Google ta3reeb

About ta3reeb

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I use ta3reeb to type in Arabic?
2. How do I correct and edit words?
3. How do I use the on-screen Arabic keyboard?
4. Does my system support ta3reeb?
5. Will transliteration work even without internet connectivity?
6. Which other languages do you support?
7. How can I add Google ta3reeb to my website?
8. How can I add Google ta3reeb to Google Custom Search?
9. How can I use Google ta3reeb on any website?
10. Is ta3reeb available in other Google services?
11. I have suggestions for product improvements. How do I let you know?

Google ta3reeb (Arabic transliteration) offers an option for converting Roman characters to Arabic characters. This lets you type Arabic words phonetically in English script and still have them appear correctly in Arabic. Note that this is not the same as translation -- it is the sound of the words that are converted from one alphabet to the other, not their meaning. For example, typing "ta3reeb" transliterates into Arabic as: "تعريب".

Because of the nature of this system, there is no single "correct" way to write an Arabic character (e.g., "ج" might be transliterated as "j" or "g"). Normally, Arabic letters are represented by a letter (or a combination of letters) that are phonetically equivalent (or nearly equivalent) in English. For example, "ب" can be well represented as "b", "ت" as "t", "ث" as "th", and some may represent "ط" as "t". Arabic letters that do not have a close phonetic approximate in the Latin alphabet are often represented using numerals, or numerals followed by an apostrophe(`) or a single quote ('). These numerals are chosen so that they graphically approximate the corresponding Arabic letters (e.g., "ع" is represented using the numeral "3"). The following table summarizes those special numerals:

1. How do I use ta3reeb to type in Arabic?

The transliteration feature is controlled by the button at the top right corner of the text box.

This button toggles the transliteration feature on and off. (You can also use Ctrl-G as a shortcut.) When it is on, it affects the text box contents. The letters of a word will appear as you type them until you reach the end of the word. As soon as you type a space or a punctuation mark (other than the ones used for Arabic, e.g., the single quote), the letters will be converted to Arabic characters, like this:

An exception is when you type a space after the definite article ("al", "el", or "il") meaning the Arabic "ال". The space is converted to a hyphen (-), and you may continue typing in order to get a definitive word. For example, typing "al ta3reeb" will show up on the screen as: "al-ta3reeb", and typing a space now will transilterate into Arabic as: "التعريب".

Google ta3reeb will attempt to match the sounds of the letters as accurately as possible between the two alphabets. However, if you find that it is incorrect, you can fix it.

2. How do I correct and edit words?

When you find a word you want to change, just click on it once, using the left mouse button. This displays a short menu of alternate spellings, as well as an option to switch back to the original Roman characters you typed, or to edit the word further.

If you choose the "Edit..." option, you'll see the word in an Edit mode that allows you to manually edit the word by typing from your keyboard. Type a space or press the Enter key to end the word and go back to normal typing mode.

3. How do I use the on-screen Arabic keyboard?

If you are not familiar with typing on an Arabic keyboard, click the keyboard icon to the left of the word you're editing. A full on-screen Arabic keyboard comes up, and you can simply click the letters you want to insert them into your text.

Type a space or the Enter key to end the word and go back to normal typing mode, or just click the "X" icon on the Arabic keyboard to remove it.

4. Does my system support ta3reeb?

Google ta3reeb is only supported in Internet Explorer versions 6.0 and higher on Windows (preferably Windows XP), and Firefox 1.5 and higher on Windows and Linux.

5. Will transliteration work even without internet connectivity?

Transliteration requires a live internet connection, as all the transliteration is done on Google's servers and sent back to your browser while you continue typing. If you see a message saying that the transliteration service is unavailable, check your internet connection.

6. Which other languages do you support?

Transliteration is also available in Indic languages.

7. How can I add Google ta3reeb to my website?

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/jsapi"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
// Load the Google Transliteration API
google.load("elements", "1", {packages: "transliteration"});

function onLoad() {
  var options = {
    sourceLanguage: google.elements.transliteration.LanguageCode.ENGLISH,
    destinationLanguage: [google.elements.transliteration.LanguageCode.ARABIC],
    shortcutKey: 'ctrl+g',
    transliterationEnabled: true
  };
  // Create an instance on TransliterationControl with the required options.
  var control = new google.elements.transliteration.TransliterationControl(options);

  // Enable transliteration in the textfields with the given ids. You can add multiple ids separated by ','
  var ids = [ "transl1" ];
  control.makeTransliteratable(ids);

  // Show the transliteration control which can be used to toggle between English and Arabic.
  control.showControl('translControl');
}
google.setOnLoadCallback(onLoad);
</script>
          

11. I have suggestions for product improvements. How do I let you know?

To share your thoughts with us, please post them to the discussion group. Google ta3reeb is part of Google Arabic Labs, so we're still in the early stages of development. Your feedback is important and will help us improve the product. You can send your comments to arabiclabs+ta3reeb@google.com.