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Morse code mnemonics

Systems to remember Morse characters

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Morse code mnemonics are systems to represent the sound of Morse characters in a way intended to be easy to remember. Since every one of these mnemonics requires a two-step mental translation between sound and character, none of these systems are useful for using manual Morse at practical speeds. Amateur radio clubs can provide resources to learn Morse code.

Cross-linguistic[edit]

Visual mnemonic[edit]

Visual mnemonic charts have been devised over the ages. Baden-Powell included one in the Girl Guides handbook^[1] in 1918.

Here is a more up-to-date version, ca. 1988:

Other visual mnemonic systems have been created for Morse code, mapping the elements of the Morse code characters onto pictures for easy memorization. For instance, "R" (  ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ) might be represented as a "racecar" seen in a profile view, with the two wheels of the racecar being the dits and the body being the dah.

English[edit]

Syllabic mnemonics[edit]

Syllabic mnemonics are based on the principle of associating a word or phrase to each Morse code letter, with stressed syllables standing for a dah and unstressed ones for a dit. There is no well-known complete set of syllabic mnemonics for English, but various mnemonics do exist for individual letters.

Word mnemonics[edit]

Independent words[edit]

This technique has you associate a word with each character. For a letter in the alphabet, the associated word will usually begin with the same letter. In that word, tall letters (those descending below the baseline or ascending above the mean line – b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, p, q, t, or y) and capital letters represent dashes, while short letters (aceimnorsuvwxz) represent dots. To recall the Morse code for a character, try to visualize the word.

Single sentence[edit]

This mnemonic uses the same mapping from tall and short letters to dashes and dots. Rather than each word starting with the letter it represents, each word is positioned in the 26-word-long sentence according to the position of the letter it represents in the alphabet.^[5]

my love life has a vibe, the same as edgy pop star DJ «Dr BBQ» adds — glad she won't cut away all good gold lyre!

Slavic languages[edit]

In Czech, the mnemonic device to remember letters in Morse code lies in remembering words or short phrases that begin with each appropriate letter and have a long vowel (i.e. á é í ó ú ý) for every dash and a short vowel (a e i o u y) for every dot. Additionally, some other sets of words with a particular theme have been thought up in Czech folklore, such as the following alcohol-themed set:

InPolish, which does not distinguish long and short vowels, Morse mnemonics are also words or short phrases that begin with each appropriate letter, but dash is coded as a syllable containing an "o" (or "ó"), while a syllable containing another vowel codes for dot. For some letters, multiple mnemonics are in use; the table shows one example.

Hebrew[edit]

Invented in 1922 by Zalman Cohen, a communication soldier in the Haganah organization. The hiriq (/i/ vowel) represents a dot and the patahorqamatz (/a/ vowel) represent a dash.

Indonesian[edit]

InIndonesia, one mnemonic commonly taught in Scouting is remembering words that begin with each appropriate letter and substituting the o vowel for every dash and other vowels (a, i, u, and e) for every dot.

References[edit]