Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!ucsd!ucbvax!ucdavis!deneb.ucdavis.edu!kinmonthprep
From: kinmonthprep@deneb.ucdavis.edu (Earl H. Kinmonth)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: Chinese character input scheme -- call for references
Message-ID: <3413@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>
Date: 27 Dec 88 22:36:06 GMT
References: <789@wasatch.UUCP> <130001@hpiacla.HP.COM> <66384@ti-csl.CSNET>
Sender: uucp@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu
Reply-To: kinmonthprep@deneb.ucdavis.edu (Earl H. Kinmonth)
Organization: University of California, Davis
Lines: 43

In article <66384@ti-csl.CSNET> stafford@tilde.UUCP (Ron Stafford) writes:
>>
>>HP has offered full KANJI support for quite a number of years.  KANJI is used
>>in Japan and consist of approximately 30,000-50,000 ideograms.   Rather than

While over the course of all of Japanese and Chinese history there may
be a total of 50,000 characters and variations, only a small subset
have general use. Minimum literacy in Japan involves roughly 1800
characters. A college graduate might be able to recognize twice or
three times this number depending on field.

My NEC word processor offers around 7000 characters, many of which are
used only for place or family names. Many low end word processors offer
only half this number.

>>using a keystroke approach as given above (highly impractical), a very special
>>terminal is employed.  This terminal allows any of the 30K-50K ideograms to 

Sounds fishy to me. Most Japanese terminals have an ordinary
American-European keyboard. Entry is phonetic either through the
Japanese kana or romanization. The only larger devices I've seen have
used tablets with the characters in a grid. You punch them with a
stylus.

>>be entered with a single keystroke.  Note that each character in the KANJI 
>>languague is represented by 16-bits. 
>
>WOW!!!   HP has a keyboard with 50,000 keys.
>
>	How long does it take to learn touch typing on this monster?

You don't because it doesn't exist.

Earl H. Kinmonth, History Department, University of California,
Davis, California, 95616

916-752-1636 (voice, fax) /0776

Disclaimer: This is AmeriKa!  Who needs a disclaimer!

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