Ever wanted to be able to send coded messages to a friend, or be able to send out an SOS if you get into trouble?
Developed by Samuel F.B. Morse in 1844, Morse Code is the easiest way of sending encoded messages with only dots and dashes.
The Alphabet
Morse Code
A .- N -.
B -… O —
C -.-. P .–.
D -.. Q –.-
E . R .-.
F ..-. S …
G –. T –
H …. U ..-
I .. V …-
J .— W .–
K -.- X -..-
L .-.. Y -.–
M — Z –..
Learning
You will want to print out a copy of the alphabet to learn from. It helps to start with the easiest letters (E, T, M, I), and work up. It is easiest if you form word associations for each letter. Examples include:
N (-.) “nanny” the “na-” makes a long sound, and the “-nny” makes a short sound (long-short or -.)
Y (-.–) “you’re a yo-yo” long-short-long-long
L (.-..) “a lollipop” short-long-short-short or dit-dah-dit-dit
W (.–) “the world wars” dit-dah-dah
V (…-) Beethoven’s fifth symphony (roman numeral V) goes “dit-dit-dit-dah”
…and many more. You will want to use whichever associations work best for you for associating letters and patterns.
Practice!
The best way to learn is to practice! Use your key to practice writing and decoding messages. After translating a few messages, you will start to pick up on the more common letters. If you just practice sending messages with your friends a little bit every day, you will have it learned in no time!
Uses
Morse Code can be very useful in certain situations. You can use mirrors, smoke, fire, a flashlight, whistle, or rocks to send out messages in a survival situation. You can also send messages by writing, blinking, tapping, etc.