Morse code mnemonics

Disadvantages and advantages in studying Morse code using mnemonics

Although people can learn a mnemonic table quickly, mnemonics alone will not give anyone fluency in sending, hearing and decoding Morse code at a practical speed. There are other methods to learn Morse code more slowly but more carefully and methodically, such as the Koch method, which would serve a serious student better in the long run.

However, because associating letters and numbers with audible "dits" and "dahs" can be difficult, some people have developed mnemonics to help remember the Morse code equivalent of characters. Just as many different mnemonics can be created for any one subject matter, not one of the mnemonics below is the definitive mnemonic for Morse code.

Disclaimer

These mnemonics are not standardized in any way. They have been created by some Wikipedia users as original work, and they are not considered a standard way to learn or use Morse code. The NATO phonetic alphabet, on the other hand, is standardized and widely used. As noted elsewhere, use of the mnemonics may impede learning to use Morse code effectively.

Cross-linguistic

Visual Mnemonic

Baden-Powell's mnemonic chart from 1918

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

A contemporary Morse code chart

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

Syllabic mnemonics

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.

Slavic languages

In the Czech language, the mnemonic device to remember Morse codes lies in remembering words that begin with each appropriate letter and has so called long vowel (i.e. á é í ó ú ý) for every dash and short vowel (a e i o u y) for every dot. Additionally, some other theme-related sets of words have been thought out as Czech folklore.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, one mnemonics commonly taught in scouting method to remember Morse codes lies in 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.

See also

• Amateur radio

References