The document discusses indexing in different languages and with LaTeX. It provides examples of indexes in English, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Thai, traditional and simplified Chinese, and Japanese. For Japanese, the index is arranged by kana and gojuon order rather than alphabetically. It also discusses how to create indexes in LaTeX, including using a morphological analyzer to determine kana, and tips to avoid a messy manuscript. Good indexes help readers find specific information, understand the book's contents, and grasp another perspective, while bad indexes confuse and force readers to read the entire book.

1. Indexing Makes
Your Book Perfect
(and also, the common way of
arranging words in Japanese)
Keiichiro Shikano
Book editor for Ohmsha, Ltd.
K16.shikano@gmail.com
TUG 2013 October 23

2. Indexes from
around
the world

3. Example
The
Manga Guide
to Statistics
(in English)

4. Index in English

5. How to use index

6. How to use index

7. Example
The
Manga Guide
to Statistics
(in Portuguese)

8. Index in Portuguese

9. Example
The
Manga Guide
to Statistics
(in Russian)

10. Index in Russian
Latin
alphabet
Russian
alphabet

11. Example
The
Manga Guide
to Statistics
(in Korean)

12. Index in Korean
Latin
alphabet
Hangul
alphabet

13. Index in Korean
산술 평균
sansul pyeong-gyun
Word group beginning
with consonant letter “ㅅ
”
arithmetic
mean

14. Example
The
Manga Guide
to Statistics
(in Thai)

15. Index in Thai
Latin
alphabet
Thai
script

16. Index in Thai
●
The index is arranged
as the same manner as
the alphabetical
languages, although
Thai is not technically
an alphabet.
Word group beginning
with letter “ ค ”
ค่าเฉลี่ยเลขคณิต
̄
Kh̀ā chelīy lekh
̄
̀
arithmetic
mean

17. Example
The
Manga Guide
to Statistics
(in traditional
Chinese)

18. Index in Chinese
(Traditional)

19. Index in Chinese
(Traditional)
4 strokes
Stroke counts of
算
5 strokes
is fourteen.
14 strokes
arithmetic
mean
15 strokes

20. Pinyin based order
算術平均數(for “arithmetic mean”)
Romanize
Suànshù píngjūn shù
You can find the term in
the “S” section.

21. Example
The
Manga Guide
to Statistics
(in simplified
Chinese)

22. Example
The
Manga Guide
to Statistics
(in Japanese)

23. Index in Japanese

24. Index in Japanese
●
The index is
arranged in
gojuon order,
which is roughly
based on the
pronunciation.
か to ご of gojuon
さ to ぞ of gojuon
arithmetic
mean

25. Kana based order
算術平均 (for “arithmetic mean”)
Turn into kana (syllables)
さんじゅつへいきん
(“sanjutsuheikin” in romanization)
You can find the term in
the “ さ ” section of gojuon,
instead of the “S” section.

26. Gojuon order
Red ones can be used as
the header for the group
containing followings.
(Light-weight ones often
omitted.)
● Numbered only as a guide.
There is more syllables.
●

27. Example against
gojuon
according to the gojuon order ...
but often ...
久保田五郎（くぼたごろう）
久保田四郎
窪田三郎（くぼたさぶろう）
久保田五郎
久保田四郎（くぼたしろう）
窪田二郎
窪田二郎（くぼたじろう）
窪田三郎
ku bo ta go ro u
ku bo ta sa bu ro u
ku bo ta shi ro u
ku bo ta ji ro u

28. If you’d like to know more
about arranging Japanese
index...
•
SIST 13 – Indexes and Indexing
•
•
One of the Standards for Information
of Science and Technology by the
Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology
http://sti.jst.go.jp/sist/handbook/
sist13/sist13_m.htm

29. Making
(Japanese)
index with
LaTeX

30. Embed index entry
with kana
算術平均 (for “arithmetic mean”)
Turn into kana (syllables)
さんじゅつへいきん
Put it in index command
index{ さんじゅつへいきん @ 算術平均 }
kana(syllables)
word appearing
in the index

31. Indexing
in LaTeX
Embed the index entries
within the manuscripts
using index command.
● makeindex arrange the
entries so as to be sorted
and laid out.
● The manuscript tends to
be messy.
●

32. Tips: How to avoid
messy manuscripts

33. Indexing
Japanese
in LaTeX
●
●
●
Include kana in each
index command.
mendex arrange the
entries so as to be
sorted and laid out.
The manuscript
tends to be messier.

34. Kana depends on
the context
(not just on kanji)
相性
Turn into kana
a
for “compatibility”
多相性
Turn into kana
i
syo
u
たそうせい
ta so u se i
for “polymorphism”
多相性
あ い しょ う
Turn into kana
for “a lot of compatibilities”
?
た あ い しょ う
ta a
i
syo u

35. Morphological analyzer
and its corner case
多相的な
多相性
morphological
analyzer
morphological
analyzer
success
たそう / てき / な
fail
た / あいしょう
たそう / せい

36. Using
morphological
analyzer
to put
kana
●
The manuscript is
slightly tidier than
before!

37. Why bother
with
indexing?

38. Example
The
TeXbook

39. Components
of index

40. Components
Headings
References
Subheadings
Cross-references
Modifications
Qualifications

41. Mandatory
Headings
References
●
●
The reader will easily find
what information the book
has or not, just by revising
the headings of the index.
References are what make
the index the index.

42. Subsidiary
●
They help the reader learn
the context of the headings.
Subheadings
Cross-references
Modifications
Qualifications

43. Allowed
●
●
Any remarks that
help reader get the
proper reference
out of several
alternatives.
For example, each
asterisk(*) indicates
that the following
heading is a
primitive of TeX

44. Unrecommended
Auxiliary information
beyond the main purpose
of the index.
• Exclude everything which
gets the readers nowhere!
•

45. Pointless Components
●
●
Excerpt from the index of
“The Visual Book of Dinosaurs for Kids”
Who cares the name of discoverers in the index?

46. Indexing for
who?

47. Three types
of index users
1. Looking-up
2. Reluctant
3. Potential

48. Looking-up readers
•
•
Already read the book.
At least, know the subject.
(Books on technologies or any sort of practical
knowledge often have these kind of readers.)
•
They’d like to go directly to some
specific part of the book.

49. Reluctant index-users
•
Readers would get lost during
reading the book when …
•
•
•
they forget the key words.
the book is poorly constructed.
The latter could be avoided by
indexing.

50. Potential readers
•
•
You can use the index to grasp
the contents of the book even
before actually read it through.
The index exhibits the contents
of the book in another way than
the book itself.

51. Index and
ebook

52. Is it necessary
anyway?

53. Is it necessary
anyway?
•
•
•
Definitely!
They would supplement a full
text literature search through
ebooks.
It may take a different shape
from that of the printed books.

54. Summing up

55. With bad index,
readers …
would be just confused.
• have to read through the
whole book anyway.
• would come to read an ill
written or edited book.
•

56. With good index,
readers …
could directly reach to the
proper pages.
• could grasp the whole book.
• could get another aspect of
the book.
•

57. What we have seen
Indexes from the world
• How to arrange Japanese
words in LaTeX realm
• Good index, bad index
•