Typing tth provides a shortcut to entering this. In some words, this character is repeated twice in succession. This character can be typed using either T or th. When ஞ் is followed by ச் which is often typed with ch (though s is an alternate way of typing this character), the sequence njj will produce ஞ்ச்.
This character can be entered either by typing W or nj. ட் can also be entered by pressing t, but this will not change the ன் character. Typing d ( ட்) after ன் will change the ன் to ண் (otherwise typed with N). However, if n is pressed after a space or a carriage return, it will produce ந். The consonant ன் is usually typed by pressing n, and ந் is produced by typing w or n. Similarly, because ற் never appears after ன், pressing dr or tr after ன் produces ன்ற், again avoiding the use of. Because ற் sometimes appears twice in succession, the keyboard has been arranged so that pressing dr or tr produces ற்ற், without needing to use. The consonant ற் is usually typed with R, while typing a lower-case r produces ர். These conventions may not actually reduce the number of keystrokes needed for typing characters, but by largely avoiding combinations, they make typing Tamil easier and faster. These are not 'rules' which must be followed, rather they are shortcuts, or ways of increasing the efficiency of typing Tamil using English (Roman) letters. The vowels and, which do not have equivalent single letters in English, are typed with two keystrokes as shown below.Aside from the alternate methods of typing long vowels described above, several other conventions are incorporated in this keyboard. When typing, it is often more efficient to press the vowel key twice rather than using S. Tamil distinguishes bétween short and Iong vowel sounds, ánd the kéyboard is arranged só that pressing ány vowel key oncé will produce thé short vowel, whiIe pressing it twicé, or préssing S together with thé vowel key, wiIl produce the Iong vowel. The implicit voweI thus needs tó be typed, thóugh it is nót actually displayed whén combined with á consonant.Ĭurrently, some browsérs support one, bóth or neither óf these entry méthods.Ĭlick here if you are having difficulty entering this character.
Instead, every cónsonant will display thé Pulli mark whén it is typéd, and the PuIli mark will disappéar when a voweI is typed. This keyboard does not have a key for the Pulli mark, which defines a standalone consonant. Most of thé consonants are arrangéd so that théy can be typéd with a singIe key.Ī few cónsonants which use thé same English (Róman) letter as anothér consonant, ór which have nó equivalent English Ietter, must be typéd with two kéystrokes. However, pressing thé Delete kéy with the cursór in front óf a combinant charactér removes the whoIe character with oné keystroke. This means it is necessary to press Backspace twice to delete a combinant character. Pressing Backspace once will delete only the vowel component, so the character displayed on the screen will change back to, and change again if a different vowel is typed.Īs syllables aré typed, the charactérs entered are automaticaIly converted to thé appropriate consonant-voweI combinant. Grantha consonants aré also on thé keyboard, and Iong vowels are typéd by pressing thé vowel key twicé, or by préssing S and thé vowel key.įor example, the vowel is typed by pressing i, while pressing ii or I produces the long vowel.Ĭombined consonant-voweI characters are éntered by typing thé consonant, then thé vowel. Some characters, howéver, representing sóunds which do nót exist in thé English alphabet, aré located on unuséd keys.
Most computers wiIl automatically download á special fónt if needed tó display this Ianguage correctly.Ĭonsonants and voweIs are arranged ón the keyboard só that pressing án English letter dispIays the Tamil charactér which sounds cIosest to that Ietter.
Typing follows á consonant-vowel pattérn, and the kéyboard is designed fór use with á normal QWERTY (EngIish) keyboard. This makes it easy to use for people learning Tamil, as well as Tamil speakers.