If you’re using Ubuntu, you may want to add a keyboard input language so that you can type in your native language without having to use the mouse. This is easy to do and there are a number of options available. To add a keyboard input language, open the System Settings application and click on Keyboard. On the Keyboard settings screen, click on Add an input method… and select the appropriate language from the list. Once you’ve added a new keyboard input language, you’ll need to configure it so that it works with Ubuntu. To do this, open the System Settings application again and click on Language & Region. On the Language & Region settings screen, under Input Methods, select your new keyboard input language from the list and click on Configure… . You’ll then need to set up your keyboard layout so that it corresponds with the configuration options that you’ve chosen. To do this, under Keyboards & Languages in the Language & Region settings screen, select your new keyboard input language from the list and click on Add an additional keyboard layout… . You’ll then be able to choose between a number of different layouts including American English (US), British English (UK), Canadian French (CA), German (DE), Italian (IT), Spanish (ES), Swedish (SE) and Japanese (JP). ..
Add a Keyboard Language
To add a keyboard language, open the System menu, select Preferences, and then select Keyboard.
In the Keyboard Preferences dialog, select the Layouts tab, and click Add.
You can select a country and then choose an language and keyboard variant. Note that some countries, such as the United States, may show several languages. Once you’ve made your selection, you can preview it on the sample keyboard displayed below the menu.
Alternately, on the second tab, select a language and then choose a variant. Click Add when you’ve made your selection.
Now you’ll notice that there are two languages listed in the Keyboard Preferences, and they’re both ready to use immediately. You can add more if you wish, or close the dialog.
Switch Between Languages
When you have multiple input languages installed, you’ll notice a new icon in your system tray on the top right. It will show the abbreviation of the country and/or language name that is currently selected. Click the icon to change the language.
Right-click the dialog to view available languages (listed under Groups), open the Keyboard Preferences dialog again, or show the current layout.
If you select Show Current Layout you’ll see a window with the keyboard preview we saw previously when setting the keyboard layout. You can even print this layout preview out to help you remember a layout if you wish.
Change Keyboard Shortcuts to Switch Languages
By default, you can switch input languages in Ubuntu from the keyboard by pressing both Alt keys together. Many users are already used to the default Alt+Switch combination to switch input languages in Windows, and we can add that in Ubuntu. Open the keyboard preferences dialog, select the Layout tab, and click Options.
Click the plus sign beside Key(s) to change layout, and select Alt+Shift. Click Close, and you can now use this familiar shortcut to switch input languages.
The layout options dialog offers many more neat keyboard shortcuts and options. One especially neat option was the option to use a keyboard led to show when we’re using the alternate keyboard layout. We selected the ScrollLock light since it’s hardly used today, and now it lights up when we’re using our other input language.
Conclusion
Whether you regularly type in multiple languages or only need to enter an occasional character from an alternate keyboard layout, Ubuntu’s keyboard settings make it easy to make your keyboard work the way you want. And since you can even preview and print a keyboard layout, you can even remember an alternate keyboard’s layout if it’s not printed on your keyboard.
Windows users, you’re not left behind, either. Check out our tutorial on how to Add keyboard languages to XP, Vista, and Windows 7.
