From lex@cc.gatech.edu Mon Mar 19 09:17:48 2001 Return-Path: X-Sender: lex@cc.gatech.edu X-Apparently-To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_0_4); 19 Mar 2001 17:17:48 -0000 Received: (qmail 41164 invoked from network); 19 Mar 2001 17:17:44 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.27) by l8.egroups.com with QMQP; 19 Mar 2001 17:17:44 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO burdell.cc.gatech.edu) (130.207.3.207) by mta2 with SMTP; 19 Mar 2001 17:17:44 -0000 Received: from cleon.cc.gatech.edu (root@cleon.cc.gatech.edu [130.207.7.12]) by burdell.cc.gatech.edu (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA16566 for ; Mon, 19 Mar 2001 12:17:35 -0500 (EST) Received: from aSqueakSystem (lex@r52h135.res.gatech.edu [128.61.52.135]) by cleon.cc.gatech.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id MAA19220 for ; Mon, 19 Mar 2001 12:17:28 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <200103191717.MAA19220@cleon.cc.gatech.edu> X-Mailer: Celeste 2.0.3737 Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 12:16:47 -0500 References: <3AB57BB0.20509@Rose-Hulman.Edu> Subject: Re: [lojban] The Dvorak of Lojban? To: lojban@yahoogroups.com From: "Lex Spoon" X-Yahoo-Message-Num: 6007 "Matthew S. Ford" wrote: > I am curious if anyone has tried remapping his keys on his keyboard to > something more pleasing for Lojban. A sort of Dvorak for Lojban. > > I do not know much about Dvorak and how it makes typing nicer for English. > > I also understand that such a layout could get in the way of typing > English things and trying to use it may not make much sense until most > of what I type is in Lojban. But I am still curious. > Robert gave an excellent description of Dvorak. To make a Dvorak for Lojban, you'd want to first figure out which letters are most common, and then figure out which letter sequences are most common. Arrange the keyboard so that the common letters are on the home row and so that common sequences tend to move inward towards the center of the keyboard, and there you are -- a superior keyboard. The only thing left is hand alternation. I don't know Lojban well enough to say whether it is practical, but it's certainly possible that the simple trick of putting vowels on the left and consonants on the right would work. Incidentally, it takes roughly a month to learn Dvorak. I'd guess it takes a similar time to learn any layout. So if you go for it, spend a lot of time trying to get the design right before you start seriously practicing with it! If you're really into it, you can write software that will simulate typing and thus predict a level of effort and a speed for writing a particular text; such a simulation is often used to compare Dvorak to Qwerty, and it could certainly be used in designing a new layout. Probably if you did some web searches, you could find people willing to email the simulation they have on hand.... -Lex