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How to Type in Other Languages: Latin Scripts with Diacritics

A guide to installing and typing in common non-Latin character scripts on home computers.

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International and Area Studies Library
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Latin Script

Latin Script (the script you are using while reading this guide) is the writing system for hundreds of languages on earth. However, many langauges use diacritics, accents, and additional symbols that cannot be accessed easily on a QWERTY keyboard.

For the languages you type in, it can be useful to memorize the ALT codes (Windows) or Option key combinations (Mac) for you common diacritics. You can also set up shortcut key combinations in Word. However, an easy and fast option is often using an online virtual keyboard to type, which has buttons to click for diacritics.