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Cantonese Braille

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Cantonese Braille
Script type
LanguagesCantonese
Related scripts
Parent systems
Braille
  • Cantonese Braille
Braille map at Central Pier 3, Hong Kong, with English and Cantonese Braille text.

Cantonese Braille (Chinese: 粵語點字) is a braille script used to write Cantonese in Hong Kong and Macau. It is locally referred to as tim chi (點字, dim2zi6) 'dot characters' or more commonly but ambiguously tuk chi (凸字, dat6zi6) 'raised characters'. Although Cantonese is written in Chinese characters, Cantonese Braille is purely phonetic, with punctuation, digits and Latin letters from the original Braille. It can be mixed with English text.

Charts

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Each syllable is divided into three parts: the initial consonant, the rime (vowel and any final consonant), and the tone. For example, 盤, pun4 is written , with initial p, final un and tone 4.[1] (See Cantonese phonology.) Among initials, aspirated consonants (p t ts k kw = p' t' ts' k' kw') are derived by adding dots to the unaspirated consonants (b d dz g gw = p t ts k kw):

Initials
Braille ⠋ (braille pattern dots-124) ⠓ (braille pattern dots-125) ⠅ (braille pattern dots-13) ⠗ (braille pattern dots-1235) ⠇ (braille pattern dots-123) ⠍ (braille pattern dots-134) ⠝ (braille pattern dots-1345) ⠏ (braille pattern dots-1234) ⠯ (braille pattern dots-12346) ⠎ (braille pattern dots-234) ⠞ (braille pattern dots-2345) ⠾ (braille pattern dots-23456) ⠺ (braille pattern dots-2456) ⠚ (braille pattern dots-245) ⠉ (braille pattern dots-14) ⠭ (braille pattern dots-1346) ⠟ (braille pattern dots-12345) ⠻ (braille pattern dots-12456) ⠛ (braille pattern dots-1245)
Pinyin f h g k l m n b p s d t w j dz ts gw kw ng
  • M and ng may also be used as rimes (syllabic nasals), in which case they are followed directly by the tone.
  • When i or u (but not y) begins a syllable, a dummy consonant j or w is prefixed.[citation needed]
Rimes
Braille ⠃ (braille pattern dots-12) ⠬ (braille pattern dots-346) ⠌ (braille pattern dots-34) ⠜ (braille pattern dots-345) ⠘ (braille pattern dots-45) ⠉ (braille pattern dots-14) ⠏ (braille pattern dots-1234) ⠞ (braille pattern dots-2345) ⠅ (braille pattern dots-13)
Pinyin a (aa) aai aau aam aan aang aap aat aak
Braille ⠩ (braille pattern dots-146) ⠡ (braille pattern dots-16) ⠸ (braille pattern dots-456) ⠫ (braille pattern dots-1246) ⠛ (braille pattern dots-1245) ⠢ (braille pattern dots-26) ⠔ (braille pattern dots-35) ⠨ (braille pattern dots-46)
Pinyin ai au am an ang ap at ak
Braille ⠑ (braille pattern dots-15) ⠓ (braille pattern dots-125) (NA) (NA) ⠶ (braille pattern dots-2356) (NA) ⠺ (braille pattern dots-2456)
Pinyin e ei eu em eng ep ek
Braille ⠙ (braille pattern dots-145) ⠊ (braille pattern dots-24) ⠽ (braille pattern dots-13456) ⠖ (braille pattern dots-235) ⠲ (braille pattern dots-256) ⠴ (braille pattern dots-356) ⠯ (braille pattern dots-12346) ⠾ (braille pattern dots-23456) ⠗ (braille pattern dots-1235)
Pinyin sz† i iu im in ing ip it ik
Braille ⠕ (braille pattern dots-135) ⠣ (braille pattern dots-126) ⠧ (braille pattern dots-1236) ⠇ (braille pattern dots-123) ⠝ (braille pattern dots-1345) ⠰ (braille pattern dots-56) ⠍ (braille pattern dots-134) ⠋ (braille pattern dots-124) ⠻ (braille pattern dots-12456)
Pinyin o oi ou om† on ong op† ot ok
Braille ⠥ (braille pattern dots-136) ⠳ (braille pattern dots-1256) ⠮ (braille pattern dots-2346) ⠦ (braille pattern dots-236) ⠵ (braille pattern dots-1356) ⠟ (braille pattern dots-12345)
Pinyin u ui un ung ut uk
Braille ⠱ (braille pattern dots-156) ⠚ (braille pattern dots-245) ⠎ (braille pattern dots-234) ⠒ (braille pattern dots-25) ⠭ (braille pattern dots-1346) ⠪ (braille pattern dots-246)
Pinyin oe oey oen oeng oet oek
Braille ⠹ (braille pattern dots-1456) ⠆ (braille pattern dots-23) ⠷ (braille pattern dots-12356)
Pinyin y yn yt

† represents the symbol was abolished in the revised version in 1990.

The rimes eu, em, ep do not exist in braille.

High tone (tones 1 and 7) is not transcribed. Otherwise tone is written after the rime, as follows:

Tones
Braille ⠁ (braille pattern dots-1) ⠈ (braille pattern dots-4) ⠄ (braille pattern dots-3) ⠠ (braille pattern dots-6) ⠂ (braille pattern dots-2) ⠐ (braille pattern dots-5) ⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)
Pinyin 2 3 4 5 6 8 9

In numerical order, the cells are as follows:

0   main sequence   suppl.
 

 
 

t2
 

a
 

dz-aang
 

(NA)
 

e
 

f-ot
 

ng-ang
 

h-ei
 

i
 

j-oey
 

t3
 

aan
 

t4/9
 

g-aak
 

l-  
 

m-m
 

n-on
 

o
 

b-aap
 

gw-uk
 

k-ik
 

s-oen
 

d-aat
 

aau
 

aam
 

(NA)
 

u
 

ou
 

ts-oet
 

iu
 

ut
 

p-ip
 

(NA)
 

yt
 

un
 

t-it
 

aai
 

(NA)
 

t5
 

au
 

oi
 

ai
 

y
 

oe
 

an
 

kw-ok
 

ui
 

oek
 

w-ek
 

ak
 

am
 

t6
 

yn
 

oeng
 

in
 

ap
 

im
 

eng
 

ung
 

at
 

ing
 

t8
 

ong

Punctuation

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Some of the punctuation marks are distinguished from the onset or rime of a syllable by the strategic use of the space. The spaces are therefore included in the table below, though they are not technically part of the punctuation mark.

Braille ⠿ (braille pattern dots-123456)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠦ (braille pattern dots-236)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠮ (braille pattern dots-2346)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠒ (braille pattern dots-25)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠢ (braille pattern dots-26)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠤ (braille pattern dots-36)⠄ (braille pattern dots-3) ⠤ (braille pattern dots-36)⠤ (braille pattern dots-36) ⠀ (braille pattern blank)⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)⠀ (braille pattern blank)
Print ? ! : ; -
Braille ⠰ (braille pattern dots-56)⠆ (braille pattern dots-23) ⠀ (braille pattern blank)⠶ (braille pattern dots-2356) ⠶ (braille pattern dots-2356)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠀ (braille pattern blank)⠠ (braille pattern dots-6)⠶ (braille pattern dots-2356) ⠶ (braille pattern dots-2356)⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠀ (braille pattern blank)⠣ (braille pattern dots-126) ⠜ (braille pattern dots-345)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠀ (braille pattern blank)⠠ (braille pattern dots-6)⠣ (braille pattern dots-126) ⠜ (braille pattern dots-345)⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)⠀ (braille pattern blank)
Print · ( ) [ ]
Braille ⠤ (braille pattern dots-36) ⠘ (braille pattern dots-45) ⠀ (braille pattern blank)⠦ (braille pattern dots-236) ⠴ (braille pattern dots-356)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠀ (braille pattern blank)⠠ (braille pattern dots-6)⠦ (braille pattern dots-236) ⠴ (braille pattern dots-356)⠄ (braille pattern dots-3)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠀ (braille pattern blank)⠷ (braille pattern dots-12356) ⠻ (braille pattern dots-12456)⠀ (braille pattern blank) ⠀ (braille pattern blank)⠸ (braille pattern dots-456) ⠵ (braille pattern dots-1356)⠀ (braille pattern blank)
Print , start emph. end emph. start name end name

The emphasis marks, are equivalent to running dots alongside the characters in print, while proper names are marked in print by an underline or overline.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jennie Lam Suk Yin, 2003, Confusion of tones in visually-impaired children using Cantonese braille(Archived by WebCite® at