# Keyboard layout

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keyboard-layout/135613>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 6, 2002, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keyboard-layout/135613 "2002-11-06T22:15:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wonko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Wonko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2002, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keyboard-layout/135613/1 "2002-11-06T22:15:56Z")

</div>

Ok, this is my first post on these boards, so I’ll keep it harmless, a technical question…

What exactly is the origin of our current keyboard layouts? I browsed across usenet and some sites and got different answers. They included the intent of slowing down typers so as not to jam typewriters’ letters, placing often used letter combinations near each other, or having often used keys at your ‘stronger’ fingers.

So what’s your idea about the QWERTY and other languages’ layout?

Thanks in advance,

Simon

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gartog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/22d042/32.png) [@Gartog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gartog)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2002, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keyboard-layout/135613/2 "2002-11-06T22:38:08Z")

</div>

See Cecils column here : [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_248.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_248.html)

- Gartog

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gartog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/22d042/32.png) [@Gartog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gartog)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2002, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keyboard-layout/135613/3 "2002-11-06T22:39:46Z")

</div>

Also Chinese Keyboards here : [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_177.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_177.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2002, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keyboard-layout/135613/4 "2002-11-07T19:09:12Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Wonko \*  
> So what’s your idea about the QWERTY and other languages’ layout?

For an answer to this question from one Dvorak enthusiast, see [this In My Humble Opinion thread from March 2000](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=72157).