Typing Accents | drkellyfdavidson

How do I type accents?

Learning how to type accents is very important for learning a foreign language, whether you are in a face-to-face or online course. Before beginning any exam, it is your responsibility to find out how to type accents for any assignment, especially for online exams through BlazeVIEW or GoVIEW.

Why? The accents serve as an important part of linguistic structures in French, so it is absolutely necessary that they are used correctly.

For instance:

ou=or

où=where

à=at, to, in

a=the third person singular conjguation of the verb avoir

There are many, many guides on the internet that can help you determine how to type the accents based on your operating system. If you are unsure, perhaps the first thing to do would be to contact the BlazeVIEW support team. Because they know the BlazeVIEW system, they might be able to quickly establish how to type accents with your operating system.

There is an unmonitored discussion board in our BlazeVIEW course that gives you the space to practice typing accents.

When I can, I give partial credit for words spelled incorrectly due to accents or agreement.

Below are guides for the 3 most prevalent systems. BE CAREFUL! Yours might not be represented here!

For Apple/Macs:

Hold down the OPTION key while pressing the key(\(\(\(s) in bold below:

Accent aigu (é): hold OPTION while presing e ...then press e again

Accent grave (à, è, ù): hold OPTION while pressing the accent key at the top right ` ...then press your letter (a, e, u)

Cedille (ç): hold OPTION while pressing c

Circonflexe (â, ê, î, ô, û): hold OPTION key while pressing i...then press your letter (a, e, i, o, u)

Tréma (ë, ï, ü): hold OPTION key while pressing u ...then press your letter (e, i, u)

oe ligature (œ): hold OPTION key while pressing q

**In the instructions above, "then" means to release the option key and the first key before typing the second.**

For Windows/PC Desktop Computers (not laptops):

For most Windows desktop computers, you can type accented letters using the ALT key + a certain 3 or 4 digit code. You will see the letter when they keys are released.

For example: to get à (a with accent grave): hold the ALT key while typing 133 on your keypad.

**Note: these codes only work with the numbers on the keypad at the left of your screen**

a with accent grave
à ALT + 133

a with circumflex
   â  ALT + 131

a with tréma
   ä  ALT + 132

a e ligature
   æ  ALT + 145

c with cedilla
   ç  ALT + 135

e with accent aigu
   é  ALT + 130

e with accent grave
   è  ALT + 138

e with circumflex
   ê  ALT + 136

e with tréma
   ë  ALT + 137

i with circumflex
   î  ALT + 140

i with tréma
   ï  ALT + 139

o with circumflex
   ô  ALT + 147

oe ligature
   œ  ALT + 0156

u with grave accent
   ù  ALT + 151

u with circumflex
   û  ALT + 150

u with tréma
   ü  ALT + 129

For Windows Laptops:

Usually, those with Windows Laptops will need to use the Function key to change a section of their keyboard the numberpad (like the desktop computer would have).

Fn button (between Ctrl and Alt) + F11 activivates the "numbers pad."

The numbers themselves are found on the keys m(0) j, k, l (1-3) u, i, o (4-6) and 7, 8, 9 (7-9).

You can then use the codes in the list above. You may or may not have to press the FN key along with the ALT key while doing the codes.

Some laptops have a "number lock" Function key that can make the process a little easier.

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A last minute solution may be to open Microsoft Word, type the letter or use the "Symbols" menu, then copy/paste it to the BlazeVIEW document.

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One method if your Windows version allows keyboard switching (plus you are very adventurous AND you have time to practice):

Go to Start > Control Panel > Regional and linguistic options.

Click on the tab Languages and the button Details.

In the tab Settings, click on the button Add, choose French and French.

Click on OK every time you are asked for it.

Now in the system tray, you should have a new icon allowing you to switch your keyboard from English to French.

If you do this, you can find the accents where you usually have numbers:

1=&
2=é
3="
4='
5=(
6=-
7=è
8=_
9=ç
0=à
[=^ (or ¨ with shift)
'=ù

Faites attention! The French keyboard is VERY different from the US keyboard...so you will want to practice using this AND how you should switch back to the American one after typing accents...