Re: Labelling Vai Keyboards

At 14:33 -0400 2005-09-02, Peter T. Daniels wrote:

> > >Why does input have to be by keyboard?
>>
>> Provision of keyboard input certainly precedes provision
>> voice-recognition software. And mnay millions of people find it very
>> convenient. Would you like to give up keyboard input, yourself, in
>> favour of voice recognition software?
>
>Hunh?? Which left field did that come out of????

Ah. Not so hard. I took the question to imply that, since you don't
appear to believe that keyboard input is suitable for Vais, that they
should avail of something else. While there are other input methods,
keyboard input is not by any means optional (to users with fingers,
anyway).

>I have already taught myself to touch type. (Though I probably couldn't
>pass the test that would have been given in those high school
>classrooms.) It's faster for me than handwriting. But with the scheme
>you've been describing, it's not at all clear that typing Vai on a
>47-key keyboard would be faster than writing it.

Actually, it's really quite fast. Takes a little practice.

> > Please show me a computer user in the world who does not have to use
> > an alphabet for at least some purposes.
>
>I've never seen a Chinese computer. I know that there are a number of
>non-alphabetic Chinese entry methods, and I don't doubt that Chinese
>computer engineers are clever enough to make computers that don't
>require use of an alphabet.

That would be supposing, and now showing. And at present, at least,
they all need to use the alphabet in URLs.

>Then maybe a trio of equivalents to those words isn't the best thing for
>the translators to be looking for. (I don't, that I can think of, have
>any apps with a "Do" command in them.)

Usually it's "Delete" and either "Undo" or "Undo Delete" and "Redo"
or "Redo Delete". Or is it "Undelete" and "Redelete"? English "Undo"
and "Redo", because of English's use of "do" as an auxiliary, don't
work well in many languages.
--
Michael Everson * http://www.evertype.com