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Typing in Biblical Languages

This guide will teach you how to set up your keyboard layout, install new keyboard layouts, choose the right font, and customize your word processors all for use with the biblical languages.

Step 1: Enabling Two or More Languages

The first step is to enable your keyboard layout to use two or more languages.

Windows 10 or 8

Adapted from here.

  • Select the Start  button, then select Settings > Time & Language > Language
  • Choose a language from the Add a Preferred Language list under Preferred language
    • ​Be careful NOT to change the Windows display language
  • Make sure the Install Language Pack option is selected, and click Install
  • The language will be available on the task bar

Windows 7 or Vista

Taken from here.

  • Click Start windows icon , type intl.cpl in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER
  • On the Keyboards and Language tab, click Change keyboards
  • Click Add
  • Expand the language that you want. For example, expand French (Canada) 
  • Expand Keyboard list, click to select the Canadian French check box, and then click OK
  • In the options, click View Layout to compare the layout with the actual keyboard
  • In the Default input language list, click French (Canada) – Canadian French, and then click OK two times
  • In the Regional and Language Options dialog box, click OK
    • Note The Language bar appears on the taskbar. When you rest the mouse pointer over this bar, a tooltip appears that describes the active keyboard layout
  • Click the Language bar, and then click FR French (Canada)

Step 2: Switching Between Languages

Once multiple languages have been enabled, you can switch between them easily.

Windows 10 or 8

Taken from here.

  1. After you have enabled the keyboard language that you want, open your document and place the cursor in the document where you want to start to type text in a different language.
  2. Click the language icon English keyboard indicator on the Language bar, which should appear on your task bar near where the clock is, and then click the language that you want to use.
Keyboard shortcut:  To switch between keyboard layouts, press Win + Space

 

If you have set up more than one keyboard layout for a single language, you can switch between layouts by clicking the keyboard layout icon on the Language bar and then clicking the keyboard layout that you want to use. The name on the indicator changes to reflect the active keyboard layout.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 to switch between different languages.

Windows 7 or Vista

  1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Under Clock, Language, and Region, click Change keyboard or other input methods.
  3. In the Region and Language dialog box, click Change keyboards.
  4. In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, click the Language Bar tab.
  5. Under Language Bar, check if the Hidden option is selected. If it is, select either Floating on Desktop or Docked in the taskbar.

Step 1: Enabling Two or More Languages

Taken from here.

  • Go to the Apple Main Menu
  • Click on System Preferences
  • Click on Keyboard
  • Choose Input Sources
  • Click on the + icon
  • Select layout language (i.e. Greek or Hebrew)
  • On the right side choose layout you want to add (e.g. Greek Polytonic or Hebrew QWERTY (Phonetic)
  • Click Add
  • Select layout you just created and close the window

Step 2: Switching Between Languages

Taken from here.

  1. Open System Preferences in OS X and go to Keyboard panel
  2. Choose the Keyboard tab and check the box for Show Keyboard & Character Viewers in menu bar – this enables a handy indicator in the menu bar to let you know what language / keyboard is currently active, more on this in a moment
  3. Now go to the Shortcuts tab and click on Input Sources
  4. Check the box next to Select next source in Input Menu, then click the cursor into the field to the right to set the keyboard shortcut to switch the language – in this example we used ⌘+Shift+Option+Spacebar but you can pick whatever you want that doesn’t conflict with another keyboard shortcut