Difference between revisions of "Neo-Aramaic/Keyboard"

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ܗܖܠܠ ܝܖܐܗ 20ܓܐܝܬܖܖܢ
 
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This keyboard is licensed under...
 
This keyboard is licensed under...

Revision as of 22:18, 31 January 2018

This is our Neo-Aramaic keyboard

ܗܖܠܠ ܝܖܐܗ 20ܓܐܝܬܖܖܢ


This keyboard is licensed under...

Existing Resources

There are a couple of keyboard options already available for typing in Syriac. One of the standard layouts is the Syriac Phonetic Keyboard, which is based on the US keyboard layout; letters in the Syriac script are roughly mapped to their closest phonetic equivalents in the Latin alphabet. You can view Gareth Hughes' typing guide for this keyboard here.

Another popular option is the Syriac 101 Standard Keyboard. This keyboard is modeled after the standard Arabic keyboard layout.

In addition to these options, you can download a Syriac/Aramaic keyboard package for Tavultesoft's Keyman Desktop program. In addition to the "Phonetic" and "Arabic" layouts, which appear to be the same as the two mentioned above, this package includes a keyboard based on the standard Hebrew layout, developed by Illan Gonen.

Note that there are several different variations of the Syriac script. Nowadays, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is typically written in the Madnhāyā (or "East Syriac") script. However, at least for some operating systems, the default Syriac font is Estrangelo Edessa, which is in the ʾEsṭrangēlā script. For typing in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, it would probably be best to download the Meltho Fonts package from Beth Mardutho and select one of their East Syriac fonts. The User Guide for Meltho Fonts includes a list of all the different fonts available in the package. It also includes visual guides for both the Syriac 101 Standard Keyboard and the Syriac Phonetic Keyboard layouts.

Many Assyrian Neo-Aramaic speakers live in areas where the more widely-spoken language is Persian, Arabic, or Kurdish, all of which are written in the Arabic script, and they may speak these languages in addition to Neo-Aramaic. The Syriac 101 Standard Keyboard, therefore, may be easier for these populations to use, although it presents the risk of appearing to make Neo-Aramaic subservient to Arabic. The Syriac Phonetic Keyboard would definitely be easier for us to use as we complete this project. It could also be of use to people who grew up in countries where the Latin script is used, including heritage speakers. Again, though, insofar as this imposes the QWERTY layout on a language that that layout was not designed for, this option could send the wrong message to some people. Gonen's Hebrew layout could be useful to people who are accustomed to the standard Hebrew keyboard layout, perhaps including scholars of the Bible or of Semitic languages. A few dialects of Neo-Aramaic are spoken largely by Jewish populations, but I do not know how likely they would be to use the standard Hebrew keyboard layout in their daily life.

Linux

If you click on "Other" and scroll down, you can enable the Syriac Phonetic Keyboard.

Windows

In your "Region & language" settings, you can enable both the Syriac Phonetic Keyboard and the Syriac 101 Standard Keyboard.

Justification

Installation