Shortform

In Grade 2 Braille, shortform contractions imply abbreviations, which are single-cell or multi-cell representations of common words omitting vowels. This is also known as shortform. There are 76 shortforms used in Grade 2 Braille, which largely saves space and increases reading speed.

Example:
The word ‘about’ is abbreviated with two letters as ‘ab’. Similarly, the word ‘according’ is shortened to ‘acd’. Here, the number of letters in the actual word is shortened / reduced. Hence, it is called shortforms. 
Given below are the list of words and their corresponding shortforms.

Rule for use

Shortforms must be standalone with spaces on either side.

Example:
He went to the office today by car.

⠠⠓⠑ ⠺⠢⠞ ⠞⠕ ⠕⠋⠋⠊⠉⠑ ⠞⠙  ⠃⠽ ⠉⠜

Here the shortform for ‘today’ is ‘td’. While writing ‘today’ as ‘td’, there should be a space after the ‘office’ and before the word ‘by’ given in the above sentence. Thus, a space on either side of the shortform should be used.

Exercise
In the list given below, shortforms are given. Write the corresponding word for each shortform.

at sd abv cd bel
wd tm brl ei gd

Interactive Assessment

Shortform

Worksheet – Shortform

Resource Document – Shortform