SILEthiopic keyboard layout for Mac OS X

Jonathan Kew, June 1, 2006 (modified by Lorna Priest, Jan. 2012)

Note

Because this keyboard supports the newest Unicode 6.0 Ethiopic codepoints (for Basketo, Gumuz and Gamo-Gofa-Dawro), the Abyssinica SIL font (version 1.200) is required to adequately view the keyboard layout charts. If you do not require the Unicode 6.0 codepoints other Unicode fonts (such as Nyala) will likely be sufficient.

    Introduction
    Installation
    Source Code
    Keyboard Layout
        Syllables
        Direct vowel input (after space, etc.)
        Diphthongs (special forms)
        Diphthong groups
        Ethiopic numbers
        Punctuation
        Diacritics
    License
    Technical Support

Introduction

This is an experimental OS X keyboard layout designed to work with the Abyssinica SIL font (version 1.200). font for Ethiopic script. It could be used in conjunction with any Unicode-compliant Ethiopic font, but also includes support for the Private Use Area characters in the Abyssinica SIL font.

The keyboard layout is designed to mimic the Keyman layout that is available for use with Windows, so that keying sequences for Ethiopic characters should generally be the same on either platform.

Installation

To install the keyboard, copy the files SILEthiopic.keylayout and SILEthiopic.icns to the folder Keyboard Layouts within the Library folder in your home directory. (If there is no Keyboard Layouts folder inside Library, then create one, being sure to give it that exact name.) Then log out of Mac OS X, or restart the computer.

After logging in again (note that there may be a slight delay as the Finder starts up), go to System Preferences / International / Input Menu, find SILEthiopic in the list of available layouts, and click the checkbox to enable it. Also ensure that the option Show input menu in menu bar is enabled, so that it is easy to switch between keyboard layouts.

Source Code

The SIL Ethiopic keyboard layout was created using the KeyLayoutMaker script, available from http://scripts.sil.org/KeyLayoutMaker, using the input file SILEthiopic.keystrokes. This source file is provided for reference or as a potential basis for alternative layouts. (Note that release 4 or later of the KeyLayoutMaker script is required to process this source file.)

KeyLayoutMaker only reassigns regular and shifted keystrokes; it does not handle other modifiers such as Option. Therefore, the keylayout file created with KeyLayoutMaker was then loaded into the GUI keyboard layout editor Ukelele, available from http://scripts.sil.org/Ukelele, and the option-key combinations for the diacritics (11 keystrokes, Opt-' and Opt-1 through Opt-0) were added to create the finished keyboard layout file.

Keyboard Layout

In the chart below, type the character in the keystroke column followed by the “vowel” keystroke in the top of the corresponding column. For example, type “he” to get “ሄ” or “hO” to get “ሇ”. The default form is in the 6th form column (you should not type the hyphen). For reference purposes, the Unicode Scalar Value or PUA codepoint is listed below each character.

Syllables

v u i a e - o O A
h ሀ ሁ ሂ ሃ ሄ ህ ሆ ሇ  
  1200 1201 1202 1203 1204 1205 1206 1207  
l ለ ሉ ሊ ላ ሌ ል ሎ ⶀ ሏ
  1208 1209 120a 120b 120c 120d 120e 2d80 120f
H ሐ ሑ ሒ ሓ ሔ ሕ ሖ   ሗ
  1210 1211 1212 1213 1214 1215 1216   1217
m መ ሙ ሚ ማ ሜ ም ሞ ⶁ ሟ
  1218 1219 121a 121b 121c 121d 121e 2d81 121f
J ሠ ሡ ሢ ሣ ሤ ሥ ሦ   ሧ
  1220 1221 1222 1223 1224 1225 1226   1227
r ረ ሩ ሪ ራ ሬ ር ሮ ⶂ ሯ
  1228 1229 122a 122b 122c 122d 122e 2d82 122f
s ሰ ሱ ሲ ሳ ሴ ስ ሶ ⶃ ሷ
  1230 1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1236 2d83 1237
S ሸ ሹ ሺ ሻ ሼ ሽ ሾ ⶄ ሿ
  1238 1239 123a 123b 123c 123d 123e 2d84 123f
q ቀ ቁ ቂ ቃ ቄ ቅ ቆ ቇ  
  1240 1241 1242 1243 1244 1245 1246 1247  
Q ቐ ቑ ቒ ቓ ቔ ቕ ቖ    
  1250 1251 1252 1253 1254 1255 1256    
b በ ቡ ቢ ባ ቤ ብ ቦ ⶅ ቧ
  1260 1261 1262 1263 1264 1265 1266 2d85 1267
B ቨ ቩ ቪ ቫ ቬ ቭ ቮ   ቯ
  1268 1269 126a 126b 126c 126d 126e   126f
t ተ ቱ ቲ ታ ቴ ት ቶ ⶆ ቷ
  1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1275 1276 2d86 1277
c ቸ ቹ ቺ ቻ ቼ ች ቾ ⶇ ቿ
  1278 1279 127a 127b 127c 127d 127e 2d87 127f
L ኀ ኁ ኂ ኃ ኄ ኅ ኆ ኇ  
  1280 1281 1282 1283 1284 1285 1286 1287  
n ነ ኑ ኒ ና ኔ ን ኖ ⶈ ኗ
  1290 1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 2d88 1297
N ኘ ኙ ኚ ኛ ኜ ኝ ኞ ⶉ ኟ
  1298 1299 129a 129b 129c 129d 129e 2d89 129f
x አ ኡ ኢ ኣ ኤ እ ኦ ⶊ ኧ
  12a0 12a1 12a2 12a3 12a4 12a5 12a6 2d8a 12a7
k ከ ኩ ኪ ካ ኬ ክ ኮ ኯ  
  12a8 12a9 12aa 12ab 12ac 12ad 12ae 12af  
K ኸ ኹ ኺ ኻ ኼ ኽ ኾ    
  12b8 12b9 12ba 12bb 12bc 12bd 12be    
w ወ ዉ ዊ ዋ ዌ ው ዎ ዏ  
  12c8 12c9 12ca 12cb 12cc 12cd 12ce 12cf  
X ዐ ዑ ዒ ዓ ዔ ዕ ዖ    
  12d0 12d1 12d2 12d3 12d4 12d5 12d6    
z ዘ ዙ ዚ ዛ ዜ ዝ ዞ ⶋ ዟ
  12d8 12d9 12da 12db 12dc 12dd 12de 2d8b 12df
Z ዠ ዡ ዢ ዣ ዤ ዥ ዦ   ዧ
  12e0 12e1 12e2 12e3 12e4 12e5 12e6   12e7
y የ ዩ ዪ ያ ዬ ይ ዮ ዯ  
  12e8 12e9 12ea 12eb 12ec 12ed 12ee 12ef  
d ደ ዱ ዲ ዳ ዴ ድ ዶ ⶌ ዷ
  12f0 12f1 12f2 12f3 12f4 12f5 12f6 2d8c 12f7
D ዸ ዹ ዺ ዻ ዼ ዽ ዾ ⶍ ዿ
  12f8 12f9 12fa 12fb 12fc 12fd 12fe 2d8d 12ff
j ጀ ጁ ጂ ጃ ጄ ጅ ጆ ⶎ ጇ
  1300 1301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 2d8e 1307
g ገ ጉ ጊ ጋ ጌ ግ ጎ ጏ  
  1308 1309 130a 130b 130c 130d 130e 130f  
G ጘ ጙ ጚ ጛ ጜ ጝ ጞ   ጟ
  1318 1319 131a 131b 131c 131d 131e   131f
T ጠ ጡ ጢ ጣ ጤ ጥ ጦ ⶏ ጧ
  1320 1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 2d8f 1327
C ጨ ጩ ጪ ጫ ጬ ጭ ጮ ⶐ ጯ
  1328 1329 132a 132b 132c 132d 132e 2d90 132f
P ጰ ጱ ጲ ጳ ጴ ጵ ጶ ⶑ ጷ
  1330 1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 2d91 1337
F ጸ ጹ ጺ ጻ ጼ ጽ ጾ   ጿ
  1338 1339 133a 133b 133c 133d 133e   133f
Y ፀ ፁ ፂ ፃ ፄ ፅ ፆ ፇ  
  1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346 1347  
f ፈ ፉ ፊ ፋ ፌ ፍ ፎ   ፏ
  1348 1349 134a 134b 134c 134d 134e   134f
p ፐ ፑ ፒ ፓ ፔ ፕ ፖ ⶒ ፗ
  1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1355 1356 2d92 1357
S# ⶠ ⶡ ⶢ ⶣ ⶤ ⶥ ⶦ    
  2da0 2da1 2da2 2da3 2da4 2da5 2da6    
c# ⶨ ⶩ ⶪ ⶫ ⶬ ⶭ ⶮ    
  2da8 2da9 2daa 2dab 2dac 2dad 2dae    
Z# ⶰ ⶱ ⶲ ⶳ ⶴ ⶵ ⶶ    
  2db0 2db1 2db2 2db3 2db4 2db5 2db6    
C# ⶸ ⶹ ⶺ ⶻ ⶼ ⶽ ⶾ    
  2db8 2db9 2dba 2dbb 2dbc 2dbd 2dbe    
q# ⷀ ⷁ ⷂ ⷃ ⷄ ⷅ ⷆ    
  2dc0 2dc1 2dc2 2dc3 2dc4 2dc5 2dc6    
k# ⷈ ⷉ ⷊ ⷋ ⷌ ⷍ ⷎ    
  2dc8 2dc9 2dca 2dcb 2dcc 2dcd 2dce    
K# ⷐ ⷑ ⷒ ⷓ ⷔ ⷕ ኾ    
  2dd0 2dd1 2dd2 2dd3 2dd4 2dd5 2dd6    
g# ⷘ ⷙ ⷚ ⷛ ⷜ ⷝ ⷞ    
  2dd8 2dd9 2dda 2ddb 2ddc 2ddd 2dde    
C= ꬠ ꬡ ꬢ ꬣ ꬤ ꬥ ꬦ    
  ab20 ab21 ab22 ab23 ab24 ab25 ab26    
P= ꬨ ꬩ ꬪ ꬫ ꬬ ꬭ ꬮ    
  ab28 ab29 ab2a ab2b ab2c ab2d ab2e    
s=   ꬁ ꬂ ꬃ ꬄ ꬅ ꬆ    
    ab01 ab02 ab03 ab04 ab05 ab06    
z=   ꬑ ꬒ ꬓ ꬔ ꬕ ꬖ    
    ab11 ab12 ab13 ab14 ab15 ab16    
D=   ꬉ ꬊ ꬋ ꬌ ꬍ ꬎ    
    ab09 ab0a ab0b ab0c ab0d ab0e    

Direct vowel input (after space, etc.)

The keystrokes are at the top of the column.

keystrokes v u i a e x o
  አ ኡ ኢ ኣ ኤ እ ኦ
  12a0 12a1 12a2 12a3 12a4 12a5 12a6

keystrokes V U I A E X O
  ዐ ዑ ዒ ዓ ዔ ዕ ዖ
  12d0 12d1 12d2 12d3 12d4 12d5 12d6

Diphthongs (special forms)

I AM II
r ፘ    
  1358    
m   ፙ  
    1359  
f     ፚ
      135a

Diphthong groups

V I A E W
q ቈ ቊ ቋ ቌ ቍ
  1248 124a 124b 124c 124d
Q ቘ ቚ ቛ ቜ ቝ
  1258 125a 125b 125c 125d
L ኈ ኊ ኋ ኌ ኍ
  1288 128a 128b 128c 128d
k ኰ ኲ ኳ ኴ ኵ
  12b0 12b2 12b3 12b4 12b5
K ዀ ዂ ዃ ዄ ዅ
  12c0 12c2 12c3 12c4 12c5
g ጐ ጒ ጓ ጔ ጕ
  1310 1312 1313 1314 1315
m ᎀ ᎁ   ᎂ ᎃ
  1380 1381   1382 1383
b ᎄ ᎅ   ᎆ ᎇ
  1384 1385   1386 1387
f ᎈ ᎉ   ᎊ ᎋ
  1388 1389   138a 138b
p ᎌ ᎍ   ᎎ ᎏ
  138c 138d   138e 138f
G ⶓ ⶔ   ⶕ ⶖ
  2d93 2d94   2d95 2d96

Ethiopic numbers

The keystrokes are at the top of the column.

Other numbers are typed as per normal.

keystrokes 1* 2* 3* 4* 5* 6* 7* 8* 9*
  ፩ ፪ ፫ ፬ ፭ ፮ ፯ ፰ ፱
  1369 136a 136b 136c 136d 136e 136f 1370 1371

keystrokes 1*0 2*0 3*0 4*0 5*0 6*0 7*0 8*0 9*0
  ፲ ፳ ፴ ፵ ፶ ፷ ፸ ፹ ፺
  1372 1373 1374 1375 1376 1377 1378 1379 137a

keystrokes 1*00 1*000 1*0000
  ፻ ፼
  137b e494 137c

Punctuation

The keystrokes are at the top of the column.

keystrokes : :: :- :. . .. ... ./ , ,, ;
  ፡ ፨ ፦ ፧ ። . • ※ ፥ ፣ ፤
  1361 1368 1366 1367 1362 0046 2022 1360 1365 1363 1364

keystrokes < > << >> (m)
  < > « »
  003c 003e 00ab 00bb e496

Diacritics

For diacritics type the  .  key followed by the keystroke at the top of the column.

: ' " 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
 .  ◌፞ ◌፟ ◌፝ ◌̏ ◌̀ ◌̄ ◌́ ◌̋ ◌̂ ◌̌ ◌̇ ◌̈ ◌̃
  135E 135F 135D 030f 0300 0304 0301 030b 0302 030c 0307 0308 0303

License

SILEthiopic keyboard layout for Mac OS X is copyright ©2006-2012 by SIL International. It is distributed under the X11 free software license:

SIL International X11-style License

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL SIL INTERNATIONAL BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

Except as contained in this notice, the name of SIL International shall not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written authorization from SIL International.

Technical Support

If you have problems using the SILEthiopic keyboard layout for Mac OS X, please contact:

User Support
SIL Non-Roman Script Initiative
7500 W. Camp Wisdom Rd
Dallas, TX 75236
USA
E-mail:  mailto:nrsi@sil.org