How do you.........?

Question

I have two German friends. I email them quite often. I am learning German at school, I would like to speak to them in German in the email. How do you get umlauts ( is that the correct spelling?) above o's and u's etc. I would be pleased if you told me how to get French punctuation too!
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

ALT GR + a = á
ALT GR + e = é
ALT GR + i = í
ALT GR + o = ó
ALT GR + u = ú

CTRL + `, a = à
CTRL + `, e = è
CTRL + `, i = ì
CTRL + `, o = ò
CTRL + `, u = ù

CTRL + ^, a = â
CTRL + ^, e = ê
CTRL + ^, i = î
CTRL + ^, o = ô
CTRL + ^, u = û

CTRL + : , a = ä
CTRL + : , e = ë
CTRL + : , i = ï
CTRL + : , o = ö
CTRL + : , u = ü

Alternatively, you could use the windows character map (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories ->System Tools) or the symbol fuction in word (Insert -> Symbol)

Answer 2

It is a time-consuming process; one option is to use your character map; to access it, click Start>Run and type

charmap

Then you can find the character you want in the window. Make sure that the "Unicode" character set is selected in the advanced view, and it is set to Group by: All so that you will see all characters. You can also change your input language/keyboard type in the Windows Control Panel's Regional and Language Options. It is a slightly cumbersome process, and you need to know how to use the new keyboard layout as your American English keyboard is not labeled for German and you did not learn how to type on a German keyboard. Experiment if you want (I just managed to type some funny characters :) but you are most likely better off using the Character Map if it's only a rare thing. Best of luck to you ;) Merry Christmas and God bless you!

Answer 3

You could use an "online language translator".

Google for it. translate English German is an example.

Not 100%, but way easier than translating on the fly.