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How to use Unicode on your computer. Michael Appleby Eastern Michigan University A field linguist’s guide to making long-lasting texts and databases LSA Meeting 2007. Introduction. This talk will cover: Unicode fonts Unicode data entry Tools that can help you
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How to use Unicode on your computer Michael Appleby Eastern Michigan University A field linguist’s guide to making long-lasting texts and databases LSA Meeting 2007
Introduction This talk will cover: • Unicode fonts • Unicode data entry • Tools that can help you Using Unicode does not need to be difficult!
The challenge: Part 1 Your keyboard might look like this: But you want to enter this:
The challenge: Part 2 • Ensuring your text appears correctly for whoever may view your document … • …regardless of computer • …regardless of operating system • Use Unicode and achieve interoperability
Unicode Fonts Find a font covering the ranges you need: • IPA Extensions (U+0250 – U+02AF) • Spacing Modifier Letters (U+02B0 – U+02FF) • Combining Diacritical Marks (U+0300 – U+036F) Websites: http://www.unicode.org/charts/ http://alanwood.net/unicode/fontsbyrange.html
Unicode Fonts • Doulos SIL Unicode: http://scripts.sil.org/DoulosSILfont • Charis SIL Unicode: http://scripts.sil.org/CharisSILfont • Lucida variants:Lucida Sans Unicode, Lucida Grande • Arial Unicode MS • TITUS, Code2000, many others Websites: http://www.unicode.org/onlinedat/resources.html http://alanwood.net/unicode/fonts.html
Unicode Input • There are useful tools built into the software and operating system you already have. • Convenient for occasional use. • For more intensive use, dedicated software is recommended.
Unicode Input: Character Map Windows XP character map:
Unicode Input: Copy/Paste E.g. copy and paste from Unicode character pages: http://web.uvic.ca/ling/resources/ipa/charts/unicode_ipa-chart.htm
Unicode Input: Key combinations Windows XP: • Do not use Alt-XXX. • Use Alt-+-XXXX (e.g. Alt+00E9). • Some applications support typing the hex code followed by Alt-x. Mac OS X: • Set up the Unicode Hex Input Keyboard. • Use Option-XXXX (e.g. Option-00E9).
Unicode Input: Keyboards A far faster way of inputting a lot of text. Windows XP: • Tavultesoft Keyman:http://www.tavultesoft.com/keyman/ • SIL IPA keyboard for Keyman:http://scripts.sil.org/Keyman
Unicode Input: Keyboards MacOS X: • Ukelele:http://scripts.sil.org/ukelele Other software: • http://scripts.sil.org/inputtoollinks • http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/tools/msklc.mspx
Choosing the right character Many Unicode characters look similar. • IPA characters β and θ are in the Greek range … • but do not use mathematical ∫ for IPA ʃ. • ã can be U+00E3 (precomposed) … • … or ã can be a (U+0061) plus ◌̃ (U+0303). • For aspiration, use ʰ (U+02B0).
Legacy data • An example of conversion to Unicode: http://emeld.org/school/case/mocovi/#1004 • SIL provide a guide on converting legacy documentation: http://scripts.sil.org/UTTWriteMap • Much easier to use Unicode in the first place.
Summary of resources Information in this presentation is from: • Unicode:http://www.unicode.org/ • Alan Wood: http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/ • E-MELD School of Best Practice:http://emeld.org/school/ • SIL International: http://www.sil.org/ Mailing List: • http://www.unicode.org/consortium/distlist.html