Using Japanese language on your computer
From LibraryWiki
Here are some places to start:
This is out of date: Computing Japan (Magazine)
Contents |
Input with Japanese script
For general reference, see Japanese input methods.
Setting up your computer
Apple
I don't know anything about this.
Microsoft Windows XP
You may want to print out these instructions before you try implementing them on your computer.
In order to use the Japanese IME, you will need to have the "files for East Asian languages" installed. In the original installing process for Windows XP, a prompt appears asking whether you want to install these files. If the person who installed Windows XP opted out at this prompt, you will need to repeat this process. To see if the files are installed, go to
- START > Settings > Control panel > Regional and language options > Languages > Supplemental language support
and see if the box “Install files for East Asian languages” is checked. If it is not, then check the box. A prompt will ask you to restart with the start-up disks.
Once you've got the files installed, go to
- START > Settings > Control panel > Regional and language options > Languages > Text services and input languages: Details > Installed services > Add
click "Add" and the "Add input languages" dialog box will pop up.
Select Japanese from the scroll-down menu under "Input languages". Now click on the "Keyboard layout/IME" box, and select one of the options in the scroll-down menu (e.g. "Standard IME" or "Natural input").
Click "OK." The language and the layout you've selected will appear in the list of installed services. Click "Apply."
At this point a language icon [EN] (meaning "English") should appear on your taskbar when you have your cursor placed in an IME environment (such as in a Word document or in a "search window", that is, wherever you might want to input text).
If you can't see the language icon, the box labeled "Turn off advanced text services" may have been checked, and you need to "un-check" it.
Go to
- START > Settings > Control panel > Regional and language options > Languages > Details > Advanced > System configuration.
If the box labeled "Turn off advanced text services" has been checked, you need to "un-check" it. Click on the check mark inside the box and it will disappear. Then click "Apply."
If all goes well, a language icon [EN] (meaning "English") should appear on your taskbar. Click on the [EN] icon and "Japanese" should appear as an option on the menu that pops up. Select "Japanese".
The language icon on the taskbar will now read [JP]. To the right of the icon you should be able to see a red ball (= "入力方式"), a capital "A" (= "入力モード"), and several other icons (viz. "般" (= "変換モード"); coffee mug (= "IMEパッド"); toolbox (= "ツール")).
If you can't see these, your taskbar may be locked. Go to
- START > Settings > Taskbar and Start menu > Taskbar > Taskbar appearance
and "un-check" the "Lock the taskbar" box. Click "OK." Now, on the taskbar, slide the "grip" directly to the left of the [JP] language icon about two inches further to the left. This should reveal the other icons specific to Japanese language input.
Click on "A" in your taskbar, and you will see a pop-up menu with a variety of options:
- ひらがな
- 全角カタカナ
- 全角英数
- 半角カタカナ
- 半角英数
- 直接入力
The last option is the default option, and that is why the 入力モード is represented by a capital "A" at this point. This input mode is basically the same as the English keyboard layout.
If you want to type in 漢字かな混じり文, choose "ひらがな".
The capital "A" will turn into "あ". Try typing in Romanized Japanese now. The corresponding ひらがな will appear. (For details about the spelling conventions of Romanized input, see Japanese Language Wikipedia: ローマ字･かな変換 or Wāpuro rōmaji.)
Hit the space bar for 漢字変換. (You can select from multiple options either with the arrow keys and the "Enter" key, the mouse, or by hitting the number assigned to your preferred choice.)
Hit the "Enter" key to confirm.
If you don't want to confirm, you have some other options:
Hit F6 to convert back to ひらがな.
Hit F7 to convert to 全角カタカナ.
Hit F8 to convert to 半角カタカナ.
Hit F9 to convert to 全角英数.
Hit F10 to convert to 半角英数.
Viewing Japanese language web pages
Encodings
Pop-up glosses
When reading a Japanese language website, if you want to have instant access to readings of unfamiliar kanji or the definitions of unfamiliar words, you can type the URL of the website in question into a box on this website:
- Open the website you want to read within this environment by pasting the address into the URL window. Then select 日本語 → 英語 from the scroll down menu under 辞書. This will allow you to place your cursor over the problematic section of text and get a pop-up gloss.
Here's another website that provides the same sort of service:
- Enter a web-address (or paste some text) in the box on the Rikai homepage. Press "Go." Your selected page will open in the Rikai environment. Move the cursor over any Japanese word on your page (or text) and Rikai provides a "pop-up" giving you the reading and definition.
Using non-Unicode programs on a Windows platform
Some database CDs are created with non-Unicode programs, so if the user-interface is not legible (i.e., if it shows up in 文字化け), you will need to specify a default language setting for non-Unicode programs.
Once you've installed the program in question, you will need to set the "Language for non-Unicode programs" to Japanese.
You will need to have "Administrator" status in order to change the settings in question.
Follow the path below and complete the steps:
- START > Settings > Control panel > Regional and language options > Advanced
- Under "Language for non-Unicode programs" select“Japanese” from the scroll-down menu and click "Apply." There will be a prompt telling you that the new settings won't apply until you restart your computer. Reboot, then start the program in question.
The prompts will now appear in Japanese.
If this doesn't work, the box labeled "Turn off advanced text services" may have been checked, and you need to "un-check" it.
Go to
- START > Settings > Control panel > Regional and language options > Languages > Details > Advanced > System configuration.
If the box labeled "Turn off advanced text services" has been checked, you need to "un-check" it. Click on the check mark inside the box and it will disappear. Then click "Apply."
Sending and receiving e-mail in Japanese
Using Romanization in web- and database-searches
Many search engines will only pick up exactly what you type. This is a point you need to be mindful of when doing searches, because there are a variety of Romanization possibilities for any given string of Japanese. You might miss what you're looking for if you don't consider the range of possibilities. At a very basic level, there are various systems: Hepburn, Kunrei, Nihonshiki, etc. They have differing conventions with regard to representing phonology. At this level, along with the problem of assigning alphabet to sound, there are also conventions concerning the following:
- Diacritics: macrons, circumflexes, carons
- Mora boundaries
- Long vowels versus dipthongs
- Geminates
At the level of meaningful units, there are still more complexities to remember:
- Morpheme boundaries
- Particles and post-positions
- Compounds, dvandva, etc.
- Word boundaries (分かち書き)
- Capitalization
- Punctuation
When the inclusion or omission of a space or hyphen could mean the difference between instant access and prolonged frustration, it is worth considering these details.
For example, WorldCat will give results for searches of Japanese titles Romanized according the the Hepburn system (diacritics ommitted), but not the Nihon-siki system (diacritics ommitted).
(For details about the spelling conventions of Romanized input for Japanese Input Method Editors, see Japanese Language Wikipedia: ローマ字･かな変換 or Wāpuro rōmaji.)
