Old English Keyboard Help

Old English input

Old English drills use your standard keyboard with lightweight prefix shortcuts for the special Germanic letters (æ, þ, ð, and ǫ). You do not need to install or switch operating-system keyboard layouts.

Direct Unicode characters and pasted text pass through untouched.

Special letter shortcuts

To enter a special letter, type a semicolon ; followed by the base letter:

Shift with the letter gives the capital form: ;A produces Æ, ;T produces Þ, and ;D produces Ð.

Typing sequence

The prefix ; is typed before the letter:

• To type þæt: type ;t then ;a then t.
• To type stan: type stan.
• To type wið: type wi;d.
• To type Eadweard: type Eadweard.
• To type a literal semicolon ;: type ;; (or ; followed by space).

Editing and Backspace

The prefix ; appears immediately in the text area. If you press Backspace, it deletes the ; normally. There is no hidden modal state or dead-key buffer to cancel or get stuck in.

Native keyboards and paste

• Direct Unicode: If you use an Icelandic, Old English, or international layout, typing æ, þ, or ð directly works natively.
• Paste: Pasting text containing Old English characters works without alteration.

Spelling and grading policy

• Thorn and Eth are interchangeable: In Old English manuscripts and in this grader, þ and ð are treated as equivalent. Typing þæt or ðæt, wiþ or wið, will both be graded as correct.
• Wynn: The archaic runic letter wynn (ƿ / Ƿ) is normalized to w / W.

Keyboard flow in a drill

Each drill is one writing block: type each paradigm horizontally on ONE line, forms left to right separated by spaces, in the order shown above the block.

• Enter: moves to the next line (the next model paradigm of the set).
• Ctrl+Enter (or the Check button): checks the entire set at once.
• After a perfect repetition, Enter clears the block and starts the next repetition.
• Semicolons (;) or spaces may separate individual forms on a line.