Fonts and keyboards for written languages

Getting a computer to work with a written language can be tricky. If you've already been using the language on your computer, you probably have everything you need, already installed. 

But, it isn't always that easy. Suppose you get a dictionary project from someone else, or you view a dictionary in SooSL Web. It may use a different written language, one that you don't normally use. In that case, you may need to install a font to read the characters in that language. If you want to type in that language, you may need to install a keyboard. 

Computers today usually have fonts and keyboards for many languages. Sometimes, though, they aren't installed. 

First, you need a font that can display all the characters in the language. If a font is not designed to work with a language, it may not have all the characters the language needs. Especially, if the language uses a non-roman script, you need a font that is designed to work with that script. 

Most fonts today are built around Unicode. Watch out for older fonts that don't use Unicode; they are harder to use. If you use a Unicode font, it will make it easier to share your dictionary project with other people.

Then you need a keyboard that is designed to make it easy to type the characters in the language. If you use a Unicode font, you need a Unicode keyboard. If you have an older font that doesn't use Unicode, you will need a special keyboard for that font. The keyboard must match the font.

If your operating system has a keyboard for the language, the choice of keyboard also controls the sort order (the alphabet) that is used for the gloss list.

If there is no keyboard for a language available in your operating system (Windows, Mac, or Linux), take a look at Keyman. It may have what you need. (Keyman keyboards, however, do not affect the sort order in the gloss list. The words will be sorted by the default sort order that is based on English.)

In Linux, you might find some special problems. 

• If you have any difficulties with automatic keyboard switching, then you can try turning it off. You do this in the dialog for written languages. (Keyboard switching in Linux relies upon IBus, Intelligent Input Bus.) 
• Sometimes in Linux, especially in Wasta-Linux (version 18.04), IBus appears to "lose" a language. You might expect to see a language in the keyboard language list in the Written Languages dialog, but it is missing. You can fix this problem by reinstalling IBus. Use your software package manager or open a terminal and run this command: 

sudo apt-get install --reinstall ibus

Then restart your Linux system and your missing languages should return.

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