ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://www.night-light.org/mystyles.css" /> <meta name='keyword' content='blind students, biblical Hebrew, koine Greek, braille greek, braille hebrew, seminary students, ancient biblical languages, JAWS screen reader, biblical Greek'/> <meta name='description' content='Information about the study of biblical languages for students who are blind using braille textbooks, computer software, the JAWS screen reader, and braille displays'/> <title>The Study of Biblical Languages: Information for Students Who Are Blind</title> </head> <body> <div id="top"> <h1>THE STUDY OF BIBLICAL LANGUAGES:<br> Including Information and Resources for Students Who Are Blind</h1> <p id="sarah"><a href="http://www.sarahjblake.com" target="_blank"><img style="float:left;" src="http://www.night-light.org/sarah.jpg" height="110" width="100">Sarah J. Blake</a></p> </div> <div id="left"> <h2>Mini-Site Navigation</h2> <p> <b><a href="langstudy.html">An Overview of Issues in the Study of Biblical Languages by Students Who Are Blind</a></b><br> <b><a href="keyboards.html">Writing in Hebrew and Greek Using Your Keyboard</a></b><br> <b><a href="handouts.html">Preparing Accessible Handouts</a></b> <b><a href="parsing.html">Parsing Notation Developed by a Scholar Who is Blind</a></b> <b><a href="hebrew.html">The Experience of Studying Hebrew as a Student Who is Blind</a></b><br> <b><a href="index.html">The Study of Biblical Languages: Information and Resources for Students Who Are Blind</a></b><br> </p> <script src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/night-light/BzBQ?format=sigpro" type="text/javascript" ></script><noscript><p>Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/night-light/BzBQ"></a><br/>Powered by FeedBurner</p> </noscript> </div> <script src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MadeAliveWeWorship?format=sigpro" type="text/javascript" ></script><noscript><p>Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MadeAliveWeWorship"></a><br/>Powered by FeedBurner</p> </noscript> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=growstro-20&o=1&p=9&l=st1&mode=books&search=biblical%20Greek&fc1=000000&lt1=_blank&lc1=3366FF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" width="180" height="150" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;" scrolling="no"></iframe> </div> <div id="right"> <p> Sarah Blake is a licensed minister with the Church of God (Anderson, IN). She is available to provide teaching or music ministry for your church. <a href="http://www.sarahjblake.com" target="_blank">Hear samples from some of her presentations</a> and contact her for booking information.</p> <h2>Support This Site</h2> <p> Development of content for this site is supported by your contributions, the sale of products through various affiliate programs, and Sarah's work as a writer, speaker, and in other areas listed on her <a href="http://www.sarahjblake.com" target="_blank">services page</a>. If the material on this site has been helpful or encouraging to you, please consider shopping using the sites linked here--and return to do your shopping anytime using these links to continue supporting this site.</p> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=growstro-20&o=1&p=9&l=st1&mode=books&search=biblical%20Hebrew&fc1=000000&lt1=_blank&lc1=3366FF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" width="180" height="150" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;" scrolling="no"></iframe> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-4619726658333486"; /* Christian front page200x200 */ google_ad_slot = "0861943916"; google_ad_width = 200; google_ad_height = 200; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <style type="text/css"> @import url(http://www.google.com/cse/api/branding.css); </style> <div class="cse-branding-bottom" style="background-color:#999999;color:#000000"> <div class="cse-branding-form"> <form action="http://www.google.com/cse" id="cse-search-box" target="_blank"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-4619726658333486:xa2j16j02g0" /> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="text" name="q" size="40" /> <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" /> </div> </form> </div> <div class="cse-branding-logo"> <img src="http://www.google.com/images/poweredby_transparent/poweredby_999999.gif" alt="Google" /> </div> <div class="cse-branding-text"> Custom Search </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-4619726658333486"; /* Greek200x200f */ google_ad_slot = "7803670715"; google_ad_width = 200; google_ad_height = 200; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </div> <div id="center"> <a name="content"></a> <p> One of the most common things I find on the Web when I search for information about how a blind person can study biblical languages is more inquiries just like mine. "Can I make my screen reader read Hebrew or Greek to me?" "Can I make this stuff show up properly in braille?" "Is there such a thing as braille to represent this language?"</p> <p> Some of these questions can be answered emphatically, "Yes." Others must be answered, "No." Still others have no answers at this time. This page is designed to provide the resources to answer those questions which can be answered. As more resources become available in the future, perhaps more questions will be answered positively.</p> <p> More people are interested in the study of biblical and ancient languages than I expected would be the case. I believe that this is partially because technology has made studying them possible. I also know that there is still a long way to go in making it truly possible to study these languages on an equal footing with sighted people. Perhaps some of those who are currently studying, like myself, will take part in the development of new resources to increase accessibility of language study.</p> <h2>My Personal Experience</h2> <p> I began studying Hebrew in 2007, working with a private tutor. My study experience went well; but the question of whether I could study along with a standard university class remained. Part of the problem was that I did not have access to the same textbook used by the other students. The other part of the problem concerned the adaptations I needed to make in order to study effectively. Could I make those adaptations efficiently and keep up with the rest of the class?</p> <p> In 2008, I took an intensive Greek course, completing two semesters of study in five weeks. I obtained the textbook used by the class; and I studied along with the class, completing the same work. Some modifications were made in my coursework requirements due to difficulty in exchanging test materials with the professor. However, I found that I was, indeed, able to complete the course and follow along with class discussions and activities.</p> <h2>Email Discussion Group</h2> <p> Bib_lang_brl is a discussion group for anyone interested in the study of biblical languages by people who are blind.</p> <form method="get" action="http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/bib_lang_brl" style="background-color: #ffc; width: 254px; padding: 2px 4px"> <h6 style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: center"> Subscribe to bib_lang_brl</h6> <input style="vertical-align: top" type="text" name="user" value="enter email address" size="20" /> <input type="image" alt="Click to join bib_lang_brl" name="Click to join bib_lang_brl" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/yg/img/i/us/ui/join.gif" /> <p style="text-align: center;"> Powered by <a href="http://us.groups.yahoo.com/">us.groups.yahoo.com</a></p> </form> <h2>Resources</h2> <p> The following resources provide information and assistance for students of Greek and Hebrew and those who work with them. To my knowledge, there are no resources available for study of other ancient languages (e.g. Acadian, Syriak, etc.)</p> <p> <b><a href="langstudy.html">An Overview of Issues in the Study of Biblical Languages for Students Who Are Blind</a></b><br> This article assists professors and other staff in understanding the needs of blind students who are studying biblical languages.</p> <p> <b><a href="hebrew.html">The Experience of Hebrew Study as a Student Who is Blind</a></b><br> This paper provides detailed documentation of my experience with Hebrew study. It is intended to be nontechnical; however, some portions are by nature somewhat technical.</p> <p> <b><a href="jaws.html">Displaying Pointed Hebrew and Polytonic Greek on a Braille Display with JAWS</a></b><br> Since screen readers cannot read aloud in ancient languages, the best method for using a computer to access language materials is to configure a screen reader to display the characters properly on a braille display. This page provides detailed instructions for installing the JAWS braille table which I have modified to display Hebrew and Greek characters. It also provides information about modifying the table further if necessary.</p> <p> <b><a href="keyboards.html">Writing in Greek and Hebrew Using Your Keyboard</a></b><br> I use the keyboards from Logos Software, which map Greek and Hebrew characters to their English equivalents and display precomposed diacritics compatible with braille. This page has links to download the two keyboards, instructions for installing them, links to tables showing the braille signs for each character, its name, and its keyboard assignment, and information for making JAWS read individual characters while typing or editing.</p> <p> <b><a href="http://www.hebrewvisions.org" target="_blank">Hebrew Visions</a></b><br> This site provides downloadable Hebrew texts in braille format. Resources include a basic manual for Hebrew braille, Hebrew-English and English-Hebrew dictionary, Hebrew Bible, and Rashi commentaries.</p> <p> <b><a href="http://bartimaeus.us/gnt-study-aids.html" target="_blank">New Testament Greek tools from Bartimaeus Group</a></b><br> Many textbooks, Greek NT, and study aids in downloadable braille format which can be printed on an embosser or used with a braille display.</p> <p> <b><a href="http://www.hebrew-world.com" target="_blank">Hebrew World</a></b><br> Many audio resources available, including the Hebrew Bible narrated for the Central Library for the Blind in Israel. Other resources include software which has not been tested with screen readers and a number of printed texts.</p> <p> <b><a href="http://www.learnoutloud.com/Catalog/Education-and-Professional/Writing/Elementary-Greek/23858" target="_blank">Elementary Greek</a></b><br> This is a free downloadable course by James Voelz from Concordia Seminary.</p> <p> <b><a href="http://www.learnoutloud.com/Catalog/Education-and-Professional/Writing/Elementary-Hebrew/23859" target="_blank">Elementary Hebrew</a></b><br> This is a free downloadable course from Concordia Seminary by Andrew Bartelt.</p> <p> <b><a href="http://www.learnoutloud.com/Catalog/Religion-and-Spirituality/Judaism/Hebrew-Readings/25763" target="_blank">Hebrew Readings</a></b><br> This is a free downloadable course from Concordia seminary by Andrew Bartelt. Lauren Touchman sent a note informing me that the pronunciation is Ashkenazic rather than Sephardic. If you have had exposure to Hebrew or plan to continue your study, this may make a difference to you.</p> <p> <b><a href="http://www.biblicaltraining.org/class.php?class=NT203" target="_blank">Biblical Tools for Bible Study</a></b><br> This course from BiblicalTraining.org, taught by William Mounce, provides the knowledge necessary to use commentaries effectively. Registration for this site is free and enables access to all courses.</p> <p> <b><a href="http://www.biblicaltraining.org/class.php?class=NT201" target="_blank">Biblical Greek</a></b><br> This is another course from BiblicalTraining.org, also taught by Bill Mounce. The material is appropriate to learning biblical Greek and is tailored to Mounce's textbook. It is, however, a reasonable supplement to other materials if you don't have this text.</p> <p> <b><a href="http://www.teknia.com" target="_blank">Teknia</a></b><br> Bill Mounce's site offers Greek and Hebrew audio instruction materials available for $79. These are complete two-semester courses and are available on CD or for download. (Checking delivery as a shipping option will get you the CD vs. download, which will put the files in your account for download.)</p> <p> If you have information to add to this page or need assistance, please email me at <a href="mailto:sjblake@sarahjblake.com">sjblake@sarahjblake.com</a>.</p> </div> <div id="footer"> <p> Sarah J. Blake is the author of two chapters in the 2011 publication, <i>Discipleship That Transforms</i>. She also presented a paper at the 2011 annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature entitled "Using Technology to Meet the needs of Biblical Language Scholars Who Are Blind."</p> <p> This document is copyright 2010 by Sarah J. Blake. For permission to reprint, please email Sarah at <a href="mailto:sjblake@sarahjblake.com">sjblake@sarahjblake.com</a>.</p> <h2>Do You Need a Guest Speaker?</h2> <p> Do you need a speaker for your church, college, or community event? Sarah Blake provides teaching on topics related to biblical studies, pastoral care, and ministry to seekers. She is also available to lead worship at retreats or special events. Visit Sarah's <a href="http://www.sarahjblake.com">ministry and services page</a> to hear samples of her presentations and get booking information.</p> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-4619726658333486"; /* Hebrew728x90 */ google_ad_slot = "0460404163"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <p> This <a href="index.html">biblical languages mini-site</a> is part of a larger site providing information about living well with chronic illness and disability, Christian faith, and other topics. Please <a href="http://www.night-light.org">visit the rest of the site</a>.</p> </div> </BODY> </HTML>