CJKV Information Processing, 2nd Edition

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Chapter 5: Input Methods

Input by Reading

e most frequently used CJKV input method is by reading, which is also referred to as

pronunciation. Input by reading is by far the most intuitive way to input CJKV text. ere

are three basic units by which input readings can be converted into ideographs:

Single ideograph•

Ideograph compound, meaning a string of two or more ideographs•

Ideograph phrase, meaning a string of one or more ideographs, along with additional •

nonideograph characters (this is not applicable to all CJKV locales)

You may have heard of input methods that claim to be able to convert whole sentences

at once. In fact, this is actually describing the ability to input whole sentences, which are

parsed into smaller units, usually ideograph phrases, and then converted. is oen in-

troduces parsing errors, and it is up to the user to adjust each phrase.

For example, if you want to input the Japanese phrase , pronounced kanji-wa, and

meaning “the kanji,” you have three choices: you can input each character, you can input a

phrase as a compound, or you can input a phrase as a string of characters. Table 5-9 shows

how you can input each character one at a time, and how this results in candidates from

which you may choose for each character.

Input by reading—single ideographTable 5-9.

Target Latin input Kana input Candidates



K A N (N)

a

  ...