Morse code mnemonics

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

Visual mnemonic

Visual mnemonic charts have been devised over the ages. Baden-Powell included one in the Girl Guides handbook 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

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.

Word mnemonics

Independent words

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) 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

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.

Slavic languages

In Czech, the mnemonic device to remember Morse codes lies in remembering words that begin with each appropriate letter and has 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.

In Polish, 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

Invented in 1922 by Zalman Cohen, a communication soldier in the Haganah organization.

Indonesian

In Indonesia, 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

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Morse code