Helping Word97 spell in Bahasa Indonesia

By Jules Bell

JAKARTA (JP): Right now I am typing this article in Microsoft Word97, with the Check spelling as you type function turned on. But there are no red marks under kata-kata Bahasa Indonesia ini (these Indonesian words). Neither is there a jagged red line under hebat (great) or bagaimana (how). This is because I am using a free Indonesian spell checker for Word97, downloaded from the Internet.

For any technophobes out there, Microsoft's Word has basically ruled the world beyond the mechanical typewriter since its debut all those years ago, when people used to talk about the Internet as the next big thing. The program comes with a spell checker, which underlines words which it believes are misspelled in red.

Moving right along, we live in an increasingly global world of many languages, only one of which is English, but spell checkers tend not to agree. Writing in Indonesian with Word's Check spelling as you type activated, is akin to trying to convince a crocodile it should be vegetarian; not the most productive pursuit in anyone's language.

If the crocodile could write in Indonesian and you were sitting next to it, Michael Bordt's Indonesian spell checker would dramatically reduce your chances of ending up as makan malam (dinner) for an angry reptile. It can be downloaded from Bordt's Indonesian Language site, a webpage dedicated to Bahasa Indonesia at http://magi.com/~mbordt/lang1.htm.

"It is not perfect yet but it can spot lots of common errors," is how he describes his 11,000 word creation. The file is called indo.zip and, thankfully, is small enough to be downloaded in less than a minute with a 28.8 kbps Internet connection. Installation and integration of the custom dictionary into Word's spell checker is relatively straightforward, so here we go.

Indo.zip is actually a zipped or packed file containing three separate files: indoaa.dic, indoab.dic and indoac.dic. This, as Bordt says, is due to "a limitation in Word97 that there can be no more than 5,000 lines (or words) in a single file". Word therefore sees the three files as separate dictionaries, but this makes no difference as long as they are all present and activated.

After downloading indo.zip, it needs to be unzipped using a program such as Winzip which is easily obtainable on the Internet. When unzipped the file will appear as the three separate files ready to be used. You can either unzip the files directly into their eventual directory or unzip them first and copy them across to the target directory.

The files first need to be in the same directory Word uses for custom dictionaries, and then activated so the program uses them in addition to its main English dictionary while checking spelling. The directory to copy the three files into on your computer will almost definitely be a directory called Proof at the end of the following tree: c:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft SharedProof.

This directory should contain custom.dic, the file Word uses to store your additions to the main dictionary file. If this is not the case, use the file search function from the start menu to find custom.dic, and place the three files in the same directory.

Now that the files are in place, you have to tell Word to use them. This is also a simple procedure. Under Tools click on Options and select the Spelling & Grammar tab. This should bring up a box, half way down on the right of which is a Dictionary button. Click this to bring up the Custom dictionaries box, and check the boxes next to indoaa.dic, indoab.dic and indoac.dic, then click OK. It is best to leave the language option here as None.

Back in the Spelling and Grammar tab, you should now see the three files listed underneath custom.dic when you click on the button for the custom dictionary drop down menu. Having followed these steps you should click OK to finally close the Options box.

Now you can take the spell check for a test drive, either with it active as you type or waiting to correct your Bahasa Indonesia spelling and make suggestions. To activate the spelling as you type function, under Tools click Options, select the Spelling & Grammar tab, and check the box at the top next to Check spelling as you type.

Adding words to your new Indonesian spell check is also possible and simple. When the program picks up words it is yet to learn, simply click the Add button. These new words are placed in the indoac.dic file which you can edit if you wish from the Custom dictionary box. Another method suggested by Bordt is to create a document of words you wish to add and then spell check it clicking the Add option each time.

If you eventually end up with a kamus lengkap (comprehensive dictionary), then send it to back its creator. "If you get the chance, send me your indoac.dic file after you have added a few hundred words," Bordt says, a very efficient way to collectively produce a huge dictionary of Indonesian words.

Bordt's version of the spell checker likes the names Dewi and Agus, but if your name makes the checker see red, try not to take it personally. Yogyakarta and acronyms such as Depkes (Ministry of Health) are also familiar to electronic linguist, as is Krismon (monetary crisis), but only with a capital K.

For planting the seed for what could become a definitive Indonesian spell checker with the input of users, Bordt deserves to be congratulated. Even by that crocodile, as long as you are not trying to download vegetarian recipes for reptiles from the Internet. At least you can write them in Indonesian now though, without the document resembling a piece of contemporary art.