35. The device of claim 34 , wherein the second key plane displays a predetermined set of final phonetic symbols, independent of the initial phonetic symbol selected in the first key plane.
34. A portable device comprising: a touch-sensitive display or surface; memory; one or more processors; and instructions stored in the memory and configured for execution by the one or more processors, the instructions comprising instructions to: present one of a pair of alternately displayed key planes of a virtual keyboard, each of the pair of alternate key planes including a partial set of phonetic symbols from a phonetic alphabet, a first key plane of the key plane pair including a set of initial phonetic symbols of the phonetic alphabet, a second key plane of the key plane pair including a set of final phonetic symbols of the phonetic alphabet and a set of tone marks associated with the phonetic alphabet, and both the first and the second key planes including a set of medial phonetic symbols of the phonetic alphabet.