That list made one small error. Option-s does not produce the Greek letter beta. It produces the German letter eszet (pronounced ESS-tset). This letter represents the sound s as in supper, but unlike the sequence ‘ss’, the preceding vowel is long (unless it is a diphthong). The reason for it is that if a plain s were used, it would be pronounced like a z before a vowel. Contrary to popular belief, the recent spelling reform in Germany did not eliminate this letter, it just reduced its usage and made it more consistent.
Mike May 18, 2009
And may I add that it is possible to create new keyboard commands, incl. those that insert a single character or a string of characters by creating ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict. I have used this for IPA symbols and other special symbols, such as star, ergo, alpha, check mark, x mark, superscripts, subscripts, special arrows, and inch and feet marks (the right way).
frances July 22, 2011
Thanks
Very helpful and interesting – have yet to see if i can create my own short cuts,
May 18, 2009
That list made one small error. Option-s does not produce the Greek letter beta. It produces the German letter eszet (pronounced ESS-tset). This letter represents the sound s as in supper, but unlike the sequence ‘ss’, the preceding vowel is long (unless it is a diphthong). The reason for it is that if a plain s were used, it would be pronounced like a z before a vowel. Contrary to popular belief, the recent spelling reform in Germany did not eliminate this letter, it just reduced its usage and made it more consistent.
May 18, 2009
And may I add that it is possible to create new keyboard commands, incl. those that insert a single character or a string of characters by creating ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict. I have used this for IPA symbols and other special symbols, such as star, ergo, alpha, check mark, x mark, superscripts, subscripts, special arrows, and inch and feet marks (the right way).
July 22, 2011
Thanks
Very helpful and interesting – have yet to see if i can create my own short cuts,
Best,
Frances