Now You Can Easily Type The Lakota Language!

LaserLakota provides professional-quality TrueType® and Type 1 (PostScript®-format) fonts supporting the Lakota (or Lakota Sioux) language, including the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota dialects, plus English, French, and Spanish. The Lakota People (also known as the Teton or Titunwan) speak the Lakota dialect (also spelled Lakhota). The Lakota include the Oglala, Sicangu or Brulé, Hunkpapa, Miniconjous, Hohwoju, Sihasapa or Blackfoot, O'ohunumpa or Oohenupa (also known as Two Kettle), and Itazipco or Itazipacola (also known as Sans Arc). The Dakota People (also known as the Santee) speak the Dakota dialect (also spelled Dakhota). The Dakota include the Mdewakantunwan or Mdewakantonwon, Wahpetunwan or Wahpeton, Wahpekute and Sisitunwan or Sisseton. The Nakota People (also known as the Yankton and Yanktonai) speak the Nakota dialect (also spelled Nakoda and Nakhota). The Nakota include the Ihanktunwani (also known as the Yanton), and in Canada, the Stoney and Assiniboine. The Sioux name for themselves is Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires). (These spellings are commonly-used, but there are many different spellings used for the Lakota language and tribal names. You may be familiar with different spellings.)

The LaserLakota fonts support several popular Lakota orthographies, including the Albert White Hat, Sr., Eugene Beuchel, David Little Elk, and Paul Manhart orthographies.

LaserLakota also includes keyboard resources for easy input of all characters in the Lakota language using deadkey input for the accented letters. Typing order is easy to learn since the keyboard layout is based on the US keyboard and the accents are always typed using the same keys, no matter which letter they modify. Nasal hooks are added to letters as overstriking diacritics, typed after the letter. The Windows and Macintosh fonts are ASCII-compatible so files may be transferred back and forth between Windows and Macintosh computers as plain text.

See below for details on LaserLakota for Windows, LaserLakota for Macintosh, font samples, and a description of the deadkey keyboard input.

LaserLakota for Windows

The fonts install into Microsoft® Windows XP, 2000, NT, Me, 98, or 95 and work with all Windows XP-, 2000-, NT-, Me-, 98-, and 95-compatible applications that allow the user to select fonts from a font menu. (A custom version compatible with Windows 3.1 is available by request.) The Type 1 fonts require Adobe Type Manager® in Windows Me/98/95. The product includes a Setup Manual, a User's Manual, keyboard layout chart(s), and Character Code Tables showing every character in the font(s). (All documentation is in PDF format, and requires Adobe Reader to view/print.) The included Keyboard Switcher (keyboard driver) allows access to four characters per key (instead of the normal two) and alternate keyboard layouts. The fonts alone (without Keyboard Switcher) will install into Linux, but Linux users must provide alternate keyboard input for characters in the extended character set. These fonts will print to any printer at the highest quality allowed by your printer.

The fonts are ASCII-compatible with the Macintosh version; files may be transferred to the Macintosh as plain text and formatted with LaserLakota for Macintosh. If the fonts are used in email the person receiving the email must also have the font installed.

Order Cost: USD $99.95 for any one typestyle (LaserLakota, LaserLakota Pala, or LaserLakota Sans); $149.95 for any two typestyles; $199.95 for all three typestyles (called LaserLakota Professional) The $50 discounted price for additional typestyles applies only to additional typestyles of this product for the same platform (Windows or Macintosh).

Site license pricing is available for educational institutions.

See below for font Samples.

LaserLakota for Macintosh

System Requirements: The font may be typed with an included keyboard resource that installs into OS X 10.2 and above or System 7.1-9.x. (The alternate keyboard does not support OS X 10.0 or 10.1, which do not allow installation of alternate keyboard resources.) The alternate input method uses the EuroScript® scripting system, which installs into Classic mode running under OS X, or into Macintosh System 7.1-9.x. The EuroScript input method does not run on Macintoshes that do not support Classic mode. (EuroScript has been tested in OS X 10.3 Classic Mode). The product includes a User's Manual, a keyboard resource, and keyboard layout charts.

The fonts are ASCII-compatible with the Windows version; files may be transferred to Windows as plain text and formatted with LaserLakota for Windows. If the fonts are used in email the person receiving the email must also have the font installed.

Order Cost: USD $99.95 for any one typestyle (LaserLakota, LaserLakota Pala, or LaserLakota Sans); $149.95 for any two typestyles; $199.95 for all three typestyles (called LaserLakota Professional) The $50 discounted price for additional typestyles applies only to additional typestyles of this product for the same platform (Windows or Macintosh).

Site license pricing is available for educational institutions.

See below for font Samples.

LaserLakota Samples:

LaserLakota is available in three typestyles. The Times-style, Palatino-style, and Helvetica-style fonts are compatible and interchangeable. The fonts include all of the following special characters used in the Lakota language (shown here in the LakotaLS Times-style font).

It is very easy to type the accented letters used in Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota, to produce text such as the two samples shown here. The input method is described below.

Lakota

Dakota and Nakota

Samples of all three typestyles follow. They are available separately, or all together as LaserLakota Professional. The fonts include all the special characters demonstrated above.

LaserLakota includes the LakotaLS (Times-style) font, provided in plain, bold, italic, and bold-italic.

LaserLakota Pala includes the LakotaLSPala (Palatino-style) font, provided in plain, bold, italic, and bold-italic.

LaserLakota Sans includes the LakotaLSSans (Helvetica-style) font, provided in plain, bold, italic, and bold-italic.

LaserLakota Professional includes all three typestyles shown above.

LaserLakota Keyboard Layout

The LakotaLS Deadkey Keyboard Layout provides easy, intuitive input of all special characters needed in the Lakota language using deadkey input. The user first types an accent deadkey and nothing on screen happens. Then the user types the letter to be accented and the keyboard resource places the pre-composed, accented letter into the document. For example, type semicolon (and nothing happens) then type a to get a with an acute accent. Here are other examples.

Notice in the samples above that the case of the second keystroke determines the case of the accented letter. Type semicolon followed by lowercase a for a lowercase a-acute, or type semicolon followed by uppercase A for an uppercase A-acute.

Nasal hooks are then added to any letter with an overstrike that follows the letter.

On our keyboard charts (shown here for Windows or Macintosh) these diacritics are shown surrounded by a bold black line. The deadkeys are all typed using the little finger on the right hand, plus the O key. Simply type the accent deadkey then the letter you wish accented. The combined character is put into the document. The overstriking hooks are on the U and I keys. Type them after any letter. (These two links will open in new windows.)

Order Cost: USD $99.95 for any one typestyle (LaserLakota, LaserLakota Pala, or LaserLakota Sans); $149.95 for any two typestyles; $199.95 for all three typestyles (called LaserLakota Professional) The $50 discounted price for additional typestyles applies only to additional typestyles of this product for the same platform (Windows or Macintosh).

The LaserLakota fonts are also available with a Unicode encoding. See LaserLakotaU.

Linguist's Software has 21 products that together support at least 86 Native American languages (plus hundreds of dialects).

Here's what others are saying about LaserLakota:

"I just cannot tell you how happy I am about being able to work on all my translations without going back over them, inserting and missing inserts, then going back over it time and time again. I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS MATERIAL FOR SEVERAL YEARS, INSERTING, BY HAND, ALL THE CURVES AND DOTS AND DASHES, TRYING TO MAKE MY WORK LOOK LAKOTA. I AM SO GLAD I FOUND YOU, YOU WILL MAKE MY WORK SO EASY."
Phyllis DeCory, Director of Native Concerns for the Diocese of Rapid City in South Dakota, Teton Nation Country