Color-coded keytop legends for bilingual code-switching text input

Abstract

Code-switching emerges as a valid strategy to communicate in writing. However, to type a multilingual document on a computer usually requires switching back and forth between different languages and input modes while using a keyboard. In many countries, bilingual keyboards are widely used. Their keytops display more than one set of labels. The present study used Chinese and English input texts to investigate the ''mental overhead'' incurred by code-switching and how colored keytop legends can increase typing performance for two types of typing tasks, namely, copy typing and generative typing. The results show that, when compared to keyboards with mono-colored keytop legends, colored ones not only reduced the ''mental overhead'' but also improved overall performance for both copy typing and generative typing tasks during code-switching, particularly for computer users with slow typing speeds. Although the issues discussed here are straightforward and the time differences are small, they affect millions of computer users who type in multiple languages every day.