Unit 6 Strong Groupsigns and Wordsigns (ch, sh, th, wh, ou, st)
The following 2-letter combinations are represented in braille by a one-cell braille shape.
| ch | sh | th | wh | ou | st |
| ⠡ | ⠩ | ⠹ | ⠱ | ⠳ | ⠌ |
Strong Groupsigns
When these braille shapes are used as part of a word, they are called groupsigns. They may be used in any part of a word for the letters they represent.
Example of words containing these strong groupsigns:
| cheese | hush | teeth | whale | pour | waste |
| ⠡⠑⠑⠎⠑ | ⠓⠥⠩ | ⠞⠑⠑⠹ | ⠱⠁⠇⠑ | ⠏⠳⠗ | ⠺⠁⠌⠑ |
Example of words with multiple strong groupsigns:
| (ch)ur(ch) | (sh)(ou)t | (th)ra(sh) | (wh)ite | (ou)(ch) | (wh)i(st)le |
| ⠡⠥⠗⠡ | ⠩⠳⠞ | ⠹⠗⠁⠩ | ⠱⠊⠞⠑ | ⠳⠡ | ⠱⠊⠌⠇⠑ |
Strong Wordsigns
When these same groupsigns follow the Stand Alone Rule, they represent a whole word.
Stand Alone Rule:
When a single contraction stands alone with an empty space before and behind it, it has a whole word meaning.
These wordsigns represent the following words:
| child | shall | this | which | out | still |
| ⠡ | ⠩ | ⠹ | ⠱ | ⠳ | ⠌ |
Example of sentences containing these 2-letter whole-word contractions:
| This | child | still | wants | to | go | out | . |
| ⠠⠹ | ⠡ | ⠌ | ⠺⠁⠝⠞⠎ | ⠞⠕ | ⠛ | ⠳ | ⠲ |
| Which | color | shall | I | pick | ? |
| ⠠⠱ | ⠉⠕⠇⠕⠗ | ⠩ | ⠠⠊ | ⠏⠊⠉⠅ | ⠦ |
They are used whenever the whole word (child, shall, this, which, still, out) is used.