Listen&Learn: The QWERTY keyboard

Learn about the standard English keyboard.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• typewriter: a device that types words directly on paper
• jam: to get stuck and be unable to move
• telegraph: a device that communicates using Morse code
• efficient: able to accomplish a task quickly and easily
• modify: to make changes to something
• muscle memory: the ability of the body to remember how to do something
• adapt: to gain skills that are useful for a new situation

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22 — 1.3MB)

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Gapfill exercise

The standard layout for an English spells out “QWERTY” at the top. American inventor Christopher Sholes created this keyboard in 1868 for typewriters. The purpose of the QWERTY layout is unknown. One theory is that Sholes designed it to slow typists down so that keys would not jam. Another is that it helped telegraph operators Morse code easily. However, it is not the most efficient layout for typing . Many inventors have tried to modify the standard keyboard, but this is difficult. People rely on muscle memory when they type, and it is hard to adapt to a keyboard with a different arrangement of . As the world becomes more dependent on technology, QWERTY keyboards have become common even in with languages that use characters instead of letters.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. Sholes designed the QWERTY keyboard for
   a. typewriters
   b. early computers
   c. touch screens
   
2. The purpose of the QWERTY layout is
   a. to stop keys from jamming
   b. to help telegraph operators translate Morse code
   c. unknown and still debated
   
3. It is difficult to modify the standard keyboard because
   a. it is the most efficient layout for typing in English
   b. it works very well with modern technology
   c. it is the layout that most people have developed muscle memory for

Discussion/essay questions

1. How fast do you type? Do you think you could adapt to a new type of keyboard?
2. The popularity of QWERTY keyboards has caused some people to be concerned that the traditional writing systems of character-based languages may be lost. Why do you think this is? Is there a solution?

Transcript

The standard layout for an English keyboard spells out “QWERTY” at the top. American inventor Christopher Sholes created this keyboard in 1868 for typewriters. The purpose of the QWERTY layout is unknown. One theory is that Sholes designed it to slow typists down so that keys would not jam. Another is that it helped telegraph operators translate Morse code easily. However, it is not the most efficient layout for typing words. Many inventors have tried to modify the standard keyboard, but this is difficult. People rely on muscle memory when they type, and it is hard to adapt to a keyboard with a different arrangement of letters. As the world becomes more dependent on technology, QWERTY keyboards have become common even in countries with languages that use characters instead of letters.

Answers to comprehension questions

1a 2c 3c