I receive questions regularly from students and faculty about the accessibility of classical and Semitic languages. This is an update regarding methods for accessing language texts, writing in the target language, and other related topics.
What languages can be studied?
It is not a silly question to ask whether a person can study a language such as Greek or Hebrew which does not share the Roman alphabet. Greek and Hebrew are both languages that have been studied as part of clergy preparation programs for a long time; and records exist showing that blind people have studied them for over 100 years. The first official Hebrew code was adopted in 1936. Braille codes also exist for Ethiopic and Arabic.
Recently, braille codes have been created for the Syriac and Coptic languages as well as a code that will work with any transliterated Semitic language.
How Does One Access Text?
JAWS provides full support for these languages via a third-party table that I have created. NVDA will provide spoken access to Hebrew; but it will not read accented Greek properly. All screen readers are designed to provide access to modern languages only; so they ignore the accents that are associated with ancient/classical text. Some people have learned to cope with this limitation. The pronunciation in the case of Greek can be extremely different depending on the pronunciation scheme that your instructor uses. For this reason, I consider it highly advisable to use a braille display.
Numerous primary source texts are available online, both in standard format and in digital braille format through the Bartimaeus Alliance of the Blind. Digital braille files can be opened on your PC in Notepad or on a braille notetaking device. Please note that if you open a Greek or Hebrew file on your notetaker, you will be able to read the braille but your notetaker will likely not pronounce it for you because most notetakers do not support these languages. Likewise, you can type in Greek or Hebrew but the notetaker will not recognize it and will not translate it for printing.
If you are able to read text in your language using JAWS, the only barrier you will find to accessing text online is the way it was produced. There are many excellent texts online that were produced in an accessible format, and you will be able to read them. Others are simply pictures, and you will not be able to read them. Many PDF copies of textbooks have been produced using embedded fonts; and these block access to the text for screen readers. In these cases, a transcriber is needed. I offer braille transcription services for people who are studying modern languages, classics, and Semitics. I produce a digital braille or hardcopy of the book according to the person’s needs.
How Does One Write in the Languages?
Once you have braille support with JAWS, there is no reason why you cannot use a standard typing solution on your PC. I have instructions on this site for writing on your PC in Greek and Hebrew. You should be able to use keyboard solutions for whatever language you need.
What About Bible Study Software?
It is possible to access Logos. I have not reviewed Accordance. However, for the user who is blind, Bible study software serves as a route to access text. This is very different and exceedingly limited in comparison to what the software offers to the user who is sighted. For the user who is sighted, the software offers:
- ability to compare Bible passages side by side
- linking to a Bible passage from a text
- linking to a dictionary from a text
- searching all texts, dictionaries, or particular Bible versions where a word or phrases is found
- exploring biblical manuscripts
- biblical timelines
- biblical maps
- ability to select from a text and make one’s own notes or prepare sermon outlines
It is not possible for a reader who is blind to access text within the reading window in Logos and copy it to make notes. The text must be exported in order for the person to access it.
What About Dictionaries?
For online dictionaries, visit StudyLight.org (Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic or Perseus and enter a Greek word to search the LSJ.
What Is Needed?
Currently there is not a fully accessible version of the
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, which is the critical edition of the Hebrew Bible. Only the text with accents is available. In order to do true text-criticism, the critical apparatus and marginal notes need to be made available.
There are still only two Hebrew grammars available in braille. In order to participate fully in whatever degree programs they enter, blind people should be able to locate their texts. Small seminaries do not have the funding to pay transcribers for our professional work. It can cost over $3,000 to have a grammar transcribed. This work requires an understanding of how language and braille interact, an understanding of how software is used to present information in grammar texts, and an understanding of how people who are blind read tables that are used to present information such as verb charts.