gemakkelijk van het ene naar het andere hoofdstuk gaan en loopt de gesproken tekst synchroon met de tekst op een beeldscherm, waardoor slechtzienden bijvoorbeeld toch ook de geschreven tekst nog kunnen volgen.

Hoewel deze ontwikkelingen steeds meer mogelijkheden bieden, vindt niet iedereen het prettig om voorgelezen te worden. De voorleesstem staat je misschien niet aan, de voorlezer gebruikt een andere intonatie dan jij zou doen of hij of zij schiet maar niet op in dat spannende stuk waar je al lezend doorheen zou willen racen om te weten wat er gaat gebeuren. Om dat soort gevoelens te vermijden blijft het lezen van het brailleschrift de meest onafhankelijke vorm van lezen. Dit schrift wordt gedrukt in reliëf, waardoor de letters voelbaar zijn.

Louis Braille, die zelf sinds zijn vroege kindertijd blind was, ontwikkelde zijn alfabet aan het begin van de 19e eeuw, waar schijnlijk naar voorbeeld van het Franse militaire 'nachtschrift'. Dit nachtschrift werd gebruikt om 's nachts in de strijd in stilte boodschappen door te kunnen geven. Dit systeem maakte gebruik van letters die werden aangeduid in rasters van 12 puntjes. Braille vereenvoudigde het systeem naar letters weergegeven in rasters van 6 puntjes elk: 2 naast elkaar en 3 onder elkaar. Naast tekens voor de letters van het alfabet ontwikkelde hij ook tekens die hoofdletters, leestekens en dubbelklanken aangeven.

Geoefende braillelezers kunnen in het zelfde tempo lezen als lezers van normaal drukwerk. Brailleletters nemen echter wel veel meer ruimte in dan gewone drukletters, waardoor een roman van gangbare dikte al snel uitgegeven moet worden in meerdere banden. Braille boeken worden onder andere ter beschikking gesteld door de Stichting Aangepast Lezen. Deze stichting biedt mensen met een visuele beperking een gratis online service die het hen mogelijk maakt gratis audioboeken, brailleboeken, kranten en tijdschriften te lenen.

Een voorbeeld van een brailleboek vindt u in de tentoonstelling Taal in Beeld: het is de eerste band van het boekje Taal is zeg maar echt mijn ding van Paulien Cornelisse. Het totale boek beslaat in braille 9 banden - in gedrukte vorm is het een pocketboek van 232 pagina's.

Yvonne Lammers [bron: https--www.hetdepot.nl/content/files/publicaties/pdf/fragment_4.pdf]

--- Over (foto 2): Beverley Birch ---

Beverley Birch

Raised in East Africa, Beverley Birch has been in children's publishing, on both sides of the fence, for many years. Author of novels, picture books, biographies, retellings of classic works, and collaborations with her husband, photographer Nick Birch, she has been nominated for the Carnegie medal, and shortlisted for several other awards, both in the UK and abroad.

As editor, Beverley has been three times shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award in recognition of the editor's role in nurturing new talent. Since the late 1990s she's commissioned older fiction for Hodder Children's Books, working with outstanding and award-winning writers - among them Catherine Fisher, Rachel Anderson, Sarah Mussi, David Almond, Tanith Lee, Charlotte Haptie and H.L. Dennis.

2013 saw Beverley stepping down from her commissioning role to concentrate on her own writing and being a workshop leader at the Golden Egg Academy.

A prolific writer, Beverley's books for children include Song Beneath the Tides, Rift, The Keeper of the Gate, Night of the Fire Lilies and Sea Hawk, Sea Moon, as well as two volumes of retellings of Shakespeare's Stories and several picture books.

Beverley is available to lead events and workshops in schools and at festivals on a range of topics, including introducing Shakespeare to primary children as part of Shakespeare Week.

Selected praise for Beverley Birch's older work:

• "Rift is that delightful thing, a book which holds you from the first page." --Marcus Sedgwick, Guardian (Rift)

• "A fragmented enigma ... Stylised, sophisticated and richly atmospheric' --Daily Telegraph (Rift)

• "An enjoyable, strongly written book with enough meat on the bones to provoke thought." --Susan Hill, Sunday Times (The Keeper of The Gate)

[source: http--www.the-bia.com/beverley-birch.html]

Beverley Birch is the author of more than forty books, from picture books and novels to science biographies and retellings of Shakespeare. All her books have received critical acclaim. She has been translated into more than a dozen languages, and is in the top ten per cent of all authors borrowed in UK libraries. Beverley grew up in Kenya, and came to England for the first time to study for A' levels.

She travelled widely in Africa, America and Europe before graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in Economics and Sociology. After university she became an editor and in 1981 she began writing full-time. She is the author of 'Rift', several titles in Wayland's 'Shakespeare's Tales' and titles in Orion's 'Science Stories' series.

[source: https--www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/beverley-birch]

About the author

Beverley Birch spent her childhood roaming vast plains and deep forests near her home in East Africa, dreaming of becoming an intrepid explorer in fantastic, far-away places. Instead she became a writer, and explores people and places through her books. She travelled widely, and says, 'Wherever I go, I'm fascinated by the way people and events of the past seem to me to leave a gleam, or a shadow, or a resonating murmur of sound in a place. In a way, that's where all my stories begin.'

Beverley writes for young people of all ages. Her novels range over time-travel, mystery-thrillers, ghost stories, and adventures and are set in Italy, Scotland and East Africa. She also writes picture books, biographies, narrative non-fiction, retellings of folk tales and classic works, and collaborations with her husband, photographer Nick Birch. Critically acclaimed, and translated into more than a dozen language, she has been nominated for the Carnegie medal, and shortlisted for awards here and abroad.

[source: https--www.amazon.in]

When I was small I wanted to become an explorer and see fantastic, faraway places. But I became a writer and put my exploring into my books. I did get to travel a lot. The people I've met and places I've seen inspire my stories. I tell you about that, and a little about my life, on this page.

The beginning ...

I grew up in Kenya, not far from the city of Nairobi. But it was wild enough to worry about leopards prowling at night. Baboons and monkeys often invaded our school to taunt us from the rooftops or pelt us with anything they could find. To them, of course, we were the invaders.

And it was wild enough for there to be great open plains and big forests very near, which I could explore on horseback. That's when I really began dreaming up stories in my head. In my notepad here, I tell you more, and answer questions I'm often asked. I'll add new stuff regularly, so do come back ...

Something else you want to know? Get in touch.

Animals were never far away during my childhood.

This is my pony, Jessica. I spent hours riding her around, exploring, often joined by curious giraffe or zebra.

My home was once part of Karen Blixen's farm: she wrote a book about her life in Kenya, called OUT OF AFRICA. It was made into a film starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.

Her book begins, 'I had a farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills' - and that's where our house was. You could see the knuckle shapes of the hills through acacia trees at the bottom of our garden. It was near vast tracts of open land and forest with only a few scattered villages, and it stretched to the edge of the great Rift Valley.

My parents got hold of two ponies from a wild herd, and somehow my sister and I persuaded them to let us get on their backs. After falling off a lot, we learned to ride.

We spent all our time outside - making dens, climbing trees and wandering about on those ponies. And I daydreamed a lot, making up stories in my head.

Nowadays I still spend a lot of time outside, walking, exploring, reading, and learning to sail. I also like films and theatre. And I'm still daydreaming, making up stories in my head, but also writing them down in my books.

How I write - and some writing tips

Scroll through the slideshow to find different tips ...

How I write ...

I see the story as I'm writing, like watching a film. I play around with who's telling it, what they see, getting inside the heads of my characters. I scribble notes, ideas, connections, odd sentences that frame an idea for a scene or conversation. I make sketches and maps, collect pictures to pin up near my desk.

...

[source: https--www.beverleybirch.co.uk]


--- Over (foto 3): Louis Braille ---

Louis Braille (Coupvray bij Parijs, 4 januari 1809 - Parijs, 6 januari 1852) was de ontwerper van het brailleschrift, een lees- en schrijfsysteem voor blinden. Zelf was hij op driejarige leeftijd blind geworden toen hij zichzelf per ongeluk met een priem in een oog stak. De hierdoor ontstane infectie veroorzaakte ook blindheid in zijn andere oog.

In 1819 ging Braille naar het Nationaal Instituut voor Blinde Kinderen in Parijs, waar hij al spoedig vernam dat er in datzelfde jaar een speciaal 'nachtschrift' was ontwikkeld door een artillerieofficier in het Franse leger, Charles Barbier. Dit schrift was een methode om 's nachts boodschappen over te brengen aan het front. Daarbij werd een raster van 12 punten gebruikt, waarop in reliëf codes werden aangebracht die in het donker voelbaar waren. Zeer waarschijnlijk heeft dit Louis Braille op het idee gebracht twee jaar later iets dergelijks voor blinden te ontwikkelen.

Zijn uitvinding

Toen Braille vijftien jaar oud was, kwam hij met een eerste opzet voor een blindenschrift en in 1829, op zijn twintigste, had hij het volledig ontwikkeld tot een bruikbare methode. Hij had het twaalfpuntssysteem vervangen door een minder ingewikkeld zespuntssysteem en er een bepaalde logica in aangebracht waardoor behalve letters en hoofdletters ook leestekens, cijfers, tweeklanken en andere aanduidingen gebruikt konden worden.

Erkenning

Zijn medeleerlingen begonnen het meteen te gebruiken, maar pas in 1854, twee jaar na zijn dood, werd het brailleschrift officieel door het Instituut erkend als volwaardige lees- en schrijftaal voor blinden. Nog altijd wordt het wereldwijd door en voor blinden toegepast. Naderhand zijn ook een brailleschrift voor muziek, wiskunde en tekstverwerking op de computer ontwikkeld. Ook bestaat er voor geoefende braillelezers een soort stenografie in braille, het z.g. 'Kortschrift in graden'.

Munten

In 2009 werd er een Belgische en Italiaanse herdenkingsmunt ter waarde van twee euro geslagen voor Louis Braille, omdat hij 200 jaar geleden geboren was.

[bron: wikipedia]

Louis Braille: the Kid Who Created the Code

Six dots - six bumps in different patterns spreading out over the page. What are they? Numbers, letters, words that make up stories, music, math, science - nearly anything that can be written! Who created this incredible code that allows people who are blind to both read and write? None other than Louis Braille (1809-1852), a French teenager who was blind and wanted very much to learn.

Louis was from a small town called Coupvray, near Paris-he was born on January 4 in 1809. Louis became blind by accident, when he was 3 years old. Deep in his father's harness workshop, Louis tried to be like his dad, but it went very wrong. He grabbed an awl, a sharp tool for making holes in leather and the tool slipped hurting his eye. The wound got infected, and the infection spread. Soon, Louis was blind in both eyes.

Suddenly, Louis needed a new way to learn. He stayed at his old school for two more years, but he couldn't learn everything just by listening. Things were looking up when Louis received a scholarship to the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris when he was 10. But even there, most of the teachers just talked at the students. The library had only 14 huge books with raised letters that were very hard to read-and there was no way for Louis to write. Louis was impatient.

Louis Meets a Soldier

In 1821, a former soldier named Charles Barbier visited the school. Barbier shared his invention called "night writing," a code of 12 raised dots that let soldiers share top-secret information on the battlefield in the dark. The code was hard for the soldiers to learn, but not for 12-year-old Louis!

Louis Braille's book: Procédé pour écrire les Paroles, la Musique et le Plain-chant au moyen de point, on display in the APH MuseumLouis published his code in 1829. You can actually visit this rare book in the Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind!

Louis reduced the number of dots in each character from Barbier's 12 dots to 6 dots. This allowed all of the dots that made a single character to be touched at once with the fingertip. Louis continued to improve the system, which was mostly completed by the time he was 15. Louis published the first-ever braille book in 1829, which described his method of reading and writing.

But did he stop there? No way! In 1837, he added symbols for math and music. The students loved Louis new code, but it took the teachers and directors at the Royal Institution many years to accept it. Louis himself taught at the Royal Institution, but braille wasn't taught there until after his death. Braille began to spread worldwide in 1868, when a group of British men, now known as the Royal National Institute for the Blind, took up the cause.

Now practically every country in the world uses braille. Braille books have double-sided pages, which saves a lot of space. Braille signs help people who are blind get around in public spaces. Computerized devices with changing refreshable braille displays can connect to smartphones or computers. And most importantly, blind people can communicate independently.

Louis proved that if you have the motivation, you can do incredible things!

[source: https--braillebug.org/louis-braille-biography]