Guides on Sangam Keyboards

Anjal keyboards

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Anjal is the name given to a Tamil input method developed by Muthu Nedumaran in 1993 — well before other input methods that transliterate English keystrokes to Indic scripts came into existence. It was included in Murasu Anjal, a software package with other utilities for Tamil text manipulation and conversion. A free version was distributed over the web, and that let hundreds of thousands of people write Tamil using a qwerty keyboard.

Native script keyboards

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The native script keyboards in Sangam are based on InScript. Consonants are mostly on the right and vowels on the left.

Four changes adapt the layout for a mobile device.

1. Rearranged keys

Some keys are moved so that a row holds at most 11 keys on the first two rows and 8 on the third, leaving room for larger shift and delete keys.

2. Halant, chandrakala, virama or pulli

These are used constantly to make dead consonants and conjuncts, so they move to the fourth row, next to the space bar, rather than staying where a desktop InScript layout puts them.

Tamil

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Murasu Anjal Keyboard

Murasu Anjal keyboard lets you type Tamil with English letters. The keys will generate Tamil letters based on the keymap provided in the table below. The keys approximate the sound of the Tamil letters.

Murasu Anjal Keymap

அ a
ஆ aa
இ i
ஈ ii
உ u
ஊ uu
எ e
ஏ ee
ஐ ai
ஒ o
ஓ oo
ஔ au
ஃ q
க் k
ங் ng
ச் c
ஞ் nj
ட் d
ண் N
த் t
ந் w
ப் p
ம் m
ய் y
ர் r
ல் l
வ் v
ழ் z
ள் L
ற் R
ன் n
ஜ் j
ஷ் sh
ஸ் S
ஹ் h
க்ஷ் x
ஶ்ரீ sr
ௐ OM

Pulli (புள்ளி)

Consonant keys by default generate letters with pulli (மெய் எழுத்துகள்). The pulli is removed when the ‘a’ key is typed.

Examples:

Typing ‘a’ to remove pulli

keystrokes	output
k	க்
ka	க
p	ப்
pa	ப

Vowel signs

When a vowel key is typed after a consonant, the key generates a vowel sign instead of a vowel. To explicitly type a vowel after a consonant, change mode to English and back to Tamil. You can do this by touching the toggle button twice.

Devanagari

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Input method

The input method in IndicNotes is called Devanagari-Anjal. It allows inputting of text in two modes: Devanagari and English. The keyboard for both modes remain the same. The keys on the keyboard will generate either Devanagari letters or English letters depending on the mode. You can change the mode by touching the button on the left of the toolbar above the keyboard. The label on the button shows the current mode.

Gurmukhi

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Input method

The input method in IndicNotes is called Gurmukhi-Anjal. It allows inputting of text in two modes: Gurmukhi and English. The keyboard for both modes remain the same. The keys on the keyboard will generate either Gurmukhi letters or English letters depending on the mode. You can change the mode by touching the button on the left of the toolbar above the keyboard. The label on the button shows the current mode.

Kannada

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Kannada-Anjal keyboard allows you to type Kannada using English letters.The keys will generate Kannada based on the keymap provided in the table below. The keys approximate the sound of the Kannada letters.

Consonants, Conjuncts and Consonant Signs

The halant (್) is automatically appended to a consonant when it is typed. If the next key is an ‘a’, the halant will dissappear. Conjunts and consonant signs are formed when two consonants are typed without an ‘a’ in between.

Malayalam

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Malayalam-Anjal allows you to type Malayalam using English letters. The keys will generate Malayalam letters based on the keymap provided in the table below. The keys approximate the sound of the Malayalam letters.

Consonant signs & conjuncts

Chandrakala is automatically appended to a consonant when it is typed. If the next key is an ‘a’, the Chandrakala will dissappear. Conjunts and consonant signs are formed when two consonants are typed without an ‘a’ in between. To explicitly get a chandrakala, type ‘q’.

Telugu

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Telugu-Anjal keyboard allows you to type Telugu using English letters. The keys will generate Telugu based on the keymaps provided in the tables below. The keys approximate the sounds of the Telugu letters

Consonant signs & conjuncts

The halant () is automatically appended to a consonant when it is typed. If the next key is an ‘a’, the halant will dissappear. Conjuncts and consonant signs are formed when two consonants are typed without an ‘a’ in between them.