History: Keyboard key names

Source of version: 5 (current)

[http://www.lojban.org/cgi-bin/dict.pl?Form=dict.pl2&Database=*&Query=lercu%27aca%27a|jbovlaste] lists lercu'aca'a as the Lojban word for a typewriter/computer keyboard (and, presumably also for other keypads such as those found on touch-tone telephones, ATMs, &c).
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* ~ ''ji'ibu'' or ''nabu'' (this is the logical language, after all)
* ` ''zukte.bu'' (used in shell script to execute command), ''grav.bu'', ''zulgal.bu''
* ! ''basna bu'' or ''caibu''. Unfortunately ''ba'ebu'' is ungrammatical.
* @ ''bu'ubu'' or ''judri.bu'' or ''tu'ibu''
** Sort of misses the original meaning, no?  Maybe something with ''jdima'' or ''vamji''?  I suppose it doesn't much matter; one meaning is as good as another.  It might even depend on the context: mercantile contexts might prefer ''jdima bu.'' --mi'e mark.
** Mon vieux, noone even remembers the mercantile meaning anymore, and the meaning was always Anglo-specific in any case --- which is why Europeans end up calling it "the coffee scroll key" or the "monkey tail key". No, "at for email" is the only actually international meaning. -- nitcion.
***In German-language countries, it was known as "Affenschaukel" (monkey see-saw) :) yet, now "at" is the modern term mainly used. --.aulun.
***"At" from English, not "zu", right? ''yes; pronounced as if it were spelled "a:t" in German, or "et" in English/Lojban. --pne''
***People took it over from English like many other terms (e.g. in the field of computing) without knowing what was it's original meaning. Yet, for those who do know, it's pretty obvious that "at" has one of the semantical shades of German "zu". One could say: "drei Pfund Butter *zu* (je) DM 10.-". Here "zu"/"at" is used in the sense of French "`a" (which, BTW, is much more common in German language: "drei Pfund Butter `a DM 10.-").
**In Spanish it is called ''arroba'', which is an old unit of weight. Apparently from Arabic ''ar-rub' '', meaning 'the quarter'.
** ''ctrudel. bu'' or ''titnanba bu'', maybe?
* # ''libu''
* $ ''rupnu.bu'' or ''meryru'u.bu''
** * ''roprupnu bu''?  Hrm.  --mi'e mark.
*** try ''ro__n__ru'u bu''. Though perhaps the spelled.out ''ropno rupnu'' might be more euphonious zo'o --((pne))
**** Why did this get changed from a euro symbol to an asterisk with no explanation?
***** This page claims to be encoded as ISO-8859-1, which does not have a code point for the Euro symbol. Probably someone's browser automatically converted the illegal character to an asterisk while editing.
* % ''ce'ibu''
* ^ ''te'abu''
* & ''joibu''
* * ''pi'ibu''
* ( ''tobu''
* ) ''toibu''
* - ''vu'ubu''
* _ ''jorne.bu''
* + ''su'ibu''
* = ''dubu''
* { ''lu'ibu''
* } ''lu'ubu'' (corresponding to ''lu'ibu'')
* [[  ''veibu''
* ] ''ve'obu''
* | ''grana.bu''
** Context and meaning may be significant here too.  UNIX geeks call this a pipe not just because of its shape.  ''tubnu bu'' is probably a bit much, but maybe there's another brivla... --mi'e mark.
*** I suggest ''datnyfle bu''. --mi'e pier
* : ''di'ebu'', ''zo'ubu''
** Sometimes I think of ''zo'ubu'' for this... --mi'e mark. __Added: I've started doing so too. -- nitcion__
** I think ''pi'ebu'' is the colon, rather than the semicolon. --mi'e pier
* ; ''jufrypau.bu'' , ''pi'ebu'' , ''keibu''
** ''jufrypau'' can be shortened to ''jufpau''. Alternatively ''bridi bu''. --mi'e pier
* " ''lubu''
* ' ''.y'y.''
* < ''me'ibu''
* > ''za'ubu''
* , ''slaka bu''
* . ''denpa bu''
* ? ''xubu'' There are a lot of other kinds of questions, maybe ''paubu''
** ''paubu'' is probably better --mi'e mark.
* / ''fi'ubu''
* \ ''lu'ebu'' (Allusion to use as escape character)
* Tab ''sotkunti.bu''
* !BackSpace ''fa'ebu''
* Ctrl ''minde.bu''
* Clover ''vonpezli.bu''
* Enter ''linji.bu''
* Return ''ni'obu''
** These two are the same key with different names. Why not call them both ni'obu (since the word processing context is ''probably'' the most common)?
*** These two are ''not'' the same key with different names for all computers. Don't assume your computer is the only computer in the world.
**** I have yet to see a computer with both.
**** You have yet to see a Macintosh, then. Consider me aggrieved. -- nitcion. (As a result: the PC Enter and Macintosh Return should be ''ni'obu''; the Macintosh Enter should be ''linji.bu'', or perhaps ''boibu'', since it is associated with the Number Pad.)
**** Where on a macintosh keyboard do I find enter?
**** The Number Pad. And several programs expect it to have different functionality than Return.
**** I worked years ago on an IBM 3270 keyboard, where Enter and Return are completely different. Also line feed and carriage return are distinct. --mi'e .pier.
* Shift ''taubu''
* !CapsLock ''ga'ebu''
* Alt/Option ''drata.bu''
* Space ''sepli.bu'' or ''kunti.bu''
* !LeftArrow ''zu'abu''
* !RightArrow ''ri'ubu''
* !UpArrow ''ga'ubu''
* !BottomArrow ''ni'abu''
* Insert ''setci.bu''
* Delete ''vimcu.bu''
* Esc ''dicra.bu''
* Home
* End '' fanmo bu''?
* !PgUp
* !PgDown
* !LineFeed
* Break ''sisti.bu''
* !PrintScreen
* !NumLock
* !ScrollLock

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Well if CR=ni'obu, does that mean that every paragraph starts out with an implicit ni'o? ''No more than that every instance of / corresponds to fi'u; we're using prototypical senses here, not absolute equivalences. And if you are translating running prose with paragraphs, each done by a single CR (so, with linewrapping, a la word processor), then I guess the answer is yes, anyway.''

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((Capitals as letter names))

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Just for completeness, what about the emacs/80s-lisp modifier keys: Meta, Hyper, Super?
History: Keyboard key names

Source of version: 5 (current)

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