#prime input

苑安雄’s 析韻輸入法 (previously “切韻輸入法”), or in English, “PRime” (standing for ParseRime IME) is a pan-Chinese topolectal diaphonemic/Late Middle Chinese-based input method. Basing primarily on modern pronunciations and distinctions up to rime groups (攝), the input method can be learnt without having to memorize the intricate rimes of MC, relying more on the shared diaphonemic distinctions of the modern Chinese varieties.

Each character can be inputted with just a maximum of 4 keystrokes (initial + medial + tone + rime group), making it as fast as Cangjie but without the complexities of having to learn what character parts each key has to stand for, that gives Cangjie its steep learning curve to beginners. Those who are familiar with pan-topolectal Chinese distinctions/Late Middle Chinese would likely find themselves at relative ease when it comes to determining the input codes for any given character they know the pronunciations for.

The use of the dedicated shift key for voicing distinction meant that all the 36 LMC initials can be fit into the 26-key QWERTY keyboard, and there are some fuzzy matches allowed (e.g. where the modern varieties do not have a direct correspondence to the character’s LMC pronunciation), such as typing 非 for characters that traditionally have the 敷 initial.

The input method is currently available for users of RIME (Win/Mac) and TRIME (Android).

You can find more information about the IME (including a user guide and an input code dictionary) and keep up with potential updates on these links:

- PRime on the Chinese Forums - PRime on Sheik’s Cantonese Forums - PRime page on TCC (legacy version): An old post I had written about this IME, though some of the links are now dead. - PRime small guide on TCC

Information on an older version of PRime can be found on my blog here.

Update: the voicing (濁) key has been moved to the shift key since this post was made. In its place is the key for the 喻 initial.

A small guide to how the PRime input works. It has been described as having the benefits of cangjie (the speed) and phonetic input methods. (A version with italics will be posted on the TCC blog for ease of reading)

There are two "layers". Each letter key of the keyboard stands for an initial and a rime/tone/medial class. After the initial is inputted, the next key will correspond to the second layer, called the rime layer. For ease of explanation, the keys, instead of having their Chinese names, are now Romanized, with the exception of the voicing/yâng key. The voicing key in the initials layer voices the initial. For instance, as in the example, pressing h after the voicing key is held/pressed turns it into gh. After this, the final and tone could be inputted. Andrew Parke previously stated that they could be inputted in any order since they are in the same layer, although whether that has changed has yet to be confirmed. The medial class is either nothing, i, u or ü, as shown in red. If there is not a medial, the medial key is skipped. (Note that, the medial would have effects on the following vowel, like with i + a -> TCC ie).

Next, as the order Parke recommends, the tone would be inputted. If the tone is a level tone, no tone key needs to be pressed. The tone keys here are marked in purple. The entering tone key (shown here as ¬) turns the nasal codas into stops: m > p, n > t and ng > k. And finally is the final. Afterwards, the word(s) with the Middle Chinese pronunciation would appear.

p ph b m, f f(h) v vh, t th d n l, tr trh dr n(r), k kh g ng h gh, ds ts dz s z, shibilants collectively: <c ch j sh zh> or <cr crh (d)zr sr zr> 喻 uniformly as <y>, 日 r/gn, depending on the user’s choice. 開 vowels: a/o, ea/a, u, e, ang/ong, aeng, ung [convention 1/2] 齊 vowels: ie, iu, i(n) 合 vowels: u/w, ui/wi 撮 vowels: iun, iue, (iuo) This convention aims to omit diacritics, with <e> representing a schwa, but a Spanish e-like sound when after <i> or <iu>. e.g. 韻 is written as yiun