This article positions braille as a writing system worthy of study in its own right and on its own terms. We begin with a discussion of the role of braille in the lives of those who read and write it and a call for more attention to braille in the reading sciences. We then give an overview of the history and development of braille, focusing on its formal characteristics as a writing system, in order to acquaint sighted print readers with the basics of braille and to spark further interest among reading researchers. We then explore how print-centric assumptions and sight-centric motivations have potentially negative consequences, not only for braille users but also for the types of questions researchers think to pursue. We conclude with recommendations for conducting responsible and informed research about braille. We affirm that blindness is most equitably understood as but one of the many diverse ways humans experience the world. Researching braille literacy from an equity and diversity perspective provides positive, fruitful insights into perception and cognition, contributes to the typologically oriented work on the world’s writing systems, and contributes to equity by centering the perspectives and literacy of the people who read and write braille.

本文将盲文定位为一种值得研究的书写系统。我们首先讨论盲文在阅读和书写盲文的人的生活中的作用，并呼吁在阅读科学中更多地关注盲文。然后，我们概述了盲文的历史和发展，重点关注其作为书写系统的形式特征，以使视力正常的印刷读者熟悉盲文的基础知识，并激发阅读研究人员的进一步兴趣。然后，我们探讨以印刷品为中心的假设和以视觉为中心的动机如何产生潜在的负面影响，不仅对盲文用户而且对研究人员认为要追求的问题类型。最后，我们提出了对盲文进行负责任和知情研究的建议。我们确认，失明被最公平地理解为人类体验世界的众多不同方式之一。从公平和多样性的角度研究盲文识字提供了对感知和认知的积极、富有成果的见解，有助于以类型学为导向的世界书写系统工作，并通过集中阅读和书写盲文的人的观点和识字能力来促进公平。