The Tamil keyboard is used in computers and mobile devices to input text in the Tamil script.

Digraphic Tamil 99 keyboard with the Latin and Tamil scripts

The keyboard layout approved by the Government of Tamil Nadu is Tamil 99. The InScript keyboard is the keyboard layout standardized by the Government of India for inputting text in the languages of India written in Brahmic scripts.

Tamil keyboards are often digraphic, combining the Tamil script with the Latin alphabet.

Tamil input methods edit

There are different systems developed to type Tamil language characters using a typewriter or a computer keyboard. Several programs such as Azhagi and NHM writer provide both fixed and phonetic type layouts for typing.

Phonetic Computer Layouts edit

Tamil 99 edit

Tamil 99 is a keyboard layout approved by the Tamil Nadu Government. The layout, along with several monolingual and biliTamli ngual fonts for use with the Tamil language, was approved by Government order on 13 June 1999.[1]

Designed for use with a normal QWERTY keyboard, typing follows a consonant-vowel pattern. The arrangement of the characters allow for fast and simple typing for users familiar with the script.

InScript edit

InScript (Indian Script) is the standard keyboard for Indian scripts. It is a touch typing keyboard layout for computer. This keyboard layout is standardized by Government of India for inputting text in languages of India written in Brahmic scripts, as well as the Santali language, written in the non-Brahmic Ol Chiki script.[2] It was developed by Indian Government and supported by several public and private organisations. This is the standard keyboard for 12 Indian scripts including Bengali, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Tamil and Telugu etc.

Usage edit

Windows 10 edit

On Windows 10, Go to Settings.> Time & Language.> Region and Language.> Add new language.> Tamil (India) or Tamil (Sri Lanka) and select install. Then click Tamil (India) or Sri Lanka and select the options. Now select the Keyboard you want (Inscript or Tamil 99). Note: Tamil 99 is only available in Windows 10 April 2018 Update and higher.[3]

iOS edit

On iOS, Go to Settings.> General.> Keyboards.> Keyboards.> Add New Keyboard, and select Tamil, Select the required keyboard, such as Tamil99, Anjal or InScript.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Tamil Font Encoding and Keyboard Layout standards of the Tamilnadu Government". Tamil Electronic Library. 2005-11-16. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  2. ^ TDIL – Inscript Keyboard
  3. ^ "Microsoft introduces Tamil 99 keyboard on Windows 10 – Microsoft News Center India". Microsoft News Center India. 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2018-09-12.

External links edit