Nigerian braille

Several braille alphabets are used in Nigeria. For English, Unified English Braille has been adopted. Three other languages have been written in braille: Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. All three alphabets are based on English readings, with the addition of letters particular to these languages. Punctuation is as in English Braille.

Basic braille alphabet

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j

k

l

m

n

o

p

q

r

s

t

u

v

w

x

y

z

The letters of these languages beyond the basic Latin alphabet are as follows:

Hausa Braille

Hausa includes

kw

sh

ts

ɗ

from English q, sh, st, ed (international second d), and three derived letters:

Basic letter:	b	k	y
Derived letter:	ɓ	ƙ	ƴ

Hausa is presumably written in braille in Niger as well, since Ethnologue 17 reports that Zarma is written in braille in that country. However, this need not mean it uses the same alphabet as Nigerian Hausa.

Igbo Braille

Igbo Braille has

kw

ch

gh

sh

from English q, ch, gh, sh, and six other letters with common international/African values:

Basic letter:	b	e	i	o	u
Extended letter:	gb	ẹ	ị	ọ	ụ	ŋ

(See Ewe Braille and Kabiye Braille for similar code assignments.)

Yoruba Braille

Yoruba Braille also has

kw

ṣ

(from English q, sh), and three derived letters:

Basic letter:	b	e	o
Derived letter:	gb	ẹ	ọ

The vowel assignments follow international conventions.

References

• Braille Notation Booklet on the Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba Orthographies: A Research Work on Standard Braille Codes for the Blind in Nigeria, March 1981 – April 1982
• UNESCO (2013) World Braille Usage, 3rd edition.