Writing in French on Your Computer

Writing in French on Your Computer
Comment écrire en français sur un clavier anglais? (How do we write in French on an English
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keyboard?)
The answer is: quite simply! You can do this in a number of ways, and I favour Option 1 – it’s
straightforward, and you pick up the combinations very quickly. You simply have to use the ALT
key plus a series of numbers on your number pad – remember to activate your number pad
first – you can do this by clicking on the ‘num lock’ key (usually in the top left-hand corner of
your keyboard’s number pad).
Option 1
lettre
ALT + combinaison
lettre
ALT + combinaison
exemple
â
ALT + 131
Â
ALT + 0194
Pâques
à
ALT + 133
À
ALT + 0192
à la fois
ç
ALT + 135
Ç
ALT + 128
français
é
ALT + 130
É
ALT + 144
j’ai regardé
ê
ALT + 136
Ê
ALT + 0202
être
ë
ALT + 137
Ë
ALT + 0203
Noël
è
ALT + 138
È
ALT + 0200
les elèves
î
ALT + 140
Î
ALT + 0206
s’il te plaît
œ
ALT + 145
ô
ALT + 147
Ô
ALT + 0212
l’hôtel
û
ALT + 150
Û
ALT + 0219
août
ù
ALT + 151
Ù
ALT + 0217
où?
Worksheet 22.1
la sœur
French in the Primary Classroom © Angela McLachlan 2008
Option 2
Use the ‘insert symbol’ function in Word. Click on ‘insert’ in the top left-hand corner of your
screen and scroll down to ‘symbol’. Click on ‘symbol’ then scroll through the various scripts and
symbols until you find the right one, click on it, then click on ‘insert’ on the symbol box. This is
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OK, but you can’t use it on Web pages, and it can be a bit time-consuming.
Source: Microsoft XP, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Word, ‘insert symbol’
Option 3
Change your keyboard status from English (EN) to French – there are various ways of doing this
according to the version of Windows you have – the best way to find out how to change your
keyboard status in this way is to access Office online help. Check your keyboard language by
looking at the bottom right-hand corner of your screen – ‘EN’ stands for English. Right-click on
the ‘EN’ and you’ll get a list of language options – choose French. Remember that if you decide
to change your keyboard, the next time you are writing a document in English, you’ll have to
change it back.
Worksheet 22.2
French in the Primary Classroom © Angela McLachlan 2008