The keys in Malay
The keys are QWERTY on Flikzi’s honeycomb: hexagons with no gaps between them, in rows of 10, 9 and 7, each row half a key further in. They are the same keys in every Latin-script language.
The three rows
| Row | Keys, and what a flick down types |
|---|---|
| Top | q1w2e3r4t5y6u7i8o9p0 |
| Middle | a@s#d$f_g&h-j+k(l) |
| Bottom | z*x"c'v:b/n!m? |
A tap types the letter. A flick up types its capital, so there is no shift key. A flick down types the digit or mark shown under it. ?123 and ☺ are half keys at the two ends of the middle row. The comma is left of the bottom row; right of it are the full stop and enter. The space bar is below: swipe left on it to delete. Every gesture.
Typing Malay on Flikzi
- Autocorrect that allows for a neighbouring key, a missed letter, an extra tap and swapped letters
- The word you are typing, and words that finish it, in the strip above the keys
- Next-word predictions after each space
- A flick up for a capital, a flick down for the digit or mark under the letter
- Your own words and phrases, learned on your phone
You don’t have to hit each key exactly: Flikzi reads where every tap landed and allows for a neighbouring key, a missed letter, an extra tap or two letters swapped. The word it will put in leads the strip above the keys, and space or a full stop puts it in.
Many people mix Malay and English in one message. With Flikzi Pro you can switch English on as well. Autocorrect and suggestions then draw on both word lists, the language you are typing in first; flick up on the left of the space bar to change the language you are typing in.
The Malay list is smaller, so more of your words will be new to Flikzi, and autocorrect can change one into a word it knows. Swipe left on the space bar straight away and your own letters come back; they are not corrected again, and Flikzi learns the word on your phone.
With Flikzi Pro, the mic at the right end of the strip types by voice in Malay, when the speech recogniser on your phone has that language. Voice typing.
Malay with your other languages
A phone already set to Malay starts with it on. Otherwise pick Malay in Flikzi’s settings, under Language: the free version types one language, and Malay can be it. With Flikzi Pro, open Several languages to switch on as many as you use, then flick up on the left of the space bar to move to the next one, or flick up and hold for a picker. The space bar shows Bahasa Melayu while you type Malay, and the picker lists it as MS.
Often typed with Malay: Indonesian, English, Chinese. All 23 languages.
Where the words come from
The word list and next-word data are counted from the Tatoeba sentence collection (CC BY 2.0 FR) and text from the Leipzig Corpora Collection (CC BY 4.0), because the Android Open Source Project’s dictionaries have no list for this language. It all ships inside the app and runs on your phone, so nothing you type is sent anywhere. Open-source licences.
Questions
Is Flikzi’s Malay keyboard free?
Yes, if Malay is the language you type: the free version of Flikzi types one language of your choice, with every flick on the letters and the space bar. Typing Malay alongside other languages, and switching between them with a flick, needs Flikzi Pro, a one-time purchase of US$4.99 before tax. Every new install gets 14 days of Pro free.
Is Malay as well covered as English?
Not quite. The Malay word list is smaller and comes from sentence collections and community text, so more of your words will be new to Flikzi at first. It learns them on your phone as you type.
Does Flikzi send what I type in Malay anywhere?
No. The dictionary and the engine are inside the app, and nothing you type leaves your phone. Flikzi has no internet permission, so it cannot send anything. It asks for your contacts or the microphone only if you turn on contacts’ email addresses or voice typing, and it works without them.