Scribe-iOS is a pack of iOS and iPadOS keyboards for language learners. Features include translation (beta), verb conjugation and word annotation that give users the tools needed to communicate with confidence.

Scribe is fully open-source and does not collect usage data or ask for system access. Feature data is sourced from Wikidata and stored in-app, meaning Scribe is a highly responsive experience that does not require an internet connection.

The contributing section has information for those interested, with the articles and presentations in featured by also being good resources for learning more about Scribe.

Also available on Android (WIP), Desktop (planned) and for the data processes see Scribe-Data.

• Preview Videos
• Contributing
• Setup
• Supported Languages
• Keyboard Features
  • Translation
  • Verb Conjugation
  • Noun Plurals
  • Word Annotation
  • Pronoun Selection
  • Base Functionality
• Language Practice
• Featured By

The following are the preview videos for the App Store:

Work that is in progress or could be implemented is tracked in the issues and projects. Please also see the contribution guidelines if you are interested in contributing to Scribe-iOS. Those interested can further check the -next release- and -priority- labels in the issues for those that are most important, as well as those marked good first issue that are tailored for first time contributors.

After your first few pull requests the team would be happy to discuss granting you further rights as a contributor, with a maintainer role then being possible after continued interest in the project. Scribe seeks to be an inclusive and supportive organization. We'd love to have you as a member!

Because Scribe is a keyboard extension, the Xcode debugger doesn't work as expected when debugging a regular app. Please see the note on debugging in CONTRIBUTING.md to learn how to get it working properly.

• Reporting bugs as they're found 🐞
• Working on new features ✨
• Localization for the app and App Store 🌐
• Documentation for onboarding and project cohesion 📝
• Adding language data to Scribe-Data via Wikidata! 🗃️
• Sharing Scribe-iOS with others! 🚀

Scribe does not accept direct edits to the grammar JSON files as they are sourced from Wikidata. Edits can be discussed and the Scribe-Data queries will be changed and ran before an update. If there is a problem with one of the files, then the fix should be made on Wikidata and not on Scribe. Feel free to let us know that edits have been made by opening a data issue or contacting us in the issues for Scribe-Data and we'll be happy to integrate them!

The designs for Scribe are made using Figma. The App Store videos, images and text can be found in the AppStore directory. Those with interest in contributing can open a design issue to make suggestions! Design related issues are marked with the design label.

Users access Scribe language keyboards through the following:

• Download Scribe from the App Store
• Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> Keyboards -> Add New Keyboard
• Select Scribe and choose from the available language keyboards
• When typing press 🌐 to select keyboards

Scribe's goal is functional, feature-rich keyboards for all languages. Check scribe_data/extract_transform for queries for currently supported languages and those that have substantial data on Wikidata. Also see the new keyboard label in the Issues for keyboards that are currently in progress or being discussed, and suggest a new keyboard if you don't see it being worked on already!

The following table shows the supported languages and the amount of data available for each on Wikidata:

* Given the current beta status where words are machine translated.

† Only for languages for which preposition annotation is needed.

Updates to the above data can be done using scribe_data/load/update_data.py.

Keyboard features are accessed via the Scribe key at the top left of any Scribe keyboard. Pressing this key gives the user three new selectable options: Translate, Conjugate and Plural in the keyboard's language. These keys allow for words to be queried and inserted into the text field followed by a space.

Current features include:

The beta Translate feature can translate single words or phrases from English into the language of the current keyboard when the return key is pressed.

Those interested in improving this feature can see the Translation project. The goal is that Translate will provide options for entered words where a user can use grammatical categories and synonyms to select the best option (see issue). Then the feature will expand to allow translations from system and chosen languages. More advanced methods will be planned once this feature is out of beta.

As of now translations are not widely available on Wikidata (see issue). The current functionality is thus based on 🤗 Transformers machine translations of words queried from Wikidata. The ultimate goal is for the translations and synonyms to all be directly queried.

With the Conjugate feature, a user is presented with the grammar charts for an entered verb instead of the keyboard. Pressing an example in the charts inserts the chosen conjugation into the text field.

The Plural feature allows a user to enter a noun and then insert its plural into the text field when the return key is pressed.

Scribe further annotates words in the command bar to help users understand the context of what they're typing. Annotations are displayed once a user has typed a given word and pressed space, after commands or by pressing the Scribe key while it is selected. The hope is that annotation will help a user remember grammar rules even when not using Scribe.

Scribe annotates nouns in the command bar according to the following conventions:

• Feminine: colored red 🟥 and marked with (F)
• Masculine: colored blue 🟦 and marked with (M)
• Common: colored purple 🟪 and marked with (C)
• Neutral: colored green 🟩 and marked with (N)
• Plural: colored orange 🟧 and marked with (PL)
• More than one: marked with all their forms

The above form abbreviations are translated into their equivalents in the keyboard's language.

Scribe also annotates the grammatical cases (accusative, dative, etc) of prepositions in the command bar if there is a relation in the given language.

Annotations for preposition cases can also be pressed to provide a conjugation display where the user can select the proper pronoun for the given case. The conjugation view will also provide appropriate interfaces to subset the available pronouns based on the desired subject and object combinations to help the user make the correct choice.

The goal is for Scribe to have all the functionality of system keyboards. See the Base Keyboard Features project if interested in helping.

A future feature of Scribe is language practice within the app itself. Scribe presents users with information that is directly relevant to their current struggles with a second language. This information can be saved in-app and used to create personalized lessons such as flashcards to reinforce the information that Scribe has provided. Work on this feature will be completed in the language practice project.

                   

Many thanks to all the Scribe-iOS contributors! 🚀