[Localization] Installing the Vietnamese Keyboard for the XO

[Clytie Siddall]

To: Nancie Severs, Nguyễn Thị Ánh Nguyễn, Marina (OLPC Vietnam), Mario Behling, OLPC Localization list

On 13/04/2010, at 9:55 AM, Nancie Severs wrote:

> My friend and Vietnam team volunteer, Ms. Nguyet (in Hanoi) received an XO to work with this week.  I am pleased to introduce you to each other! Nguyet checked out the keyboard using "Write" and her email follows. 
> 
> Please use Nguyet's summary and information below to help as the localization team works to perfect the Vietnamese keyboard for Sugar. 
> Thanks everybody!
> Nancie:)  
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Nguyễn Thị Ánh Nguyệt <anhnguyet.ql at gmail.com>
> Date: 2010/4/12
> Subject: Re: Installing the Vietnamese Keyboard for the XO
> To: Nancie Severs <nanciesevers at gmail.com>, Marina <verhovzeva at yahoo.com>

(I have written to Nguyệt separately, in introduction, also covering some of the information in this email.)
> 
> 
> Hi Nancie, Marina
> I'm trying to use Write activity in Vietnamese, there is some errors:
> 
> 1 = ă is ok
> 2 = â is ok
> 3 = ê is ok
> 4 = ô is ok
> [ = ư is ok
> ] = ơ is ok
> 0 = đ is ok
> = = ₫ (currency symbol) is not work, I don't know "₫" that mean in Vietnamese
> 
> đồng = Vietnamese dollar or Vietnamese currency symbol
> Added accents
> 5 = dấu huyền (grave accent) with a, o, u, e is ok but with ă, â, ư, ơ is not work
> 


>  6 = dấu hỏi (hook above) not work
> 7 = dấu ngã (tilde) with a, o, u, e is ok but with ă, â, ư, ơ is not work
> 8 = dấu sắc (acute accent) with a, o, u, e is ok but with ă, â, ư, ơ is not work
> 9 = dấu nặng (dot under) not work
> 
> 
This means the keyboard layout is referring to only a limited section of the Unicode plane. It's a common problem with software supporting Vietnamese for the first time. As long as the software supports Unicode properly, we may be able to fix this simply by editing the keymap. (I was able to solve a strikingly similar problem by doing this in X11 on Mac OSX.)

Once I get an U.S.-to-AU adaptor, I can plug in my XO and charge the battery. Meanwhile, can anyone point me to a current copy of the Vietnamese keymap for the XO? Also, where is it located in the system?
> In typing habit Vietnamese, we press add-accent after base vowel, but in Write Activity, only press add-accent before base vowel. 
> 
> There is typing habit in Vietnamese:
>  In Unikey - the software Vietnamese Keyboard for Windows, we are typing Vietnamese is rule (Telex rule) :
> ] = ư
> [ = ơ
> aw = ă
> aa = â
> ee  = ê
> oo = ô
> dd = đ
> 
> add accent:
> f = dấu huyền (grave accent)
> r = dấu hỏi (hook above)
> x = dấu ngã (tilde)
> s = dấu sắc (acute accent)
> j = dấu nặng (dot under)
> 
> If you repair typing Vietnamese to follow rule about, it's great!

As I've explained to Nguyệt in a separate email, Windows isn't exactly a good Unicode citizen. Nearly all Linux or UNIX Vietnamese layouts use the keys tested by Nguyệt in the first part of her email. Some layouts add the accent before the base vowel, and some add it after. If you visit any popular Vietnamese website (e.g. vi.wikipedia.org), you tend to see a proliferation of input prefs for users. Undoubtedly switchers from widespread illegal use of Windows to legal and free use of Linux may wish to retain their previous input habits. However, over time we hope to standardize input in the more universal UNIX/Linux pattern.

(As an example of the less universal nature of the Windows input demonstrated above, you can type other Latin-based languages on your UNIX/Linux Vietnamese keyboard layout, but you would have to swap out of your Windows Vietnamese layout to type English, for example, with its prevalence of words containing "aw", "ee", "oo" and "dd". The "aa" combination would be a key (sic) problem for Dutch and Afrikaans. I use my OSX Vietnamese layout all the time to type Vietnamese, English, French etc. I only swap back into the Australian English layout when I need to type a lot of number-key or bracket characters.)

Meanwhile, we need to fix the original XO Vietnamese input problem. That may be as simple as editing the layout, or there may be an underlying problem with the rendering engine. (Simos asked about this earlier.)

Interestingly, Sayamindu answered an earlier query about this issue:

> Seems to be working for me - which build is this ?

Sayamindu, can you access all the characters mentioned by Nguyệt in the original message above?

I'm looking at my loan XO right now... do you think a particularly intent look might charge up the battery a bit? :D

from Clytie 

Vietnamese Free Software Translation Team

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