TECH SHEET #5:
Foreign Language
Last Class: 04/2003
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
FOREIGN LANGUAGE CHARACTERS
Foreign language characters that aren't obviously on your keyboard can cause confusing input problems. Just what are those funny accents and umlauts?
Today we'll be working primarily with Microsoft Word, since this is the most common program for word processing. The commands are the same for the PC and Macintosh.
Whether you just want to add accents to English words that properly use them (flambé, naïve), to a name (Gabriel García Márquez, Björk Goþmundsdóttir), or you'd like to type entirely in a foreign language, begin by learning the common accents and umlaut inputs and then consider shortcut keys and multilingual keyboards.
A NOTE FOR AOL USERS:
It's not easy to input simple accents and umlauts in AOL. The software apparently requires an additional installation - and charge - for AOL Powertools. This is both annoying and expensive.
If you'd like to include proper accents and such in your e-mail messages, you can type the message in Microsoft Word and then cut and paste the entire message to your AOL message. The message you send will allow the recipient to view the characters properly if they're using AOL, Microsoft Outlook, Yahoo!, or Hotmail.
If you know of a better way to do this, please contact me! pburley@nysoclib.org
INSERT → SYMBOL
If you've never input a foreign character, open up a new Microsoft Word document. At the task bar at the top, click on "Insert" then "Symbol" to open the Symbol dialogue box.
To insert the character, find it using the toolbar to the right (marked with an arrow). Western European characters appear first; if you're looking for something more obscure, scroll farther down. Highlight the character and click "Insert", then "Cancel" to close the box and return to your text.
Once you're comfortable inserting the characters in this way, learn to insert characters via shortcuts.
The most basic shortcut is for the right-accented e (é). Insert this symbol directly from the keyboard by typing , then the (next to the enter key), then the key. You should have the é appear in your text.
ALTERNATE KEYBOARDS & SOFTWARE
If you type more extensively in a language other than English, you may want to install a foreign language keyboard. A variety of them are available in PC's under the Control Panel and in Macs under Keyboards. Once you've installed the extra keyboard, you toggle between them with a keyboard command; on a PC you change them by pressing ALT, then SHIFT.
A more advanced software program is available for complex language input beyond a multinational keyboard.
One good product is Unitype's Global Writer, which you can find at www.unitype.com. This product allows input in many scripts, but documents produced in Global Writer can only be opened in that program, not in Microsoft Word. Fortunately text produced in this program can be cut and pasted into all Microsoft applications.
WEBSITE BROWSING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
News, travel and other information we find available on the Internet is also available in languages otehr than English.
You need no special software to view these sites, especially if they are in a Western European language. If you find a website that consists primarily of nonsense characters, you may need to change the encoding of the webpage to the right language.
To choose the correct encoding, go to: VIEW→ ENCODING and choose the correct language.
Some languages with a very large number of characters (Chinese, Japanese) may not be installed yet on your computer. You'll recieve a prompt to download that character set. Once you change the encoding, the characters will appear correctly.
READ UP ON IT:
A large number of foreign language newspapers are available on the Internet; a comprehensive listing of them can be found in the Newspapers division of the Internet Public Library at www.ipl.org. Other foreign language internet sites can be found via the advanced search in Google or the Yahoo! international sites.
|
|
|