Beginning Your Language Program with IPA and WeSay
WeSay is a software program provides an easy way to enter a large volume of linguistic data quickly. This is one reason why WeSay in an integral part of the http://ddp.lingtransoft.info/ Rapid Word Collection Workshop program. Another area of application is that of language learning. Data entered into WeSay can later be imported into FieldWorks. Special keyboards can be installed which allow phonetic transcriptions of data to be entered using IPA. During the early stages of language learning, your language helper can be trained in the use of WeSay. Later when you are ready to implement the Rapid Word Collection strategy, your language helpers will be familiar with WeSay and will be able to use it in a Rapid Word Collection workshop.
How to record data during the language learning process is an important consideration because you want to preserve that data in a format that can be easily moved into other applications during the course of your language program. Although other programs designed for language learning like Vocabulary Manager at http://www.sil.org/computing/catalog/show_software.asp?id=96 helps with the learning process, the program uses an Access database. FieldWorks does not have a direct import process for Access databases. This means that data contained in Vocabulary Manager will need to be typed again into FieldWorks field by field. WeSay would be a better choice of software simply because once you have accumulated a significant lexical database, WeSay allows you to export that database into FieldWorks. Once it is in FieldWorks the data can be exchanged with a variety of other programs.
Getting WeSay set up for data entry using IPA
The process begins with getting the necessary software and the IPA font and keyboard.
- Obtain a copy of WeSay: Go to http://www.wesay.org/wiki/Main_Page and download the current version of the software. Install it as directed.
- Obtain the IPA font set and the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (MSKLC) Keyboard: Go to: http://scripts.sil.org/UniIPAKeyboard to download this keyboard. This software will allow you to type the IPA characters within WeSay.
- Choose the MSKLC (Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator) keyboard of your choice and click on the download link to get the .zip file folder. Extract the files to your hard drive.
- Next click the IPA Unicode 5.1 (ver 1.2 ) MSK.pdf file. This document contains installation instructions.
- Click the setup Keyboard Layout Creator file. There will be a dialogue box IPA Unicode 5.1 (ver 1.2US) MSK with the message of IPA Unicode 5.1 (ver 1.2US) MSK has been successfully installed.
- Click Close.
Now that the keyboard is installed and available, some adjustments need to be made in the operating system so that the keyboard is recognized.
- Go to the Start/Settings/Control Panel/Regional and Language Options menu.
- Click on the Languages tab.
- Clink on the Details button.
- Click the Add button.
- From the List of languages choose Icelandic from the list of Input languages. The IPA keyboard you installed is designed to be associated with this language.
- Choose IPA Unicode 5.1 (ver 1.2 US) MSK from the list of Keyboard layout/IME: list. This is the keyboard that you just installed.
- Click Ok.
- Click Apply.
- Click on the Language Bar button.
- Mark either check box for the Language Bar Settings depending on your preference.
- Click Ok.
- Now check to see if the the language bar icon appears at the bottom of your screen on the task bar.
- To check that the keyboard is working, open your word processor.
- Select Icelandic from the language bar icon.
- Check that your word processor is using Doulous SIL as the font since this font contains all of the IPA characters.
- Also, turn off the auto correcting feature of your word processor so that it will not alter the IPA characters as you type.
- Refer to the IPA keyboard chart for the correct key sequences for the IPA characters that you want to use and begin typing.
After getting the Keyboard installed open WeSay.
- Open or create the WeSay project that you want to use to enter data in IPA.
- After opening this project in WeSay, right-click on the WeSay home screen and choose Configure.
- Click on Writing Systems in the left pane.
- Click on the Basic tab.
- The Basic Tab fields should be filled in as follows:
| ISO: | leave this field blank |
| Script: | type in “IPA” |
| Region: | skip |
| Variant: | skip |
| Abbreviation: | type in “v” |
| Keyboard: | select IPA from the dialogue box. “IPA” should be listed if you installed the keyboard as directed. |
| Right to Left: | Select “False” |
| IsAudio: | Select “True” since you want to associate audio files with your entries. |
| IsUnicode: | choose “True” |
This finishes the configuration of your project for using the IPA characters. Click Open in WeSay button in the upper right corner of the WeSay interface screen. When the WeSay data entry screen appears, click Semantic Domains. Enter a word in the Word field to check that you are able to type the IPA characters. Reference the chart included in the .pdf file that you downloaded with the Keyboard installation.
