Telex (IME)
Encyclopedia
Telex is a convention for writing Vietnamese
using ASCII
characters commonly found on computer keyboard
layouts. Because the Vietnamese alphabet
uses a complex system of diacritical marks, Telex requires the user to type in a base letter, followed by one or two characters that represent the diacritical marks:
To write the pair of keys as two distinct characters, the second character has to be repeated. For example, "beeer" becomes "beer".
If more than one tone marking key is pressed, the last one will be used. For example, typing "asz" will return "a". To write a tone marking key as a normal character, one has to press it twice: "herr" becomes "her".
Unlike VISCII
, Telex is not a character encoding; rather, it is a way to type out Vietnamese using plain ASCII text. The advantage of Telex over a character encoding like VISCII is that Telex does not need specialized software or hardware for input. However, as Unicode
is becoming increasingly available on computers worldwide, it is usually desirable to use software that will convert Telex to Unicode as one types; thus, Telex would be used only as an input method
.
Later in 1980s and 1990s, Telex was adopted as a way to type Vietnamese on standard English keyboard. Bked editor was one of the first editor to use Telex typing method.
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
using ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
characters commonly found on computer keyboard
Computer keyboard
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
layouts. Because the Vietnamese alphabet
Vietnamese alphabet
The Vietnamese alphabet, called Chữ Quốc Ngữ , usually shortened to Quốc Ngữ , is the modern writing system for the Vietnamese language...
uses a complex system of diacritical marks, Telex requires the user to type in a base letter, followed by one or two characters that represent the diacritical marks:
| Character | Keys pressed | Sample input | Sample output |
|---|---|---|---|
| ă | aw | trawng | trăng |
| â | aa | caan | cân |
| đ | dd | ddaau | đâu |
| ê | ee | ddeem | đêm |
| ô | oo | nhoo | nhô |
| ơ | ow | mow | mơ |
| ư | uw | tuw | tư |
To write the pair of keys as two distinct characters, the second character has to be repeated. For example, "beeer" becomes "beer".
| Tone | Keys added to syllable | Sample input | Sample output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ngang (level) | z or nothing | ngang | ngang |
| Huyền (falling) | f | huyeenf | huyền |
| Sắc (rising) | s | sawcs | sắc |
| Hỏi (dipping-rising) | r | hoir | hỏi |
| Ngã (rising glottalized) | x | ngax | ngã |
| Nặng (falling glottalized) | j | nawngj | nặng |
If more than one tone marking key is pressed, the last one will be used. For example, typing "asz" will return "a". To write a tone marking key as a normal character, one has to press it twice: "herr" becomes "her".
Unlike VISCII
VISCII
The Vietnamese Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character set comprising the Vietnamese alphabet, punctuation, and other graphemes. Vietnamese requires slightly too many letter/diacritic combinations to make a traditional extended ASCII character set for it...
, Telex is not a character encoding; rather, it is a way to type out Vietnamese using plain ASCII text. The advantage of Telex over a character encoding like VISCII is that Telex does not need specialized software or hardware for input. However, as Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
is becoming increasingly available on computers worldwide, it is usually desirable to use software that will convert Telex to Unicode as one types; thus, Telex would be used only as an input method
Input method editor
An input method is an operating system component or program that allows any data, such as keyboard strokes or mouse movements, to be received as input. In this way users can enter characters and symbols not found on their input devices...
.
History
Telex has been used since around 1920-1930 in Vietnam. At the time, it was a solution to allow Telex machines, which were only capable of sending basic Latin alphabet characters, to send Vietnamese messages. Telex was supposed to be invented by Nguyen Van Vinh.Later in 1980s and 1990s, Telex was adopted as a way to type Vietnamese on standard English keyboard. Bked editor was one of the first editor to use Telex typing method.
External links
- Guide to inputting Vietnamese text at the Vietnamese Wikipedia