[B-Greek] Unicode for typing Greek

R Yochanan Bitan Buth ybitan at mscc.huji.ac.il
Tue Dec 7 15:58:52 EST 2004


>RE: Unicode for typing Greek (James Ernest)

I'd be interested to know whether this works for any Mac users of
MS-Word,

and if so, with what operating system and Word version.

 

I may have missed something but the original post did not refer to a
functioning keyboard for extended writing in Greek. It was a click and
punch tool for putting one or two words into an another language text.
I know of three functional unicode Greek keyboards available on the
web as freeware or bundled ware. I don't know if they have Mac
versions, but I see links to such on some of the related classical
sites.

 

Windows XP has a polytonic keyboard. It follows the national Greek
keyboard, plus classical accents. It also follows Gatesian tradition
in doing some things bass-ackwards. There is no way to type iota
subscript with a circumflex, one must write a macro within Word. Which
leads one to ask, "After going to all of the trouble to create a
polytonic keyboard, why create only 96% of one?" Please send
disgruntled email to Microsoft. I suppose that they are to blame. 

 

Antioch offers a freeware that really works:
www.users.dircon.co.uk/~hancock/antioch.htm.

If this page doesn't come up, then try Google "Vusillus Greek unicode"

The Greek font Vusillus looks terrible in my eyes but the keyboard is
a gem. Really good, allows Greek national keyboard, and easy
flexibility and custom changes. For $50 one gets better looking fonts.
The drawback with the freeware is that it only type Vusillus and then
one must manually reformat to other unicode fonts. There is an
excellent conversion package as well.

 

Finally Tavultesoft's Keyman product has a Greek keyboard designed by
Lopez that I haven't used. One would have to re-configure the national
keyboard. Personally, if going to the trouble to learn to use a Greek
keyboard, I would recommend starting with one that you could live with
everywhere. (In other words, use the standard Greek typwriter keyboard
as the base rather than re-invent or perpetrate some non-Greek
product.) 

 

Randall Buth, PhD

Director, Biblical Language Center

www.biblicalulpan.org

and Director, Biblical Studies in Israel

Hebrew University, Rothberg International School

ybitan at mscc.huji.ac.il

 




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