Lavanya Keyboard Help

Introduction

This document provides comprehensive guidelines for using the Telugu Keyman keyboard layout. The keyboard allows for transliteration from Latin (English) characters to Telugu script. This document outlines the character mappings, rules for combining consonants and vowels, and special features of the keyboard.

Basic Principles

The keyboard follows a phonetic transliteration system where Latin characters are mapped to their corresponding Telugu characters. The following principles apply:

1. Consonants by default include the virama (్) mark, which is removed when followed by a vowel
2. When consonants are followed by vowels, the respective vowel diacritics are applied
3. Special characters like Zero Width Non-Joiner (ZWNJ) can be inserted using '^' or 'f'

Character Mapping

Vowels

Consonants

Vowel Diacritics

When consonants are followed by vowels, the vowel's diacritic form is applied to the consonant instead of using the independent vowel form.

Usage Rules

1. Basic Consonant and Vowel Combinations

When a consonant is followed by a vowel, the vowel is represented as a diacritic attached to the consonant.

2. Compound Words and Multiple Consonants

When multiple consonants appear together, each consonant except the last one receives a virama (్) mark.

3. Zero Width Non-Joiner (ZWNJ)

The characters ^ or f can be used to insert a Zero Width Non-Joiner (ZWNJ) between characters to prevent them from forming a ligature.

4. Special Characters

Telugu Numbers

The keyboard supports typing Telugu numerals. To type a Telugu numeral:

Switching Between Telugu and English

You can temporarily switch to English characters in the middle of typing Telugu text:

Typing En Dash and Em Dash

The keyboard supports typing en dash and em dash characters:

Using Smart Quotes

The keyboard automatically handles typographic quotation marks (smart quotes):

Comprehensive Examples

Here are comprehensive examples demonstrating the keyboard's capabilities:

Alternative Input Methods

Many characters can be input using multiple methods. Here are the alternative inputs:

Vowels

• A or aa → ఆ
• I or ii → ఈ
• U or uu → ఊ
• RU or Ru → ౠ
• E or ee → ఏ
• Y or ai → ఐ
• O or oo → ఓ
• V or au or ou → ఔ

Consonants

• K or kh → ఖ్
• G or gh → ఘ్
• C or ch → ఛ్
• J or jh → ఝ్
• P or ph → ఫ్
• B or bh → భ్

Unmapped Keys

The following keys are reserved for future updates and currently do not map to any Telugu characters:

• F, h, w, W, x, X, z, Z

Typing Strategies

1. For Words with Multiple Consonants

When typing words with multiple consonants in sequence, type each consonant followed by appropriate vowels.

2. For Consonant Clusters

Type each consonant in the cluster.

3. Using Zero Width Non-Joiner

Use ^ or f between consonants when you want to prevent them from forming a ligature.

Tips and Best Practices

1. For beginners, using the lowercase single-letter inputs (e.g., kaa instead of KA) is generally easier to remember.
2. For users familiar with the ITRANS transliteration scheme, the alternative spellings (e.g., kh for K) will be more intuitive.
3. When typing long passages, consider using capitalized vowels (A instead of aa) to minimize keystrokes.
4. Remember that consonants by default include the virama mark (్), which is automatically removed when a vowel follows.
5. For special Telugu characters that don't have direct English phonetic equivalents, refer to the specialized mappings:
   • q → ఙ్
   • Q → ఞ్
   • =r → ఱ్
   • =l → ఴ్ (U+0c34 U+0c4D)

All Documentation Versions

• Lavanya Keyboard Help 1.0

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