Method for automatically preferring a diacritical version of a linguistic element on a handheld electronic device based on linguistic source and associated apparatus

1. An input method for a handheld electronic device having an output apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving an input reflecting selection of a key;

based at least in part on the key selection, determining whether to output (i) a non-diacritical character or (ii) a diacritical character, the determination comprising:

determining whether the selection corresponds to a first alphanumeric input,

based upon a determination that the selection corresponds to the first alphanumeric input, determining to output the non-diacritical character, and

based upon a determination that there have been previous alphanumeric inputs, determining whether to output the non-diacritical character or the diacritical character based on whether the previous alphanumeric inputs satisfy a predetermined condition; and

outputting the determined output using the output apparatus.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

detecting a number of additional key selections and, responsive thereto, updating the determined output based on the detected number of additional key selections.

3. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising detecting an operative language of the handheld electronic device, wherein determining whether to output the non-diacritical character or the diacritical character is at least in part based on the detected operative language.

4. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising determining that the operative language is French.

5. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising outputting as the determined output a diacritical character used in French that corresponds with the key selection.

6. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising determining that the operative language is German.

7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising outputting as the determined output a diacritical character used in German that corresponds with the key selection.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising outputting another output as an alternative to the determined output selectable by a user.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determined output is identified based on a verb of a certain class.

10. A handheld electronic device, comprising:

a number of keys;

an output apparatus;

a processor apparatus comprising a processor and a memory in electronic communication with one another, said processor apparatus having stored therein a number of routines which, when executed on said processor, cause said handheld electronic device to perform operations comprising:

receiving an input reflecting selection of one of the keys;

based at least in part on the key selection, determining whether to output (i) a non-diacritical character or (ii) a diacritical character in, the determination comprising:

determining whether the selection corresponds to a first alphanumeric input,

based upon a determination that the selection corresponds to the first alphanumeric input, determining to output the non-diacritical character, and

based upon a determination that there have been previous alphanumeric inputs, determining whether to output the non-diacritical character or the diacritical character based on whether the previous alphanumeric inputs satisfy a predetermined condition; and

outputting the determined output using the output apparatus.

11. The handheld electronic device according to claim 10 , wherein the number of routines cause the handheld electronic device to perform operations further comprising detecting additional key selections and, responsive thereto, updating the determined output based on the detected number of additional key selections.

12. The handheld electronic device according to claim 10 , wherein the number of routines cause the handheld electronic device to perform operations further comprising detecting an operative language of the handheld electronic device, wherein determining whether to output the non-diacritical character or the diacritical character is at least in part based on the detected operative language.

13. The handheld electronic device according to claim 12 , wherein the operative language is French.

14. The handheld electronic device according to claim 13 , wherein the number of routines cause the handheld electronic device to perform operations further comprising outputting as the determined output a diacritical character used in French that corresponds with the key selection.

15. The handheld electronic device according to claim 12 , wherein the operative language is German.

16. The handheld electronic device according to claim 15 , wherein the number of routines cause the handheld electronic device to perform operations further comprising outputting as the determined output a diacritical character used in German that corresponds with the key selection.

17. The handheld electronic device according to claim 10 , wherein the number of routines cause the handheld electronic device to perform operations further comprising outputting another output as an alternative to the determined output selectable by a user.

18. The handheld electronic device according to claim 10 , wherein the determined output is identified based on a verb of a certain class.