Chinese input method: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:16, 14 February 2024

Revision as of 22:21, 14 February 2024

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Before the 1980s, Chinese publishers hired teams of workers and selected a few thousand type pieces from an enormous Chinese character set. Chinese government agencies entered characters using a long, complicated list of [[Chinese telegraph code]]s, which assigned different numbers to each character. During the early computer era, Chinese characters were categorized by their radicals or Pinyin romanization, but results were less than satisfactory.

In the 1970s to 1980s, large keyboards with thousands of keys were used to input Chinese. Each key was mapped to several Chinese characters. To type a character, one pressed the character key and then a selection key.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://openstd.samr.gov.cn/bzgk/gb/newGbInfo?hcno=3D8D8DCA190E4CB90399EE2FB91F93CC|title=汉字整字键盘盘面字排列 |website=Standardization Administration of China |year=1987|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.facebook.com/mitac.com.tw/photos/%E7%A5%9E%E9%80%9A%E8%B3%87%E7%A7%91%E7%9A%84%E5%89%8D%E8%BA%AB%E7%A5%9E%E9%80%9A%E9%9B%BB%E8%85%A6%E6%96%BC1979%E5%B9%B4%E5%87%BA%E5%93%81%E7%9A%84%E7%AC%AC%E4%BA%8C%E4%BB%A3%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E7%B5%82%E7%AB%AF%E6%A9%9F-ccrt-280%E4%B8%AD%E9%96%93%E4%B8%80%E5%85%B1%E6%9C%89320%E5%80%8B%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E5%AD%97%E9%8D%B5%E6%AF%8F%E5%80%8B%E5%AD%97%E9%8D%B5%E6%9C%8916%E5%80%8B%E5%AD%97%E6%AF%8F%E4%B8%80%E5%80%8B%E5%AD%97%E9%8D%B5%E5%86%8D%E5%B0%8D%E6%87%8916%E5%80%8B%E4%BD%8D%E7%BD%AE%E9%8D%B5%E7%B8%BD%E5%85%B1%E5%8F%AF%E4%BB%A5%E7%B5%84%E5%90%88%E5%87%BA/1254122301286963/|title=Mitac 神通資訊科技 - 神通資科的前身「神通電腦」於1979年出品的第二代中文終端機 (CCRT 280)，中間一共有320個中文字鍵，每個字鍵有16個字，每一個字鍵再對應16個位置鍵，總共可以組合出5000個中文字，實在是非常酷呢！|website=Facebook|date=2016-08-26|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref> There were also experimental "radical keyboards" with dozens to several hundreds keys. Chinese characters were decomposed into "radicals", each of which was represented by a key.<ref name="xinzhu"/><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://ir.nctu.edu.tw/handle/11536/137495 |author1=謝清俊 |author2=黃永文 |author3=林樹|title=中文字根之分析|journal=Science Bulletin National Chiao-Tung University|volume=6|issue=1|year=1973}}</ref><ref name="zhzn"/> Unwieldy and difficult to use, these keyboards became obsolete after the introduction of Cangjie input method, the first method to use only the standard keyboard and make Chinese [[touch typing]] possible.<ref name="zhzn">{{cite book|url=http://www.open-lit.com/bid=506&id=18353|chapter=三、電腦 倉頡、天龍、零壹、漢卡|title=智慧之旅. 第3部, 炎夏(一九七三-一九九五) |author=朱邦復|publisher=時報出版|year=1995}}</ref>

[[Image:Keyboard layout cangjie.png|thumb|A typical [[keyboard layout]] for the Cangjie method, which is based on the [[keyboard layout#United States|United States keyboard layout]].]]

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[[Image:2008 Taipei IT Month Day1 InstantDict MD6800.jpg|thumb|An electronic dictionary with Cangjie keyboard]]

Despite its steeper learning curve, this method remains popular in Chinese communities that use [[traditional Chinese characters]], such as [[Hong Kong]] and [[Taiwan]]; the method allows very precise input, thus allowing users to type more efficiently and quickly, provided they are familiar with the fairly complicated rules of the method. It was the first method that allowed users to enter more than a hundred Chinese characters per minute. Its popularity is also helped by its omnipresence on traditional Chinese computer systems, since Chu has given up its patent in 1982, stating that it should be part of the cultural asset. Developers of Chinese systems can adopt it freely, and users do not have the hassle of it being absent on devices with Chinese support.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://epaper.naer.edu.tw/edm.php?grp_no=2&edm_no=33&content_no=875|title=教育科技的專利與普及|author=朱麟華|journal= 國家教育研究院電子報|year=2012|issue=33}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.cw.com.tw/index.php/article/5036251?from=search|title=朱邦復的人文科技夢|year=1999|issue=219|journal=天下雜誌|author=藍麗娟|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref> Cangjie input programs supporting a large [[CJK Unified Ideographs|CJK character]] set have been developed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rime.im/|title=中州韻輸入法引擎|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chinesecj.com/|title=倉頡之友|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://mingpaomonthly.com/article/details/%E6%80%9D%E6%BD%AE%EF%BC%8E%E5%8B%95%E5%90%91%2F2012-03%2F1590998177213%2F%E9%8C%A2%E9%8D%BE%E6%9B%B8%E5%85%88%E7%94%9F%E8%88%87%E3%80%8C%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E5%8F%A4%E5%85%B8%E6%95%B8%E5%AD%97%E5%B7%A5%E7%A8%8B%E3%80%8D%E3%80%80%EF%BC%88%E7%94%B0%20%E5%A5%95%EF%BC%89|title=錢鍾書先生與「中國古典數字工程」|author=田奕|date=2012-03-02|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>

All methods have their strengths and weaknesses. The [[pinyin method]] can be learned rapidly but its maximum input rate is limited. The ''[[Wubi method|Wubi]]'' takes longer to learn, but expert typists can enter text much more rapidly with it than with phonetic methods. However, Wubi is proprietary, and a version of it has become freely available only after its inventor lost a patent lawsuit in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ciplawyer.cn/html/plcyzl/20090517/121932.html|title=王永民王码五笔字型专利纠纷案|website= 中国知识产权律师网|date=2009-05-17|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>

Due to these complexities, there is no "standard" method.

In mainland China, the [[Wubi method|wubi]] (shape-based) and pinyin methods such as [[Sogou Pinyin]] and [[Google Pinyin]] are the most popular;. inIn [[Taiwan]], use of [[Cangjie method|Cangjie]], [[Dayi method|Dayi]], [[Boshiamy method|Boshiamy]], and [[Bopomofo|zhuyinbopomofo]] predominate; and in [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]], the [[Cangjie method|Cangjie]] is most often taught in schools, while a few schools teach [[CKC Chinese Input System]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.dsedj.gov.mo/cre/tmag/07/9-2.htm|title=倉頡以外的另一個選擇 ─"縱橫輸入法"|journal=教師雜誌|issue=7|year=2004|access-date=2022-08-26}}</ref>

Other methods include [[handwriting recognition]], [[Optical character recognition|OCR]] and [[Speech recognition|voicespeech recognition]]. The computer itself must first be "trained" before the first or second of these methods are used; that is, the new user enters the system in a special "learning mode" so that the system can learn to identify their handwriting or speech patterns. The latter two methods are used less frequently than keyboard-based input methods and suffer from relatively high error rates, especially when used without proper "training", though higher error rates are an acceptable trade-off to many users. In recent years, online IME have become more scarce, owing to the proliferation of cellphones and apps.<ref>[https://www.chineseconverter.com/en/convert/type-in-chinese-online-ime Type in Chinese Online (IME)]</ref>

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