One of the most useful skills is to learn how Cyrillic letters are settled on a keyboard. There are some disadvantages in symbols which make people crazy – “Where the hell is ‘Л’?” To make you feel comfortable with your Mac or PC, we’ve prepared a special Russian Keyboard Guide for Dummies.
The first keyboard (name QWERTY was derived from 6 characters left top row layout) was created by Christopher Latham Sholes in 1873 for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter. Later same year it was sold to Remington – a famous manufacturer of firearms and typewriters.
In 1888, after successful competition of touch typing for Remington typewriter №2, QWERTY became the main layout for both typewriters and computers. Nowadays this layout is used for 98% computers in the world.
By analogy to QWERTY, first Cyrillic keyboard layout known as JIUKEN (ЙІУКЕН) was created at the end of XIX century. Because of the Russian alphabet reform in 1917-1918, which removed the letters Ѣ (ять) and І (I = и), this layout was changed to JCUKEN (ЙЦУКЕН; YCUKEN, YTSUKEN or JTSUKEN).
Photo: http://1pod.ru/
There are 33 letters in Russian alphabet and only 26 in English. Therefore, some keys used in the English layout that refer to characters in Russian keyboard are using for letters. For example, two characters right bottom row layout (Б, Ю) or first key left top row layout (Ё).
Modern Russian keyboard looks that way:
Typing tips:
- Keep fingers on the most convenient positions: four characters each hand in the middle row – ФЫВА (ASDF) and ОЛДЖ (JKL;).
- Use both hands. Use left forefinger to press letters located around basic key ‘А’ – К, Е, П, М, С. Right forefinger is responsible for buttons О, Г, Н, Р, И, Т.
- All command keys (Caps Lock, Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Tab etc.) press using pinky. To press Space key use your thumb or both thumbs.
Photo: http://klavogonki.ru/
Check your typing score using THIS online test. You may choose the level from beginner to advanced and professional.
If you still have problems with typing, we recommend virtual keyboard:
- http://russian.typeit.org/
- http://softcorporation.com/products/cyrillic/
- http://www.apronus.com/internet/ruskey.htm
- http://winrus.com/
P.S. - Preparing this post, I've found some modern keyboards.
Emotional keyboard: http://www.bajca.com/
Keyboard with screens embedded in each button: http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/
Specialist keyboard: http://www.datahand.com/
I hope all listed above was helpful for you!
