An apparatus and method for
processing text or character data are disclosed. A
text processing system receives a character input string and determines whether to apply character
processing. A non-English language such as Italian can be entered into a
processing system such as a computer using a standard English based keyboard such that additional keys for providing accents or other grammatical and
punctuation symbols or characters not existing in English are not required. In one mode, text is automatically accented or punctuated without requiring user intervention. In another mode, a user is provided with a
list of accent or
punctuation choices so that the user may select the optimum accent or
punctuation.
Text processing of an input may be activated by a text sequence including a possible
vowel accent or apostrophe error, and may continue as an
input method editor loop in response to repeated actuations of the key associated with the first activation event. When an activator event input is detected, a rules based
system is utilized to select a correctly accented and punctuated character. A
list of alternative accents and punctuations is optionally displayed, and a user may toggle through the
list using the activator event to select a desired character. The display provides information for a level of certainty of a selected character or word.