If you are actively learning German, then you need to be able to type in German. “Well, what's the problem? Is it that difficult? - you probably thought. Just take a look at your keyboard and try to find umlauts on it. Experiment and print Hühnervögel, Frühstück, Überläufer, Frühblüher, Kältemessgerät, Schönheitspflästerchen, Müllbehälter, Längsöffnung, Schöpfgefäß, Schürzenjager, Märchenerzähler, Maßstab. If you are an average resident of Russia or another Russian-speaking region, then in 99.9% of cases you will not find them there. So how do you type German words in such a situation? This article will be devoted to this.
HOW THE GERMAN KEYBOARD IS DIFFERENT
First, unlike the standard Latin alphabet There are so-called special characters in German. The most recognizable of them are umlauts(umlauts) or "mutations". Umlauts are vowels with two dots at the top. There are only three of them in German: Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü . In addition to umlauts, there is another special character - ß . This escet(German Eszett), also known as acute S (scharfes S).
Secondly, the characters on the German keyboard are not in the order in which you are used to.
If you compare the keyboard in the picture with yours, you will see that the keys Z And Y switched places. Many additional characters, for example, < , > , / and so on. located not on the right, but on top under the keys F1 — F9 because umlauts took their place.
Simply put, if you have never seen a German keyboard, then you will need some time to get used to it.
HOW TO PRINT GERMAN CHARACTERS ON A RUSSIAN KEYBOARD
If you urgently need to write something in German, but there is no German keyboard at hand, then there is no need to despair. There are several ways to solve this problem.
Replace the missing character with a combination of letters.
Most of the special characters in the German language can be replaced with a combination of regular characters. This is convenient because you can type German words without having a German keyboard. To type an umlaut, you just need to write the main vowel from which it is formed and add a letter after it e, For example:
- Ä–AE
- Ö - OU
- Ü – UE
As you may have noticed, there is no special combination for ß. Sometimes it is replaced with doubles (ss), but this does not always follow the German spelling rules. So what to do? Method #2 comes to the rescue.
Copy the desired character from the Internet.
You don't have to go far. Just highlight the desired character ( Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü, ß), and paste it into your text. The disadvantage of this method is that you need to constantly keep the site with the right symbols at hand. Yes, and typing quickly will not work, because every half a word you will have to interrupt and copy another umlaut or escet again.
Install the German language on your computer.
Everything is very simple here. You need to go to the language settings of your operating system and download the German language. It will take only a few minutes, after which you can turn on the German layout with the usual combination alt + Shift or Win+ space(Windows 10).
Attentive readers will immediately remember that the arrangement of characters on the German keyboard is different from what we are used to. If you choose this method, then you will have to learn the location of all the characters on the keyboard by heart!
Just add Christoph as a friend on Facebook and after a month of active communication you will feel like a fish in water.
Even if you still speak German poorly, it's okay, because Christoph knows Russian very well. Add Christoph as a friend and chat in German in your spare time.
CHRISTOPH DEININGER
German teacher from Germany
Commenting...
I offer my solution :)
First of all, I was annoyed by a large number of layouts. I'm so used to the fact that alt + shift switches one layout to another, and when the third one intervenes, it's unusual, and it's not clear which layout you will get to.
So. There is a wonderful program "Type It Easy". I have been using it for a very long time. I insert all umlauts by pressing alt + the letter with which the umlaut is needed. For example alt+o gives ö. Also with the letter ß. And if you add a shift at the same time, there will be a capital letter.
The program practically does not consume memory and is very convenient. This is only a small part of its capabilities. In general, I recommend :)
In Germany, I need all three layouts, when switching, in principle, I see which language is included. Yes, I'm already used to it.
But for Spanish, this program will certainly come in handy :)
Artem says...Well, in general, yes, it's a matter of habit. You can get used to everything.
I also use the program "Punto Switcher" from Yandex, it automatically switches the layout. I'm so used to this convenience that I start to get annoyed when the layout does not change itself on other people's computers :)
Oh, so you also know Spanish? :)
comments...I already wanted to write an article, but .. my program does not work as it should. You may need to completely reboot. Tomorrow I will try.
I'm just learning Spanish, somewhere at the very beginning :)
Artem says...Is Spanish your third language? Or do you still know English? :)
Yes, in Type it easy you need to select the "Pseudo German" preset.
comments...Artyom, how about talking to "you"? I've lost the habit of "you" in Germany :)
Tried again today, nothing works. Got your / your comment, looked, I don't have any settings.
I went to the program website again, went to the developer's blog and saw that his Russian version of the program is much newer and there is still an alpha version (I haven't downloaded it yet). But even in the latest stable version, I did not find switching between languages. Hmmm... It will be necessary to write to the developer.
About my languages
* Russian - native.
* English - the first foreign language, successfully pushed aside by German in third place
* German is a second foreign language, I started learning before my trip to Germany and I am still learning :)
* Spanish - so, a hobby that appeared a year ago to stretch your brain a little
* Uzbek - there were only fives at school, now I don’t remember almost anything
That's basically it :)
comments...Artyom, installed the 2nd version, everything works. I will write an article. If you / you have a blog / project on the Internet, send (those) a link - I will definitely put it :)
german letters with dots on top are of great importance for the whole language as a whole. A large number of words have them in their composition, and therefore you need to know how and where to use them.
What is an umlaut
Translated from german word"umlaut" means "mutation". In principle, this definition can convey the meaning of the term. Umlaut is a sign indicating a phonetic change in articulation, as well as in the timbre of vowels. These include the letters “a”, “o”, and “u”. In writing, they look like this: ä, ö, ü. If we translate German letters with dots on top in transcription, we get the following combinations: ä = ae; ö = oe; ü = ue. Depending on which word a particular letter is used in, the pronunciation will also differ. However, not much. Mostly “ä” is pronounced close to “e”, “ö” - like “ё”, and “ü” - like “yu”.
Typing on the keyboard
Being engaged in the study of the German language and corresponding with someone from the native inhabitants of Germany, there is a need to type the notorious umlauts on the keyboard. And the letter “escet” (looks like the usual “beta” - ß) as well. Where can I find German letters with dots on top of the keyboard? This question worries many, but here it is necessary not only to change the settings and layout parameters. You will also need to purchase an appropriate keyboard - for convenience. If this is not possible, then you can simply replace the letters with the combinations that were mentioned earlier - ue, ae, oe. And "escet" usually means the same as double "s". Such a spelling will not be considered a mistake, any German will be able to understand such a word (for example, football: “Fußball” = “Fussball”).
Set Tricks
However, if such a spelling “cuts the eyes” of a person, or he simply loves literacy and does not want to appear in front of the Germans as a dunno, then there is a little secret that can be used when typing a message or text. You can simply enter in the search bar of any browser a query called “ german alphabet” and click on search. After that, what you need will appear to your eyes. That is, the alphabet. You need to open it and copy the German letters with dots on top. In order not to do this every time, you can save them either in a separate file or as a bookmark. But it is better, of course, to install the German layout. This is not so difficult to do, you just need to go to the control panel through the “Start”, then find the “language and regional standards” item and add it to the settings through the installed services required language. Usually, on the Russian keyboard, the letter “Ä” stands in place of “E”, “Ö” - in the same place as “Ж”, “Ü” - “X”, and “beta” (escet) is transferred to the “dash” key. Over time, you can get used to this layout, especially if you often use umlauts.
Meaning
And, finally, about the role played by German letters with dots on top. Uppercase and lowercase umlauts are very important. The meaning of the word depends on whether a letter with or without a dot is placed in the word. A parallel can be drawn between German umlauts and Russian stress. So, for example, only one intonation turns us into an antique castle. And in German, two dots can turn “already” into “beautiful.” We are talking about the word “sch(o/ö)n”. “Schon” is translated as “already” (“already working” - “arbeite schon”), and “schön” - as “beautiful” (“Dubist sehr schön” - “you are very beautiful”). It is also important not only to write such words correctly, but also to pronounce them. For better assimilation of such specific material, it is recommended to listen to audio recordings if it is not possible to go to the teacher on German. Of course, you can also read words from transcriptions, but often students begin to pronounce letters with umlauts too clearly. That is, these are pronounced “yo”, “yu” and a characteristic “e”. It should not be so, such sounds are pronounced delicately and softly. Today there are a huge number of video and audio lessons. After several training sessions on pronunciation, the result will already be heard.
