Converting Extended Wylie Transliteration Scheme (ETWS) in an Excel file to Tibetan Machine Uni (TMU)

Below are steps to convert Tibetan in Extended Wylie Transliteration Scheme (ETWS), located within an Excel file, into Tibetan Machine Uni (TMU).

These instructions assume that you have a basic understanding of the following:

• Wylie Transliteration Scheme
• Tibetan
• A text editor such as Jedit
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel

Preparation

1. Read all the documentation on the THDL website
   • Font Converters
   • Tibetan Fonts
   • Extended Wylie Transliteration Scheme
   • Unicode
   • Tibetan Machine Unicode
2. Install the latest version of Jskad
   • The lastest version of Jskad and its installation instructions can be found on the Jskad page of the THDL website.
   • Only Jskad version 2005.07.13 3:30am and later has the ability to convert EWTS to TMU.
   • Read the Jskad help files regarding the conversion to Unicode.
3. Prepare the Tibetan.
   • Make sure that the Tibetan is in the standard ETWS.
   • Make sure that the stops in ETWS are formed correctly.
4. What are stops?
   • Stops in Tibetan and EWTS:
     • End sentences and paragraphs.
     • Are used after an entry in dictionaries, gazetteer, etc.
     • Are indicated by a frontslash ("/") in EWTS. This is known as a Shay (shad) in Tibetan.
     • For example, a dictionary entry for Tibet would look like: "bod/ (1)bod rigs 'dus sdod...".
   • Rules for when to use stops:
     • If the final consonant is "ng", then add a blank space (Tibetan: tsheg) and a frontslash (Tibetan: shad).
     • If the final consonant is some form of "ga", then add no punctation.
     • For everything else, add a frontslash.
   • Examples of stops:
     • "lung" at a stop would be written as "lung /".
     • "go" at a stop would be written as "go".
     • "bod" at a stop would be written as "bod/".

Converting EWTS to TMU

1. Open the Excel file that contains the ETWS records.
2. Select the ETWS records that you want to convert to TMU.
   • It is assumed that the records are lists of words.
   • Longer strings, such as sentences and paragraphs, should also work.
3. Export those records from Excel as a Unicode .txt document.
   • Excel will export the Unicode .txt document as UTF-16 and not UTF-8.
   • Jskad will not recognize UTF-16 and the document must be converted to UTF-8.
4. Open the Unicode .txt document into a text editor which can convert UTF-16 to UTF-8 (e.g. Jedit).
5. In the editor, convert the document to UTF-8.
   • If you're using Jedit, click Utilities, then click Buffer Options, and select UTF-8 in the Character Encoding dialog box.
   • Save the document.
6. Open Jskad
7. Click on Tools, and then click Launch Converter
8. In the converter menu, set the Type of Conversion dialog box to Wylie to Unicode (Text->Text).
9. Browse and select the file you want to convert
10. Type a name for the output file
    • The default name for the converted file will be the original file name plus "Uni_" as a prefix.
11. Finally, click Convert
    • Even if most of the file was converted successfully, there still might be errors which have to be fixed manually.
    • For example, the converter will not accept "sphyi" as useable ETWS. One must either enter an "a" after the prefix "s" ("saphyi") before converting, or fix it manually.
    • The converter can handle tabs and newlines.
    • Jskad will not display the converted file.
12. Open the converted file in Microsoft Word.
    • You must have the TMU font for the glyphs to display correctly in Word and Excel.
13. Select all the records.
    • Make sure that they are in TMU font.
    • If not, change the font to TMU.
14. Cut and paste the records into your original Excel file.

Comments and suggestions about the content of this page should be addressed to Michael Ryan.