Pan-Siouan Keyboard

About the Pan-Siouan Keyboard

The Pan-Siouan keyboard is a comprehensive typing solution designed to support all Siouan languages and their various orthographic systems. Whether you’re working with historical documents, contemporary texts, or linguistic research, this keyboard provides all the special characters and diacritical marks needed for accurate Siouan language typing.

Key Features

Multi-lingual Design: The keyboard maintains all standard A–Z keys while mapping special characters to punctuation keys, allowing you to seamlessly type in both English and your Siouan language without switching keyboard layouts.

Comprehensive Character Support: Includes all characters necessary for typing any Siouan language, accommodating the various practical orthographies that have developed over the years as well as systems used by linguists.

Unicode Compatible: Designed to work with Unicode fonts, ensuring proper display and compatibility with modern software applications.

Intuitive Layout: Accents and diacritical marks are typed after the base letter, following natural typing patterns.

Supported Languages

The Pan-Siouan keyboard supports all Siouan languages, including but not limited to:

  • Apsáaloke (Crow)
  • Osage (LaFlesche system)
  • Ponca (LaFlesche system)
  • Omaha (LaFlesche system)
  • And many other Siouan languages

Downloads

Windows Users

MSV_PanSiouanDownload
  • Compatibility: Windows XP and later
  • Installation: Automatic setup included

Mac Users

Mac_SiouanDownload
  • Compatibility: Mac OS X and later
  • Format: .keylayout or .bundle format

Installation Instructions

Windows Installation
  1. Download the Windows keyboard file from the download section above
  2. Extract the zip file to a location you can remember (like your Desktop)
  3. Navigate to the extracted folder and find your language’s keyboard layout sub-folder
  4. Run Setup: Double-click the “Setup” file to automatically install the keyboard
  5. Wait a few seconds for installation to complete
  6. Restart your computer if prompted (especially important for Windows 8 and later)
  7. Access the keyboard: Look for the keyboard icon in your system tray (bottom right of screen)
  8. Switch keyboards: Click the keyboard icon to select the Pan-Siouan layout from the list

Note: The keyboard may be listed under its Native name, English name, or French name in your keyboard selection menu.

Mac Installation
  1. Download the Mac keyboard file from the download section above
  2. Extract the file (Safari unzips automatically; otherwise double-click the zip file)
  3. Locate the file: The keyboard will have a .keylayout or .bundle extension
  4. Copy to system folder:
    • Open Finder and press Shift-Command-C to open your Computer folder
    • Navigate to Macintosh HD > Library > Keyboard Layouts
    • Drag the keyboard file into the Keyboard Layouts folder
  5. Restart your computer or log off and log back in
  6. Activate the keyboard: For Mac OS 10.9.1 (Mavericks) and later:
    • Open System Preferences > Language & RegionClick “Keyboard Preferences” at the bottomClick the “Input Sources” tabClick the “+” button to add a keyboard layoutSelect “Others” in the left paneFind and select the Pan-Siouan keyboard, then click “Add”
  7. Access the keyboard: Click the flag icon in your menu bar to switch to the Pan-Siouan layout
Using the Pan-Siouan Keyboard