Harris Mowbray | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1999-10-03)October 3, 1999 (age 26) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | American University |
| Occupation | Computational linguist |
| Known for | Work on Braille for world languages |
Harris Mowbray (/ˈhæ.ɹɪs ˈmoʊ.breɪ/; born October 3, 1999) is an amateur linguist and programmer from the United States. He is notable for creating several proposals to encode minority languages around the world inBraille.
Harris was born in New York City to Michele Madansky, a marketing research consultant who, at the time, served as an executive atYahoo and Travis Mowbray, a clinical trials manager. He was raised in theSilicon Valley. His maternal grandfather was statisticianAlbert Madansky.[1] He is ofAshkenazi Jewish descent.
Harris began by making Braille for theGagauz language[2] and theSorbian language.[3][4][5] He was widely featured in Polish press for hisKashubian Braille proposal.[6][7][8][9] His Braille alphabets' proposals have been accepted for theLivonian language,Fulani language,[10] andLakota language. He also created amanual alphabet (sign language alphabet) for the Fulani language, based on theAdlam script.[10] In March 2021, Harris Mowbray prepared a Braille proposal for two official languages of the USNorthern Mariana Islands,Chamorro andCarolinian[11][12] In mid-2021, theUdi community of Azerbaijan accepted his proposal for Braille intheir language.[13] Mowbray also helped digitize Georgian Braille.[14][15]
In late 2021, Harris developed Braille for theFirst Nations languageSmalgyax spoken in northern British Columbia,[16] theElfdalian language,[17] and theRusyn language.[18]
By early 2022, Harris had collaborated with theWorld Uyghur Congress to create braille for theUyghur language with the support of other researchers.[19] He also worked with theKhoekhoegowab speaking community ofNamibia to develop Braille for their language's orthography.[20]
Harris successfully worked with theSamogitian speaking community ofLithuania in order to create a braille standard for their language in late 2022.[21] In 2023 he worked withCrimean Tatars in Ukraine to develop Braille for their Latin alphabet.[22]
Harris attendedThe American University in Washington, D.C.[23]