Supersigned letters
The Esperanto alphabet contains 6 letters with supersigns (ĉ, ĝ, ŝ, ĵ, ĥ,
ŭ) which are absent in the English alphabet and in the alphabets of most
other languages. These special letters present no problem for handwritten
text, and from the earliest days commercial printers who printed Esperanto
texts have been able to print them. They have been a problem only for
people who use typewriters or typewriter-like devices. In the early
20th century Zamenhof suggested the following workaround: just use
'u' for 'ŭ' and use 'ch', 'gh', 'sh', 'jh', and 'hh' for the others. This
workaround is called the H-method, and it has been in use for a century.
Ever so occasionally, an ambiguity may arise; in a compound word
one of the letters 'c', 'g', 's', 'j', or 'h' may precede 'h', but this is
very rare and causes no significant difficulty. To avoid any possibility
of ambiguity, other people modify the workaround by replacing 'h' by the
letter 'x', which is not part of the Esperanto alphabet. In texts written
with the X-method, the digraphs can be converted to real Esperanto letters
and vice versa by a computer program without any possibility of introducing
errors. Each method has pros and cons, and there are also other less
common methods.
ŝanĝi = to change
shanghi H-method
sxangxi X-method
I believe that the H-method looks more natural, but the X-method preserves
the perfect 1-1 correspondence between sounds and symbols. I use the
H-method when I need to use a workaround.
A computer monitor is a typewriter-like device and the special letters present
a problem relative to input and to display. For Windows the input problem
can be solved by third party software, as I will explain shortly. I
believe that there is also a solution for MacIntosh, but I don't know the
details. For display the theoretical solution is to use Unicode, and
since all internet browsers do today support Unicode, any website whose code
is correctly written can display the supersigned letters correctly. The
only remaining problem area is e-mail. Many modern e-mail handlers
do support Unicode, and they can send and receive messages with the special
letters. However, a significant number of e-mail handlers still do
not support Unicode. To communicate with someone with such an e-mail
handler, you need to use one of the workarounds. In particular if you
send messages to a discussion group, it is better to use a workaround, since
probably several people in the group cannot correctly read Unicode. I
assume that in a few years all e-mail handlers will support Unicode and special
character problem will be a thing of the past.
Relative to keyboard input, Windows supports a substantial number of languages,
but Esperanto is not among them. Thus it is necessary to install one
of various freeware programs to be able to type in supersigned characters
from your keyboard. Once you enter them, programs which support Unicode
function flawlessly. Such programs include Microsoft Word, Excel, and
probably all HTML editors. The program that I have used for several
years to facilitate keyboard input of the supersigned characters is EK (Esperanta
Klavaro = Esperanto Keyboard) and is downloadable from Jurij Finkel's website
in Russia. EK has already been installed on the computers in LRC. For
anyone who wishes to install it on their own computer, I include instructions
below. They were extracted from an e-mail which I sent several months
ago to an Esperanto group, and part of it is in Esperanto with an English
translation. If you have difficulties, I can help you. If you
need analogous software for a Mac, I can find out about it.
To use EK on the computers in the 2 labs in LRC on the first floor of
Razor Hall, you must first activate the program by clicking on 'Start'
and then on 'All Programs'. Select 'Esperanto' and then
'EK'. EK is now active on the computer and you should see a
button marked 'EK' in the system tray at the bottom of your
screen. That button is a toggle, meaning that if EK is off,
clicking the botton will turn in on, and if it is on, clicking the
botton will turn it off. When you leave, please remember to
deactivate EK completely so as to avoid possible confusion for
subsequent users. To do this, right click on the EK button in the
system tray, and choose the last option, which is 'Haltu'.
Instructions for installing EK on your computer
EK stands for 'Esperanta Klavaro' = Esperanto Keyboard. It enables you
to easily enter the special characters from your keyboard. After
installation there is a button on the horizontal bar at the bottom of
the screen. That button is a toggle. If EK is turned on and you click
on the button, EK is turned off, and if it is off and you click on the
button, it is turned on. If EK is turned off and I type in 'ch', I see
'c' followed by 'h' on my screen and in the text I am creating, but if
EK is turned on and I type in 'ch', I see a supersigned 'c' on the
screen and in the text. That is the default behavior. It can be
adjusted to work in various other ways. One advantage of this default
behavior is that the movement of my fingers on the keyboard is exactly
the same, whether I am using the h-method or real Esperanto letters. By
default 'cx' produces the same results as 'ch'.
Windows allows you to adjust your keyboard for a large number of
languages (to see the possibilities go to Control Panel/Regional and
Language Options/Languages/Details/Add). Unfortunately Esperanto is not
among them, and therefore third party software is needed. Presumably
someday Windows will include support for Esperanto.
Mi nun uzas la programon EK 3.3, kreitan de Jurij Finkel, por povi
entajpi la specialajn literojn. Mi uzas Vindozo XP (Windows XP). EK
funkcias bone. Antaue mi uzis ĝin ĉe Vindozo 98 kaj ĉe Vindozo 95. Ĝi
funkciis bone.
I now use the program EK 3.3, created by Jurij Finkel, in order to type
in the special letters. I use Windows XP. EK works well. Previously I
used it with Windows 98 and with Windows 95. It worked well.
La instal-procezo ĉe Vindozo XP estas facila, preskaŭ aŭtomata. Ĉe
Vindozo 95/98 ĝi estas iomete pli komplika.
The installation procedure for Windows XP is easy, almost automatic.
For Windows 95/98 it is a little more complicated.
Vizitu http://esperanto.mv.ru
Visit http://esperanto.mv.ru
Klaku sur "Programaro"
Click on "Programaro"
Klaku sur <<Ek!>> 3.3
Click on <<Ek!>> 3.3
Klaku sur "Instalo de EK" por legi la instrukciojn pri la instalado de
EK. Probable estas bona ideo printi la instrukciojn. La instrukcioj
estas tute en Esperanto. Se vi spertos malfacilaĵon, iu en ĉi tiu listo
povos helpi vin.
Click on "Instalo de EK" in order to read the instructions concerning
the installation of EK. It is probably a good idea to print the
instructions. The instructions are completely in Esperanto. If you
experience difficulties, someone in this list will be able to help you.
Klaku sur "ek33inst.exe" por elŝuti la programon.
Click on "ek33inst.exe" in order to download the program.
Sekvu la instrukciojn. Laŭ mia memoro, la instalado estis tre facila,
preskaŭ aŭtomata.
Follow the instructions. As I remember, the installation is very easy,
almost automatic.
Eble vi akceptos kiel EK defaŭlte funkcias. Laŭ mia memoro mi faris
tion. Se vi volos ŝanĝi kiel ĝi funkcias, klaku sur la butono "Agordoj"
interne de la programo. En la retejo esperanto.mv.ru klaku sur
"Agordoj" por legi pri la opcioj, pri la diversaj manieroj de ĝia
funkciado. Eble vi volos printi tiun. La klarigoj estas tute en
Esperanto. Refoje se vi havos malfacilaĵon, iu en la listo helpos vin.
Maybe you will accept how EK works by default. As I remember it, I did
that. If you want to change how it works, click on the button "Agordoj"
inside the program. At the website esperanto.mv.ru click on "Agordoj"
to read about the options, about the different ways in which it works.
Perhaps you will want to print them. The explanations are all in
Esperanto. Again if you have difficulties, someone in the list will
help you.
Updated 8/23/2004