Most Common Types of Braille
Uncontracted and contracted braille are the two most popular types of braille, respectively known as Grade 1 and Grade 2.
Grade 1 or Uncontracted Braille
The most fundamental type of braille is Grade 1 or Uncontracted Braille. It makes use of every letter in the alphabet (all 26 of them), and kids and people just beginning to read and write in braille frequently use it. Uncontracted braille spells out sentences letter by letter. Uncontracted braille takes up a lot of room, so papers written in it will be very long. Uncontracted braille is the simpler version of contracted braille, also known as Grade 2 or Literary Braille, which is more complicated. It is the type of braille that is most frequently used.
Grade 2 or Contracted Braille
It is a method of “shortcuts” in which a single letter may stand in for a complete word. Without writing out each character in the phrase, certain letter combinations, or contractions, can stand in for entire sentences. By using this technique, fewer cells generally and fewer pages are needed to produce novels and other written material. Contracted braille takes up less room and increases a person’s viewing and writing efficiency. This is the type of braille that is used in public situations.