# I am Dvorak - I Speak for the Keys
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [May 27, 2001, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626 "2001-05-27T00:03:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/1 "2001-05-27T00:03:15Z")
I know Dvorak keyboards have been discussed before, but I think I missed it, so I just wanted to put in my own two cents.
If you’ve ever thought about switching to Dvorak from QWERTY, I would suggest doing it. I did it about 2½ years ago, and I really like it. I still use a lot of public computers, so I have to be fluent in both Dvorak and QWERTY, and although my typing speeds in the two are comparable (49 WPM QWERTY vs. 52 WPM Dvorak), Dvorak is a lot more comfortable. QWERTY now feels like wearing shoes that are one size too small.
Two small disadvantages that I can think of (since I’m trying to be honest): 1, it’s harder to type “QWERTY”. 2, the Cut, Copy, and Paste keys (X, C, and V) are no longer next to each other.
So come on! Is anyone with me?
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### Author:  [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/2 "2001-05-27T01:17:38Z")
Yeah, there is that one disadvantage. Its the same reason why I never use an inverted mouse. In most games I have to heavily modify keys just to play decently and the sensitivity has to be 10x of normal. So I try to keep what I do within limits so I can do things comfortably on other than my home computer.
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### Author:  [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/3 "2001-05-27T01:25:28Z")
One issue… Switching from a Dvorak keyboard to a QWERTY board and back again is awkward. I use Dvorak at home, but at work, I use the client’s QWERTY equipment, and it takes about 15-20 minutes to change gears. YMMV
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### Author:  [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/4 "2001-05-27T01:57:45Z")
I’ve never used a Dvorak keyboard, but Achenar deserves some props for the subject line! 🙂
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### Author:  [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/5 "2001-05-27T01:59:05Z")
…or rather, **Achernar** deserves props. Sorry for the misspelling.
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### Author:  [@xekul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xekul)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/6 "2001-05-27T04:21:51Z")
I tried Dvorak once, but then I couldn’t get my brain to switch between the two formats and my QWERTY speed suffered when I had to use it for school or work. Another problem I had, related to the cut/copy/paste shortcuts, is that vi keys are then out of place. Dvorak did seem a lot more comfortable though.
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/7 "2001-05-27T06:37:04Z")
Quoth **Tranquilis** : “Switching from a Dvorak keyboard to a QWERTY board and back again is awkward.”
Yeah, I guess that’s a good point. Honestly, though, it only takes me about 5 seconds to make the transition, possibly because I do it so often. I’ll be programming in a DOS window (QWERTY) and chatting in Dvorak at the same time. Occasionally I’ll mistype a word, but that’s not hard to fix. I definitely think that if it took 15 minutes to change gears, it wouldn’t be worth it. I’m not all that good of a typist, so I find it unlikely that I’m one of the only ones who can perform this feat.
As for cutting, copying, and pasting, I’ve just learned to use Shift-Del, Ctrl-Ins, and Shift-Ins.
Thanks, **Katisha**! I _was_ pretty pleased with myself when I came up with that subject line.
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### Author:  [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/8 "2001-05-27T17:20:25Z")
> [@](#):
>
> …Honestly, though, it only takes me about 5 seconds to make the transition, possibly because I do it so often…
I only change-over twice a day, and not at all on weekends. I’m also not all that when it comes to typing. That’s the main reason I went Dvorak in the first place: A quick hardware upgrade to my typing.
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### Author:  [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/9 "2001-05-27T17:33:55Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Katisha \*
> \*\*I’ve never used a Dvorak keyboard, but Achernar deserves some props for the subject line! 🙂 \*\*
I have to say thanks for the subject line. In the middle of a huge nicotine craving, the peals of laughter that erupted from me upon reading said subject erased the intense desire for a smoke. Hell, I’m still snickering.
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### Author:  [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/10 "2001-05-27T20:44:14Z")
I am using a Dvorak keyboard at this very moment to type in this message. I have used a Dvorak layout at home for nearly 10 years and can type faster in Dvorak than I can in QUERTY.
But this does not mean that any of the various claims made by the Dvorak keyboard’s proponents have any merit. See [http://www.reason.com/9606/Fe.QWERTY.html](http://www.reason.com/9606/Fe.QWERTY.html). Apparently, the experiment that “proved” the Dvorak keyboard was superior was the victim of number-cooking by Dvorak himself, in an effort to foist his keyboard off on the Navy.
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/11 "2001-05-27T23:07:12Z")
**tracer** , do you actually have a Dvorak keyboard? I’ve never used one - I just changed the Windows 98 settings on my computer to make my QWERTY keyboard behave like a Dvorak one. In case anyone’s wondering, just swapping the keys around generally doesn’t work. Keys from different rows (on every keyboard I’ve looked at, anyway) have different slopes, so they don’t fit well when you move them to a row they weren’t built for. I’m thinking of actually relabeling my keys, which would work, but I don’t really need it.
I didn’t read that whole article you linked to (It’s long), but it looks like when they say “superior” as in “Dvorak is not superior to QWERTY” they mean “faster”. I agree - I would not suggest anyone switch to Dvorak for its speed. As I said in my OP, I don’t like it for speed, but for comfort. Having said that, I would tend to think that if you wanted to take your speed to its absolute max, Dvorak would be the way to go.
And **tracer** , even if you hadn’t said that you’re on Dvorak, I may have guessed. It’s hard to misspell “QWERTY” on a QWERTY keyboard. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/12 "2001-05-27T23:47:10Z")
[merciless hijack]
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Lsura \*
> \*\*I have to say thanks for the subject line. In the middle of a huge nicotine craving, the peals of laughter that erupted from me upon reading said subject erased the intense desire for a smoke. Hell, I’m still snickering. \*\*
I recognize it, but I have no idea from what source. HELP!
[/merciless hijack]
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### Author:  [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2001, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/13 "2001-05-27T23:52:49Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Manservant Hecubus \*
> \*\*[merciless hijack]
> I recognize it, but I have no idea from what source. HELP!
>
> [/merciless hijack] \*\*
Dr. Seuss, [The Lorax](http://www.capecod.net/~lkosteck/lorax.htm)
\*I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees
I speak for the trees for the the trees have no tongues. \*
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2001, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/14 "2001-05-28T00:08:35Z")
I have no idea what a Dvorak keyboard is. Is it the same as Azerty?
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2001, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/15 "2001-05-28T00:39:26Z")
It looks like this:
```auto
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 []
' , . P Y F G C R L / =
A O E U I D H T N S -
; Q J K X B M W V Z
```
Your left hand goes on the AOEU keys and your right hand goes on the HTNS keys. As you probably notice, the most commonly used keys are easy to reach, because half the time, they’re right there under your fingertips. This is Dvorak’s key feature.
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/16 "2001-05-28T02:32:53Z")
I type with two fingers (both from the same hand, leaving the other one free to play with my pizzle) so I do not think any keyboard would speed me up any. Some tidbits
> [@](#):
>
> From [here](http://louisville.bcentral.com/louisville/stories/1999/02/15/focus4.html)
>
> The Dvorak keyboard was designed in the 1930s by an efficiency expert named August Dvorak who studied the English language and rearranged the letters in a more efficient manner than the standard “QWERTY” layout, according to Ingram.
>
> The standard layout of letters on the computer keyboard is called QWERTY for the first six letters on the third row, Ingram said. That is the keyboard layout on which most people learned to type, he said.
>
> “Remember the QWERTY keys were arranged specifically to slow you down so the typewriter keys wouldn’t get jammed,” Ingram said.
>
> Seventy percent of the English language is typed on the home keys using the Dvorak layout, Ingram said. That increases accuracy by 50 percent and speed by 15 percent to 20 percent, he said.
>
> The organization president said he does not have statistics, but his anecdotal evidence indicates someone can learn the Dvorak keyboard in as little as two weeks. The Dvorak template can be accessed on the computer through the Control Panel, Keyboard and Languages functions, and on the pull-down menu in Properties.
>
> More information on the Dvorak layout can be found on the Dvorak International’s Web site at [http://www.dvorakint.org](http://www.dvorakint.org)
Another tidbit from [http://sominfo.syr.edu/facstaff/dvorak/blackburn.html](http://sominfo.syr.edu/facstaff/dvorak/blackburn.html)
> [@](#):
>
> Fastest Typist. Mrs. Barbara Blackburn of Salem, Oregon can maintain 150 wpm for 50 min (37,500 key strokes) and attains a speed of 170 wpm using the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard (DSK) system. Her top speed was recorded at 212 wpm. Source: Norris McWhirter, ed. (1985), THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS, 23rd US edition
It seems the [AZERTY keyboard](http://www.gloub.com/musee/images/hx20.jpg) is used by the French.
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2001, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/17 "2001-05-28T03:25:36Z")
If you type with only one hand, you may be interested to know that Dvorak (apparently) also made a left-hand configuration and a right-hand configuration. That is, one built for people who only have use of their left hand, and one for the right. I’ve never tried it, because since I use both hands I can’t imagine it being faster or easier, but if you want to keep one hand free and maximize speed, it might be worthwhile. I agree that if you only use one hand, though, normal Dvorak is probably no better than QWERTY.
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### Author:  [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2001, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/18 "2001-05-28T05:02:19Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Achernar \*
> \*\*If you type with only one hand, you may be interested to know that Dvorak (apparently) also made a left-hand configuration and a right-hand configuration. That is, one built for people who only have use of their left hand, and one for the right. …it might be worthwhile. \*\*
The right- or left-handed variant of the Dvorak configuration used to be selectable in the old days by loading dvorak.sys in your start files, if you were using M$-DOS or Win 3.x. It may be accessable in ‘Control Panel | Accessability Options’ still…
If you’re looking far an actual hardware Dvorak keyboard, the one I use is from Keytronic, it’s a KB-101+, with the Dvorak conversion kit (an E-PROM and some new keys, along with a tool for pulling and replacing keys). There are a number of companies that also sell overlays for your keyboard, if you don’t want to go the full hardware route.
---
### Author:  [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2001, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/19 "2001-05-28T20:14:09Z")
Achernar wrote:
> [@](#):
>
> I just changed the Windows 98 settings on my computer to make my QWERTY keyboard behave like a Dvorak one. In case anyone’s wondering, just swapping the keys around generally doesn’t work. Keys from different rows (on every keyboard I’ve looked at, anyway) have different slopes, so they don’t fit well when you move them to a row they weren’t built for.
There are some keyboards whose keys all have identical heights and slopes. The keyboards IBM made for the original PC and PC/AT were like that. You can rearrange the keys on these keyboards to your heart’s content, and the new arrangement will feel as though it were built that way. My home “Dvorak” keyboard is such an IBM keyboard. It originally had the keys in a QWERTY layout, but I rearranged the key caps on it to turn it into our good friend with the home row that starts with AOEUI.
> [@](#):
>
> And **tracer** , even if you hadn’t said that you’re on Dvorak, I may have guessed. It’s hard to misspell “QWERTY” on a QWERTY keyboard. 🙂
Oops. :o
---
### Author:  [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2001, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dvorak-i-speak-for-the-keys/66626/20 "2001-05-28T20:19:20Z")
sailor quoted [http://sominfo.syr.edu/facstaff/dvorak/blackburn.html:](http://sominfo.syr.edu/facstaff/dvorak/blackburn.html:)
> [@](#):
>
> Fastest Typist. Mrs. Barbara Blackburn of Salem, Oregon can maintain 150 wpm for 50 min (37,500 key strokes) and attains a speed of 170 wpm using the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard (DSK) system. Her top speed was recorded at 212 wpm. Source: Norris McWhirter, ed. (1985), THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS, 23rd US edition
Gee, that’s funny, my 1976 _Guinness Book of World Records_, page 486, says:
“In an official test in 1946, Stella Pajunas, now Mrs. Garnand, attained a speed of 216 words in a minute on an I.B.M. machine.”
… an IBM machine which, I’ll bet you dollars to donut holes, had a Selectric (QWERTY) keyboard.
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