Why is the keyboard not in alphabetical order. Why are the letters on the keyboard arranged in this order? Truth: Thank you morse code

Every day we face dozens of secrets. And in order to find them, it is not at all necessary to spy on someone else's personal life and fish out someone's skeletons from closets. Just looking around is enough.

One of the household mysteries right now is at your fingertips. Why are the letters on the keyboard arranged in such a strange order?
Let's try to figure it out.

Do you think you are fast at typing on the keyboard? Do you make a lot of mistakes? Perhaps if the letters were in alphabetical order, things would be much more productive? Japanese researchers asked this question and tried to find out why, instead of the “normal” arrangement of keys, the whole world uses the QWERTY (or in the Russian version YTSUKEN) layout. Documents have been raised, answers have been found, and in parallel, two popular myths about the origin of the modern keyboard have been debunked.

Myth 1: QWERTY layout was designed for speed typing and because of the low "popularity" of individual letters

This version is the most common and quite logical. At first sight. But practical studies have shown that if the subjects exclusively used a specially designed keyboard with a different arrangement of letters for some time, they got used to it. And the dialing speed practically did not differ from working with QWERTY.

Myth 2: the keyboard is a descendant of the typewriter, and there the QWERTY order helped to avoid “freezing”

This version was completely opposite to the first. Its essence was that the unusual and "illogical" layout of the keys on the typewriter was supposed to slightly confuse typists. They could not print at high speed and, accordingly, the typewriter did not freeze. And everyone was happy. But the counterargument to an interesting theory lies on the surface: rote memory. That was proved by the experiment from the previous paragraph. Over time, we adapt to any conditions, so you can learn to type quickly and almost blindly on an "illogical" keyboard.

Truth: Thank you morse code

It turned out that the first prototypes of modern keyboards were provided with just the same alphabetic layout. And they began to "test" them on telegraph operators. Testers who had to quickly transcribe messages found the alphabetical order annoyingly awkward. And in order to work more efficiently with Morse code, they offered their own version - QWERTY. The proposal was heard, and after a few years all telegraphs switched to QWERTY. And behind them is the rest of the printed world.

The usual layout of keys on a computer keyboard is a legacy of typewriters. On the first of them, the letters were arranged alphabetically, in two rows. But with fast printing, this led to the fact that neighboring levers did not have time to return to their place and clung to each other. The keys "sticky", and the person typing the text had to interrupt work frequently.

The father of the QWERTY layout is American Christopher Sholes. He decided to arrange the letters included in the most frequently occurring digraphs as far apart as possible. So the frequency of clutches was reduced to a minimum. It took a dozen years and several dozen prototypes - two-, three-, four- and, finally, five-row machines to come to just such an option. The final version appeared in 1878.

The cars improved, the speeds of the levers increased, the clutch problem disappeared, but the layout remained. Moreover, she migrated to the keyboard of computers.

But that doesn't mean they haven't tried to replace her. University of Washington professor August Dvorak was convinced that the QWERTY layout could be improved. He noticed that typing frequently occurring combinations of letters required the placement of fingers in a rather clumsy manner. And typing such common words as “was” (was) and “were” (were) must be done with the left hand.

Dvorak patented a keyboard where frequently used letters were in the middle and top rows. Under the left hand in the middle row were vowels, in the lower and upper row - rare consonants. And under the right hand were the most frequent consonants.

"The YTSUKE Russian layout is easier. It was designed so that the letters that are used most often are placed under the index fingers.<…>There is also the so-called phonetic layout YAVERTA, or YAZHERTA, but it is more convenient for foreigners"

Despite the obvious conveniences, the Dvorak layout did not take root, like another Latin layout - Colemak. There are several reasons for this. First, the need to retrain. Secondly, the need, at least at first, to rename the keys. Also, do not discount the habit and the fact that most keyboards are sold with a QWERTY layout. You can switch to another layout, but for this you need to make an effort. But is it worth it if you have to work on different computers?

With the Russian layout, YTSUKE is easier. It was originally designed so that the letters that are used most often are placed under the index fingers, and those that are less common are placed under the ring and little fingers.

There is also the so-called phonetic layout YAVERTA, or YAZHERTA, but it is more convenient for foreigners studying Russian. Russian letters in it are located on the same keys, where the Latin ones are similar in phonetic sound: A-A, B-B, V-V, G-G, D-D, F-F, K-K, O-O, etc. True, the phonetic layout is even rarer than the Dvorak and Colemak layouts.

The arrangement of letters on a computer keyboard is a legacy of typewriters that appeared in the 19th century.

The principle of operation of such a machine is simple. When a finger strikes a key with a letter, a lever (hammer) with a cast matrix of this letter on top is activated. He strikes a ribbon soaked in ink between the paper and the mallet, and thus leaves an imprint on the paper. When typing, the hammers alternately hit the drum with paper.

On the first typewriters, invented by Christopher Sholes, the letters on the keys were located in alphabetical order, in two rows. In addition, it was possible to print only capital letters, and there were no numbers 1 and 0 at all. They were successfully replaced by the letters "I" and "O". At first, this suited everyone. However, over time, the printing speed became more and more, and then such machines revealed a serious problem: individual hammers did not have time to return to their place and constantly interlocked with each other. Very often, attempts to separate them led to a breakdown of the machines.

And this happened because in the English alphabet there are a lot of neighboring letters that are used more often than others (for example, p-r, n-o). As a result, it often turned out that adjacent keys were pressed one after another, which led to the clutch and jamming of the hammers.

Typewriter manufacturers have learned and developed a keyboard in which the letters often found in texts were placed away from the index fingers (after all, before the invention of the "blind" ten-finger method, they typed mainly with the index fingers). This is how the famous QWERTY keyboard layout (according to the first letters of the top row from left to right) appeared, which is still used today. She migrated to computer keyboards, although the problem of clutching levers (hammers) does not exist on them at all.

It must be admitted that the arrangement of letters on the QWERTY keyboard is far from the most rational. Much more convenient is the layout, which was invented by Arthur Dvorak, professor of statistics at the University of Washington. In it, frequently used letters are in the middle and upper rows. Under the left hand in the middle row are all the vowels, and under the right hand are the most frequent consonants.

In this case, the load on the hands is more balanced. Judge for yourself: in an 8-hour working day, our fingers travel about 2 km on a Dvorak keyboard, while on a traditional QWERTY keyboard the same figure is already 7 kilometers. Accordingly, the typing speed on the Dvorak keyboard is 2 times higher compared to the QWERTY keyboard.

How are things with the Russian keyboard? Why are the letters on it in that order and not otherwise? The fact is that in Russia typewriters, like all technical innovations, appeared much later than in the West. By this time, many design flaws have already been eliminated. And the Russian keyboard was originally designed as ergonomic, that is, with a convenient and rational arrangement of keys. The most frequently used letters were placed under the strongest and fastest index fingers, and the rarer ones were placed under the weakest ring fingers and little fingers.

Unfortunately, the Russian computer keyboard also has drawbacks. For example, for a comma, which is used, you see, very often, they did not bother to allocate a separate key, but placed it on the same key on which the dot is located - in upper case! Therefore, in order to print a comma, you need to press two keys. Maybe that's why modern schoolchildren who like to surf the Internet miss commas so often? ..

Why are the letters on the keyboard arranged in this order? What did not please the alphabet, is there an alternative?

Answered by Sergey Kulikov
computer science teacher

The usual layout of keys on a computer keyboard is a legacy of typewriters. On the first of them, the letters were arranged alphabetically, in two rows. But with fast printing, this led to the fact that neighboring levers did not have time to return to their place and clung to each other. The keys "sticky", and the person typing the text had to interrupt work frequently.

The father of the QWERTY layout is American Christopher Sholes. He decided to arrange the letters included in the most frequently occurring digraphs as far apart as possible. So the frequency of clutches was reduced to a minimum. It took a dozen years and several dozen prototypes - two-, three-, four- and, finally, five-row machines to come to just such an option. The final version appeared in 1878.


Christopher Sholes and his typewriter

The cars improved, the speeds of the levers increased, the clutch problem disappeared, but the layout remained. Moreover, she migrated to the keyboard of computers.

But that doesn't mean they haven't tried to replace her. University of Washington professor August Dvorak was convinced that the QWERTY layout could be improved. He noticed that typing frequently occurring combinations of letters required the placement of fingers in a rather clumsy manner. And typing such common words as “was” (was) and “were” (were) must be done with the left hand.


August Dvorak develops a new layout

Dvorak patented a keyboard where frequently used letters were in the middle and top rows. Under the left hand in the middle row were vowels, in the lower and upper row - rare consonants. And under the right hand were the most frequent consonants.

With the Russian layout, YTSUKE is easier. It was designed so that the letters that are used most often are placed under the index fingers.<...>
Despite the obvious conveniences, the Dvorak layout did not take root, like another Latin layout - Colemak. There are several reasons for this. First, the need to retrain. Secondly, the need, at least at first, to rename the keys. Also, do not discount the habit and the fact that most keyboards are sold with a QWERTY layout. You can switch to another layout, but for this you need to make an effort. But is it worth it if you have to work on different computers?

With the Russian layout, YTSUKE is easier. It was originally designed so that the letters that are used most often are placed under the index fingers, and those that are less common are placed under the ring and little fingers.

There is also the so-called phonetic layout YAVERTA, or YAZHERTA, but it is more convenient for foreigners studying Russian. Russian letters in it are located on the same keys, where the Latin ones are similar in phonetic sound: A-A, B-B, V-V, G-G, D-D, F-F, K-K, O-O, etc. True, the phonetic layout is even rarer than the Dvorak and Colemak layouts.

The arrangement of letters on a computer keyboard is a legacy of typewriters that appeared in the 19th century.

The principle of operation of such a machine is simple. When a finger strikes a key with a letter, a lever (hammer) with a cast matrix of this letter on top is activated. He strikes a ribbon soaked in ink between the paper and the mallet, and thus leaves an imprint on the paper. When typing, the hammers alternately hit the drum with paper.

On the first typewriters, invented by Christopher Sholes, the letters on the keys were located in alphabetical order, in two rows. In addition, it was possible to print only in capital letters, and there were no numbers 1 and 0 at all. They were successfully replaced by the letters "I" and "O". At first, this suited everyone. However, over time, the printing speed became more and more, and then such machines revealed a serious problem: individual hammers did not have time to return to their place and constantly interlocked with each other. Very often, attempts to separate them led to a breakdown of the machines.

And this happened because in the English alphabet there are a lot of neighboring letters that are used more often than others (for example, p-r, n-o). As a result, it often turned out that adjacent keys were pressed one after another, which led to the clutch and jamming of the hammers.

Typewriter manufacturers have learned and developed a keyboard in which the letters often found in texts were placed away from the index fingers (after all, before the invention of the "blind" ten-finger method, they typed mainly with the index fingers). This is how the famous QWERTY keyboard layout (according to the first letters of the top row from left to right) appeared, which is still used today. She migrated to computer keyboards, although the problem of clutching levers (hammers) does not exist on them at all.

It must be admitted that the arrangement of letters on the QWERTY keyboard is far from the most rational. Much more convenient is the layout, which was invented by Arthur Dvorak, professor of statistics at the University of Washington. In it, frequently used letters are in the middle and upper rows. Under the left hand in the middle row are all the vowels, and under the right hand are the most frequent consonants.

In this case, the load on the hands is more balanced. Judge for yourself: in an 8-hour working day, our fingers travel about 2 km on a Dvorak keyboard, while on a traditional QWERTY keyboard the same figure is already 7 kilometers. Accordingly, the typing speed on the Dvorak keyboard is 2 times higher compared to the QWERTY keyboard.

How are things with the Russian keyboard? Why are the letters on it in that order and not otherwise? The fact is that in Russia typewriters, like all technical innovations, appeared much later than in the West. By this time, many design flaws have already been eliminated. And the Russian keyboard was originally designed as ergonomic, that is, with a convenient and rational arrangement of keys. The most frequently used letters were placed under the strongest and fastest index fingers, and the rarer ones were placed under the weakest ring fingers and little fingers.

Unfortunately, the Russian computer keyboard also has drawbacks. For example, for a comma, which is used, you see, very often, they did not bother to allocate a separate key, but placed it on the same key on which the dot is located - in upper case! Therefore, in order to print a comma, you need to press two keys. Maybe that's why modern schoolchildren who like to surf the Internet miss commas so often? ..