Russian keyboards

[Ernest Sjogren]

The Russian standard keyboard is quite easy to learn, even for older adults. 
It can be done in just the way typing is (or was?) learned in school in the 
U.S.:  that is, introduce and drill a couple of new keys per day, and then 
practice all keys learned to date for the rest of the session.  Ten minutes 
a day for 2-3 weeks will do the trick with no strain at all.  No typing 
tutor software is needed, although, such programs are freely available 
online or as a standalone application on your PC.  All you really need is a 
text editor, or even just an online text-entry field.

Switching between Russian and English keyboard layouts is easy and presents 
less trouble even than switching between typing w/, say, the English QWERTY 
layout and the French AZERTY.  Only a few keys differ between these latter 
two layouts, and at first when switching over one's fingers feel as if they 
are still typing on the other layout, and one stumbles over the 
"non-English/French" keys.

Why not learn the standard Russian keyboard?  Why handicap yourself when a 
couple weeks of easy drill provide a skill that _is_ standard, and will be 
useful for the rest of your life?

Ernie Sjogren






----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Emily Saunders" <emilka at MAC.COM>
To: <SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu>
Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2011 3:39 AM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Russian keyboards


>I once tried to teach myself to touch type using a standard Russian 
>keyboard layout, but with very, very limited success.  With a QWERTY 
>layout I can type around to 60 wpm, and it is incredibly frustrating  for 
>me to go back to a hunt and peck speed.  If I hadn't been taught  to touch 
>type back in my sophomore year of high school, I might more  readily agree 
>with your advice.  However, at this point, it is just  waaaay too ingrained 
>in my muscle memory where the "a" should be and  trying to do the same with 
>a completely different layout is torture.   It'd be like mixing up the 
>order of black and white keys on a piano.   With enough practice you could 
>probably eventually play Moonlight  Sonata, but is it really worth the 
>effort for those few times you'd  actually need to (when I travel to 
>Russia, I generally take my laptop  with me).  And I figure that I get 
>enough familiarity with the Russian  layout when I send emails in Russian 
>from my iPod touch (where I  couldn't touch type even if I wanted to). 
>Personally I don't think  it's worth worrying about.  Technology is in a 
>state of constant flux  and everyone's computer (with it's selected 
>preferences and desktop  layouts) is a personal expression of how they 
>interact with that  technology.  Being aware that there is another keyboard 
>layout out  there that is the standard for native speakers is probably 
>really all  you need to let your students know.
>
> Cheers!
>
> Emily
>
>
> 26.02.2011, в 22:10, David J. Birnbaum написал(а):
>
>> Dear SEELANGers,
>>
>> "Phonetic" keyboards may be somewhat easier for Americans to learn  than 
>> the
>> authentic Russian layout, but one may wind up paying for that ease  when 
>> one
>> lands in an Internet cafe or someone else's home or office in Russia  and
>> needs to use the non-phonetic keyboard that real Russians use.  That's a
>> decision each of us can make individually as far as our own use is
>> concerned, but language teachers might want to consider whether  they're
>> doing their students a favor by encouraging them to come to depend  on a
>> culturally un-Russian keyboard.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> David
>>
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