Difference between revisions of "Kamba/Keyboard"
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'''Rationale''' | '''Rationale''' | ||
| − | Our Keyboard Design is based on the QWERTY Latin Script Keyboard. We chose this layout | + | Our Keyboard Design is based on the QWERTY Latin Script Keyboard. We chose this layout for (a) transitional ease for Kamba-speaking users and (b) applicability to languages in the area. By using the QWERTY layout as our basis, we were also selecting to use layout adopted for Swahili, an officially-recognized language in Kenya. In doing this, we had to recognize what signal using better-resourced as our basis could send and decided theoretical usability for Kamba speakers was a larger priority. From the Swahili keyboard, we modified to include a dead key ~ as the accent is frequently used in Kamba (ĩ, ũ). With this addition our keyboard would also be suitable for Kikuyu speakers, which encompass the largest ethnic group in Kenya. To increase regional use of our keyboard, we also added a dead key for ¨ because this accent is used in Gusii, another Bantu language in Kenya. We chose to use a dead key rather than Compose or AltGr because our addition are frequently used according to our corpora. Dead keys require the least possible amount of keystrokes of the options, so it was a good optimization for these often-used keys. |
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| − | - | ||
| − | - | ||
| − | - modified to include dead key | ||
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'''MIT License - | '''MIT License - | ||
| − | Copyright (c) 2023 Aaliyah Bullen, Keira Dandy, and Jadyn | + | Copyright (c) 2023 Aaliyah Bullen, Keira Dandy, and Jadyn Elliot''' |
'''Installation''' | '''Installation''' | ||
| − | + | ||
| + | 1. Make sure you have installed IBus and the m17n module | ||
| + | and use steps 1-3 in the "Using IBus m17n" section in the | ||
| + | following link, making sure you get an IBus icon to appear | ||
| + | on your panel. | ||
| + | https://wikis.swarthmore.edu/ling073/Making_a_keyboard_layout_using_IBus#Using_IBus_m17n | ||
| + | |||
| + | 2. Download the kam.mim file from our git repo: https://github.swarthmore.edu/Ling073-sp23/ling073-kam-keyboard | ||
| + | |||
| + | 3. In a terminal run mkdir ~/.m17n.d | ||
| + | |||
| + | 4. cd into that directory and put the kam.mim file in there. | ||
| + | |||
| + | 5. Right click on the IBus icon and restart it. Now, you should be able to right click on it again, go to preferences, | ||
| + | input method, add, click the triple dots, scroll to other, and add kam (m17n). Now you should be able to toggle | ||
| + | between kam and your other keyboards. | ||
=Existing Resources= | =Existing Resources= | ||
Latest revision as of 06:21, 10 February 2023
Kamba Keyboard Layout
Selected Keyboard Design
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Rationale
Our Keyboard Design is based on the QWERTY Latin Script Keyboard. We chose this layout for (a) transitional ease for Kamba-speaking users and (b) applicability to languages in the area. By using the QWERTY layout as our basis, we were also selecting to use layout adopted for Swahili, an officially-recognized language in Kenya. In doing this, we had to recognize what signal using better-resourced as our basis could send and decided theoretical usability for Kamba speakers was a larger priority. From the Swahili keyboard, we modified to include a dead key ~ as the accent is frequently used in Kamba (ĩ, ũ). With this addition our keyboard would also be suitable for Kikuyu speakers, which encompass the largest ethnic group in Kenya. To increase regional use of our keyboard, we also added a dead key for ¨ because this accent is used in Gusii, another Bantu language in Kenya. We chose to use a dead key rather than Compose or AltGr because our addition are frequently used according to our corpora. Dead keys require the least possible amount of keystrokes of the options, so it was a good optimization for these often-used keys.
MIT License - Copyright (c) 2023 Aaliyah Bullen, Keira Dandy, and Jadyn Elliot
Installation
1. Make sure you have installed IBus and the m17n module and use steps 1-3 in the "Using IBus m17n" section in the following link, making sure you get an IBus icon to appear on your panel. https://wikis.swarthmore.edu/ling073/Making_a_keyboard_layout_using_IBus#Using_IBus_m17n
2. Download the kam.mim file from our git repo: https://github.swarthmore.edu/Ling073-sp23/ling073-kam-keyboard
3. In a terminal run mkdir ~/.m17n.d
4. cd into that directory and put the kam.mim file in there.
5. Right click on the IBus icon and restart it. Now, you should be able to right click on it again, go to preferences, input method, add, click the triple dots, scroll to other, and add kam (m17n). Now you should be able to toggle between kam and your other keyboards.
Existing Resources
From our research, there are no computer keyboard layouts for Kamba. Swahili, the "lingua franca" of southeastern Africa, uses the QWERTY layout for Latin script, and a separate layout for Arabic Script. A significant portion of Kamba speakers are also literate in Swahili, so we presume those who would need a computer keyboard would typically use the Swahili Latin Keyboard, as there is no available alternative
- Microsoft Swift Mobile Keyboard Layout for Kamba (only available on mobile devices)
- Contains all characters needed for Kamba and English, but also contains many other characters irrelevant to most Kamba speakers.
- Gboard Keyboard Layout for Kamba (only available on Android mobile devices)
