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How to type in two languages on one keyboard without switching
What switching keyboard layouts really costs when you write in two languages every day, and how Typeet tells them apart on one US layout.
Many people write two languages every day: English at work, their own language with family, and both in the same Slack channel. The usual setup is two keyboard layouts and a shortcut to switch, Control + Space on a Mac or Windows + Space on Windows. It works. It also costs more than it looks.
What switching costs
The wrong layout
You start a sentence, and the other layout is on. On the Turkish Q layout, the key for i types ı. On the German layout, Y and Z change places, so yes comes out as zes. You delete, switch, and type it again. It happens most when you move fast between apps, which is when you have the least patience for it.
macOS can remember an input source per document, and Windows can remember one per app window. On a Mac, turn on Automatically switch to a document's input source in System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit. The Mac option appears after you add more than one input source. On Windows, turn on Let me use a different input method for each app window in Settings → Time & language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings. That helps when each app has one language. It does not help in a chat, a mail thread or a document where both languages meet.
Punctuation moves
A layout is more than its letters. On the German layout for Windows, @ is AltGr + Q, and the brackets are on AltGr with the number keys. On the French AZERTY layout, the digits need Shift. The Turkish Q layout puts its letters on the keys where English has punctuation and moves the punctuation. Email addresses, links and code all use these keys, so they are where the wrong layout hurts most.
Shortcuts move with the letters
Many shortcuts follow the letter rather than its physical position, although behavior depends on the app. On a QWERTZ layout, Ctrl + Z for undo is where Y is on US. On AZERTY, A and Q swap, and so do Z and W, so shortcuts such as select all and undo can move. Your hands learn one set, and the other layout catches them.
Mixed sentences
People who live in two languages mix them: Toplantı bitti, deploy yarın. A layout is set for the whole keyboard, not for each word, so a mixed sentence means either switching in the middle or typing one language on the wrong layout.
The other way out: skip the letters
Many people stop switching and write their language on the US layout without its letters: cok guzel for çok güzel, dzien dobry for dzień dobry. Friends read it. It is not correct, it looks careless in work mail, and in some words it changes the meaning.
The built-in tools to type single letters without switching, such as press and hold on a Mac or US-International on Windows, are covered in typing accents on a Mac and typing accents on Windows. They save the switch, but each special letter is still a stop inside the word.
One layout, both languages
Typeet keeps one layout, US, and puts in your language's letters after each word. You type the words without their special letters. When you finish a word with a space or punctuation, Typeet decides which language the word is in and writes it:
- Toplanti bitti, deploy yarin. becomes Toplantı bitti, deploy yarın.
- Bu sabah PR actim, review bekliyorum. becomes Bu sabah PR açtım, review bekliyorum.
- see you at the meeting stays see you at the meeting.
It decides like this:
- It looks up the word in word frequency lists for your language and for English, and picks the most likely spelling.
- Words that exist in both languages follow the sentence. In Turkish, is stays is in an English sentence and becomes iş in bu bir is degil.
- Where two spellings are both common, the words around it decide: Spanish ¿que becomes ¿qué, Romanian nu cred ca becomes nu cred că.
- It leaves alone English words,
iPhone,camelCase,my_var,obj.dir, words with digits and English contractions such as don't.
So the sentence, not a shortcut, sets the language. How Typeet adds the missing letters has the full rules and the test numbers. In those tests, Typeet leaves 99.99% to 100% of English words alone, depending on the language.
When it picks the wrong one
It does, sometimes. Press Backspace right after a fix to undo it. Undo the same word ten times, and Typeet leaves that word alone from then on. Where a word has two real spellings, such as Turkish sik and sık, press Option + Backspace on a Mac, or Ctrl + Backspace on Windows and Linux, right after the word to swap it.
Typeet works in every app, on macOS, Windows and Linux. It is off in terminals and password managers by default. Everything runs on your computer, and nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. It supports 19 languages, each mixed with English: Turkish, Finnish, Estonian, Slovenian, Croatian, Danish, Czech, Swedish, Hungarian, Polish, Norwegian, French, Italian, Romanian, Slovak, Portuguese, Spanish, Lithuanian and German. For one language in detail, see the posts on Turkish, German and Polish.
Questions
How do I switch keyboard languages quickly?
On a Mac, press Control + Space or the globe key if it is set to change input sources. On Windows, press Windows + Space.
Can I type two languages without switching layouts?
Yes. With Typeet you keep the US layout and type your language without its special letters; Typeet adds them when you finish each word and leaves English words as they are.
Does Typeet change my English words?
Almost never. In tests on held-out sentences it leaves 99.99% to 100% of English words alone, depending on the language. If it does change one, Backspace right after undoes it.
Can I mix both languages in one sentence?
Yes. Typeet decides word by word and uses the sentence for words that exist in both languages, so Toplanti bitti, deploy yarin. becomes Toplantı bitti, deploy yarın.