Research Guides: Typing in Foreign Languages: Home (2024)

Some programs have built-in functionality for foreign language characters, but others will require some setup:

• Microsoft Word

  In Windows:

  • Hold down Ctrl and type the punctuation for the diacritic: grave (`), acute ('), circumflex (^), umlaut (:), or tilde (~)
  • Type the letter that should have the accent.
  • For example, typing est<ctrl>'a will produce está

  On a Mac:

  See Also

  Written Translation

  • Hold down Option and type the punctuation for the diacritic: grave (`), acute ('), circumflex (^), umlaut (:), or tilde (~)
  • Type the letter that should have the accent.
  • For example, typing est<option>'a will produce está

• Google Translate

  Google Translate facilitates typing in many languages by either providing a virtual keyboard or converting letters typed phonetically.

  To use a virtual keyboard, set your From: language to the one you want to type in, and look for a little keyboard symbol on the lower left. When you click that to open up the keyboard, you can either type on your keyboard as though it had the layout shown, or click on the individual keys with your mouse to type them.

  To type phonetically, look for a checkbox that says Allow phonetic typing. With that box checked, you can type Romanized words and they will be converted to the alphabet of the language. For example, with Russian language selected, typing Moskva followed by a space will produce Москва.

• Windows 7 (general)

  To enable different keyboards in Windows 7:

  • Open the Control Panel and go to the Region and Language section.
  • Go to the Keyboards and Languages tab and click Change keyboards...
  • To add a new language, click the Add button, and scroll through the languages to find the one you want.
  • If you're not sure which to choose, you can enable several at the same time and try them all!

• iPhone/iPad

  To type a single accented character on an iPhone or iPad using the on-screen keyboard, press and hold the letter and then choose the accented character from the menu.

  If you plan to do extensive typing in a foreign language you can install a keyboard for that language from the Settings screen. Click General, Keyboards, International Keyboards, Add New Keyboard…, and then choose your language. That keyboard will now be available from a globe key on the on-screen keyboard.