View source for Lakota/Final Presentation

Here, we aim to answer the question: '''how can we adapt Latinated keyboards for Suggested Lakota Orthography?''' We will do so by developing a number of keyboard resources for Lakota across different operating systems, and expanding on our work on a Lakota keyboard [https://wikis.swarthmore.edu/ling073/Lakota/Keyboard here]

= Background =
== Orthography ==

* While there are several existing orthographies of Lakota, we found the most popular to be Suggested Lakota Orthography (SLO)
* This is the most widely used both virtually and across textbooks and language learning resources
* The 32 characters utilised in this orthography are as follows:
** A Á B C Č D E É G Ǧ H Ȟ I Í K L M N Ŋ O Ó P S Š T U Ú V W Y Z Ž
** a á b c č d e é g ǧ h ȟ i í k l m n ŋ o ó p s š t u ú v w y z ž
* There is one special character 'Ŋ'
* Some vowels are stressed, and some consonants have diacritics
* It differs from the English alphabet in that "F", "J", "Q", "R", and "X" are omitted

== Demand ==
* There has been an increased move to digital access and digitisation across Lakota communities
* Lakota language learning methods and classes have gone virtual and expanded through the pandemic
* Language learners have also turned to online [https://m.facebook.com/groups/366294590118289?bac=MTYwNTE0Nzc5OTozNDYzNzI1NDg3MDQxODM1OjM0NjM3MjU0ODcwNDE4MzUsMCwwOjIwOkt3PT0%3D&multi_permalinks&_rdr forums] on [https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroups%2Flakotalanguage Facebook]to practice and communicate in Lakota
* This necessitates a working and accessible Lakota keyboard

= Design =
== Inspiration ==
* We found an existing keyboard developed by the Lakota Language Consortium (LLC) [https://lakhota.org/desktop-software/ here]
* This keyboard seems to be the most popular SLO typing resource available, and has been adapted across operating systems for both PCs and smartphones
* We used this layout as a reference but made changes based on character frequency and online reviews

== Our Layout ==
[https://github.swarthmore.edu/Ling073-sp22/ling073-lkt-keyboard, GitHub repository of keyboard design]

{{kbdrow1|{{kbdkey|`|~||{{green|◌̃}}}} {{kbdkey|!|%}} {{kbdkey|?|@}} {{kbdkey|/|#}} {{kbdkey|á|Á}} {{kbdkey|é|É}} {{kbdkey|í|Í}} {{kbdkey|ó|Ó}} {{kbdkey|ú|Ú}} {{kbdkey|(|^}} {{kbdkey|)|*}} {{kbdkey|-|_}} {{kbdkey|&#61;|+}} }}
{{kbdrow2|{{kbdkey|ǧ|Ǧ}} {{kbdkey|w|W}} {{kbdkey|e|E}} {{kbdkey|š |Š}} {{kbdkey|t|T}} {{kbdkey|y|Y}} {{kbdkey|u|U}} {{kbdkey|i|I}} {{kbdkey|o|O}} {{kbdkey|p|P}} {{kbdkey|[|{}} {{kbdkey|]|} }} {{kbdkey|\|{{!}}}} }}
{{kbdrow3|{{kbdkey|a|A}} {{kbdkey|s|S}} {{kbdkey|d|D}} {{kbdkey|ŋ|Ŋ }} {{kbdkey|g|G}} {{kbdkey|h|H}} {{kbdkey|ȟ|Ȟ}} {{kbdkey|k|K}} {{kbdkey|l|L}} {{kbdkey|;|:}} {{kbdkey|'|"|{{green|◌́}}|{{green|◌̈}}}} }}
{{kbdrow4|{{kbdkey|z|Z}} {{kbdkey|ž|Ž}} {{kbdkey|č|Č}} {{kbdkey|v|V}} {{kbdkey|b|B}} {{kbdkey|n|N}} {{kbdkey|m|M}} {{kbdkey|,|<}} {{kbdkey|.|>}} {{kbdkey|Add stress to vowel}} }}

== Rationale ==

* This design is adapted from the LLC's above keyboard design
* We incorporated feedback from a negative App Store [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lakota-keyboard-mobile/id972130229 review]
* We also made changes based on our observations from the use and frequency of certain characters and punctuation within our corpus
* Given that most Lakota speakers are bilingual, we maintained the LLC's layout of alphabetic characters as it is similar to the American English keyboard layout and only replaces unnecessary characters with the additional characters from SLO
* We opted to keep the LLC's '''deadkey''' which added stress to vowels
* The main changes we made were to the top numeric row, where we made changes based on frequency of punctuation usage and the assumption of a numpad
* The LLC keyboard retained only 5 arbitrary numbers, and we opted to exclude them altogether
* We moved the characters "?" and "/" from their original positions by the deadkey to the top row
* The LLC keyboard excluded the "!" and "&" characters along with others we found to have high usage frequencies, so we opted to include them on the top row
* We chose the case of the punctuation marks based on usage frequency and included all necessary punctuation for formal and informal communication

== Adaptations ==
* We adapted the original keyboard layout design to be usable across Windows and OSX operating systems
* We believe this will make the layouts more accessible to a wider range of individuals and devices

== Tools ==
* We utilised iBus m17 layouts for our preliminary keyboard and adapted the Italian layout to fit our design and orthography
* To expand to the entire keyboard suite we utilised Keyman software and layout templates

= Challenges = 
== Design ==
* Here, we wrested with the idea of numeral placement and keystroke efficiency
* We were unsure as to whether or not to retain the placement of the numbers and punctuation as per the American English keyboard
* We ultimately omitted the numbers altogether and assumed numpads for desktops and a separate number keyboard for smartphones
* We did so in the interest of keystroke efficiency, as accented vowels occurred more frequently than numerals in our corpora

== Sensitivity ==
* We created this suite in response to community feedback and reviews of existing resources in hope that it would resolve some minor UX issues in existing resources
* However, we want to be careful not to discount or undermine existing community-created resources such as those provided by the LLC 
* We are open to feedback and happy to adapt and improve our suite to better fit the needs of the community

== Digital ==
* We ran into some trouble adapting our iBus layout to Keyman but ultimately managed to work things out

= References =
* Admin, Tlc. “Desktop Software.” The Lakota Language Consortium, 3 Mar. 2022, lakhota.org/desktop-software.
* App Store. “‎Lakota Keyboard - Mobile.” App Store, 14 Mar. 2015, apps.apple.com/us/app/lakota-keyboard-mobile/id972130229.
* “Lak̇ot̄a Keyboard.” Keyman, keyman.com/keyboards/fv_lakota. Accessed 5 May 2022.


[[category: Lakota]] [[category: lakotadone]]