Big trouble with Japanese/English keyboard

Steffen · (#1 (**permalink**))

I have just bought a "Japanese Hiragana Keyboard" from Datacal.com.
The keys are provided with both latin and hiragana characters.
The problem is: I can only type katakana characters. How do I get hiragana characters?
Kind regards
Steffen

OzukakiBurasuki · (#2 (**permalink**))

You do realize that you don't have to buy a Japanese input keyboard, right? Even a lot of people in Japan use a romaji keyboard. (so I've heard >>)

To use hiragana and katakana, I would think all you need to do is get an IME from the internet, for free from the microsoft corporation, and use ALT + ` and ALT + SHIFT to use Japanese chat.

Sorry if this was off-topic. >>

jesselt · (#3 (**permalink**))

http://www.japanforum.com/forum/japa...s-your-pc.html

No reason to have a keyboard with Kana on it at all.

DanielSheen · (#4 (**permalink**))

You didn't need the keyboard. Its what is installed on your computer. Key board just says "this key was pushed" sends that to computer and computer says "this key does this thing".

KyleGoetz · (#5 (**permalink**))

To be fair, all of you dumping on OP, there are keys on a Japanese keyboard that do not exist on a US keyboard, and many keys are in different places. If you plan to visit/live in Japan, it couldn't hurt to learn where all the keys are located.

It took me about a month living there before I figured out how to type certain things like quotation marks!

One of the keys switches between hiragana and katakana, IIRC.

Edit: Yup: File:MacBookProJISKeyboard-1.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See the 英数 and the カナ／かな keys. Also notice how many symbols are in a different place.

Something like 90% of typists are hunt-and-peck typists, so remapping keys is not quite useful for them.

Steffen · (#6 (**permalink**))

NB! I know how to use Microsoft IME!
"Unfortunately" I have a keyboard with BOTH English and Japanese characters. For that reason I want to use is because I have it.
Do I need a special driver for it?
If there exist a website where I can read (in english) how to enter hiragana and kanji on it, it would make me so glad if I could get a link to it.
Kind regards
Steffen

Nyororin · (#7 (**permalink**))

There are different keys, but I have never met someone in real life who has actually made use of the kana on the keys. Everyone I have ever seen typing uses the romaji input method.

I find it sort of interesting that it seems to be people who aren`t from Japan who use the kana key mappings the most - not knowing how everyone usually types in Japan.

sarasi · (#8 (**permalink**))

I agree with Nyororin- pretty much everyone in Japan uses romaji input when typing on a computer- they start learning how to do it from elementary school according to a junior high school-age friend of mine.

KyleGoetz · (#9 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steffen

Do I need a special driver for it?

You haven't plugged it in yet to see? Just plug it in.