(October 2015) A multitude of scripts are used to write the world’s languages, but commercially-produced keyboards are only available for a select few. Virtual keyboards are one way to overcome that difficulty. One such program, Keyman, has been used by many SIL language development teams around the world. SIL International is pleased to announce the purchase of all rights to Keyman.

Keyman was developed by Marc Durdin, CEO and Chief Developer for Tavultesoft. He first began working on Keyman in the early 1990s, while living with his family in Southeast Asia. Observing the difficulty of typing languages such as Thai with a QWERTY keyboard, Mr. Durdin sought a solution.

As digital technologies have advanced, so too has Keyman. Acquiring the rights to Keyman will allow SIL’s Language Technology department to provide direction and resources for the product that will benefit minority language communities.

SIL’s purchase includes Keyman Desktop, Keyman for Android, Keyman for Apple products (Mac, iPhone and iPad), KeymanWeb and Keyman Developer.

For the immediate future, Keyman continues to be available for purchase and supported through Tavultesoft. Over the coming months, some aspects of product support will transition to SIL International.



Are you a current user of Keyman? See the Keyman FAQ for answers to questions you may have.

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