I’d like to use the bopomofo on my computer. It is a notebook/laptop without a bopomofo keyboard. How do I go about it?
Do you remember the keyboard layout?
No, I don’t, but at school we have a pop up keyboard which I find useful. Is it something I have to download?
Pinyin input method allows you to use bopomofo on a regular keyboard. Here is the website I find useful.
Or look for the comparison chart.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin#Comparison_chart
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison … on_systems
Is your laptop Mac or PC?
[quote=“machess”]Or look for the comparison chart.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin#Comparison_chart
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison … on_systems
Is your laptop Mac or PC?[/quote]
I have a pc.
[quote=“cranky laowai”][quote=“machess”]Or look for the comparison chart.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison … on_systems[/quote]
which someone lifted from my site without my permission and without providing even specific attribution.
That page (and some but not all related ones on Wikipedia) gives a link, but without noting that my page was the original. :fume:
Sorry. I just wanted to vent a little about that.[/quote]
Which pinyin system makes the most sense to you?
You can buy some Bopomofo stickers to put on your keyboard, then enable the Zhuyin keyboard IME in Windows Regional Settings.
I just posted a thread about where to get the stickers (in Taipei)…
forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?t=62197
Good luck!
Cheers,
Ben
Most of the systems devised with practical applications in mind (as opposed to largely political considerations – such as Tongyong Pinyin and MPS2) have things to recommend them, as well as problematic points.
Kennedy’s Yale system never really got the attention it deserved. Even Wade-Giles, which has turned into a horrendous SNAFU in common application, has sound linguistic reasons behind some of its choices (e.g., p’ and p instead of p and b) – though I have to admit I don’t care for this. And although I find Gwoyeu Romatzyh distracting, I certainly admire the thought and effort that went into it.
It might surprise some readers to learn that if I were having to start from scratch on a system I probably wouldn’t make all of the same choices as Hanyu Pinyin’s creators. But since the world – Taiwan excepted – now has a very good standard romanization system for Mandarin, Hanyu Pinyin, I don’t want to get involved in the game of trying to tweak the system. Because that’s how it must ultimately be regarded, as a complete system.
From a practical point of view, the only romanization system I could recommend using now for Modern Standard Mandarin is Hanyu Pinyin.
Thanks for your advice. How will you be able to tweak the system though? I find that interesting.
If you use the Taiwan Chinese zhuying input method, when you want to type something in, there should be a little box that has ㄅBo and 半ban in it. If you right click on that little box, the first option is 螢幕小鍵盤. If you click on that, the bopomofo keyboard should appear on your screen for you to click.
USB keyboard or in a pinch you could turn on the soft keypad from the IME. Click on tools and soft keypad.
What does IME mean?
IME = Input method editor, tech talk for your little icon that says EN, CH, etc.
click on it and then “show the language bar” then click on tools, there should be an oftion for a soft keypad, which is a little window that pops up on your screen, with the bopomopo keyboard. use your mouse to click on the characters just like you would on a real keyboard.
HTH
[quote=“bobl”]IME = Input method editor, tech talk for your little icon that says EN, CH, etc.
click on it and then “show the language bar” then click on tools, there should be an oftion for a soft keypad, which is a little window that pops up on your screen, with the bopomopo keyboard. use your mouse to click on the characters just like you would on a real keyboard.
HTH[/quote]
A whole new world has opened up to me. By the way, do you know about the draw pad? That look much simpler if you know the shape of the character.
Victory!
Neither I nor others would be able to tweak the system now that it is so well established, though the impulse to do so or come up with an alternative romanization system remains strong for some.
My advice is simple: for Modern Standard Mandarin, use Hanyu Pinyin – and use it correctly.