Jeju/Keyboard

After trying to modify ko-han2.mim file to support Jeju-eo, I realized that since old Hangul letters are far removed in Unicode from standard Hangul letters, it would take a complex mapping scheme to correctly compose syllable-letters with old letters. This is certainly possible, but would take some time for me to develop. However, I realized that using an existing keyboard layout with support for old Hangul is possible. This is not ideal because while Jeju-eo needs only one additional letter, the keyboard layout add a large set of old Hangul letters, possibly resulting in user confusion and error. However, for now I have decided to settle for this solution and instead make a IPA transcription layout for Jeju-eo.

git repository for designing keyboard layout

Existing resources

There has not been any keyboard layout developed for Jeju. Most Jeju speakers use Standard Korean keyboard layouts to input Jeju. This is a problem because although Jeju uses Hangul for writing, there is a sound retained in the language that is not currently used in Standard Korean.

Since the vowel "Arae-a"(아래아, /ɒ/ written ㆍ) is not in Modern Hangul, native speakers have used the middle dot symbol(·) as a work-around. This is not desirable because using the middle dot symbol will result in "broken up" writing, as it is not meant for inputting Korean letters. For instance, ᄎᆞᆷ 크래커 will be rendered as ㅊㆍㅁ 크래커.

In some cases, speakers choose ㅗ as a substitute for ㆍ. Although speakers will be able to discern meaning through context, this accelerates the dying process of Jeju, which is already classified as an endangered language.

However, using Dubeolsik Yetgul Layout(Two-group Layout with Old Hangul Support) allows for the correct input of Jeju.

Evaluation of Dubeolsik Yetgul layout as a Jeju input method

There are two classes of keyboard layouts developed for Korean, two-group and three-group layouts. They differ in how they classify the letters of Hangul, the Korean alphabet. Two-group layouts group Hangul letters into consonants and vowels. Three-group layouts group them into onset, nucleus and coda sounds.

Although both types have support for Old Hangul, I chose to stick to the two-group system because it is the system most Korean and Jeju speakers are familiar with, and the alternative provided little additional advantage other than typing speed and ergonomics.

A variation of the most popular implementation of the two-group system supports Old Hangul letters, including one that is used to represent a sound preserved in Jeju, but not in Korean. Upon evaluation, this layout, Dubeolsik Yetgul, was chosen as an input method for Jeju.

Pros

• Its basic layout is the same as the standard two-group layout, which is by far the most popular layout in Korea. Therefore, Jeju speakers, most of whom are familiar with Korean computational resources, will find adapting to Dubeolsik layout easier than to other layouts.
• It is widely supported. Windows IME and ibus-hangul for Linux support the layout, so often only minimal configuration is needed to use it.

Cons

• Adds more Old Hangul letters than needed. Although the layout retains the standard key positions, it introduces a new set of compose rules. For instance, ㄴ + ㄴ -> ㅥ where as ㄴ + ㄴ -> ㄴㄴ in standard layout. This modified behavior could confuse the user, since he/she probably will not be aware of the new compose rules.

• It is not an application specifically made for Jeju and demands from Jeju-speaking community will not be reflected in changes or fixes to the program.

Conclusion

Considering that other layouts either do not support Old Hangul letters or are hard to use for Jeju speakers, Dubeolsik Yetgul is by far the best option among existing Korean keyboard layout. However, it is ideal as it introduces unnecessary letters and compose rules. Thus, it would be best if one were to develop a minimal keyboard layout for Jeju. For instance, one could add a compose quite easily. shift + ㅓ -> ㆍ Since the upper case of ㅓ is not used and considering that the sound values of ㅓ and ㆍ are similar, this would be both elegant and intuitive.

However, due to the complicated nature of Korean compose rules that maps separate letter Unicode to composite letter Unicode, Dubeolsik Yetgul layout, where the compose rules are prefigured, was chosen.

How to Install and Use Dubeolsik Yetgul Layout(Two-group Layout with Old Hangul Support)

• First, install a family fonts that support Old Hangul rendering. There are several options, but I recommend Hancom font. you can install it by running sudo apt-get install ttf-hancom command.
• Next, install ibus and ibus-hangul.(Note ibus-m17n does not support dubeolsik layout.)
• Type ibus-settings and add "Dubeolsik Yetgul" layout.
• Now you can type ㆍ by pressing ㅏ twice.

IPA layout for Jeju

Since I chose to use an existing keyboard layout for Jeju, I decided to make an IPA keyboard layout in xkb.

I maintained the original layout of the qwerty keyboard and primarily use upper cases to add necessary to represent sounds of Jeju. For instance, shift + o was assigned ɒ, because the vowel ㆍ (with sound /d ɒ/)has sound close to that of /o/

The following is an example transcription of a Jeju phrase using the layout.

ᄒᆞᆫ저옵서예 /hɒnʨʌops'ʌje/

However, I have not succeeded in finding the unicode for the tense diacritic, so it is not included yet. It will be updated as soon as the information is retrieved.

An image of the layout

Installing IPA layout for Jeju

• First, download jje file from repository
• Add jje to /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols
• Add a layout entry in the /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/evdev.xml file for the layout
• Insert

<layout>
  <configItem>
    <name>jje</name>
    <shortDescription>jje</shortDescription>
    <description>IPA layout for Jeju</description>
    <languageList><iso639Id>eng</iso639Id><iso639Id>jje</iso639Id></languageList>
  </configItem>
</layout>

inside the layout list.

• Run dpkg-reconfigure xkb-data

• Add the layout in the text input settings.

• Use the layout!

License

The IPA layout for Jeju is under MIT License.