Computer Keyboard Terminology

=== by Bob Sutherland ===

Page 5 of 7

Do you know the names of the keys on your computer keyboard? This web page lists the punctuation marks, brackets and some foreign language accents.

Punctuation Marks

A computer key marked with an exclamation mark. ! Exclamation mark.

A computer key marked with a question mark. ? Question mark.

A computer key marked with a period or full stop. . Period; Full stop; Dot. North Americans call this punctuation mark a period while Europeans call it a full stop. Telegrams sent by clicking Morse code use the word stop to indicate the end of a sentence.

A computer key marked with a comma. , Comma.

A computer key marked with a semi-colon. ; Semi-colon.

A computer key marked with a colon. : Colon.

A computer key marked with a single quotation mark. ' Single quotation mark; Apostrophe.

A computer key marked with a double quotation mark. " Double quotation mark.

Brackets and Parentheses

A computer key marked with a left angle bracket. A computer key marked with a right angle bracket. <> Angle brackets.

A computer key marked with a left parenthesis. A computer key marked with a right parenthesis. () Parenthesis (singular), Parentheses (plural); Round Brackets.

A computer key marked with a left square bracket. A computer key marked with a right square bracket. [] Square Brackets.

A computer key marked with a left curly bracket. A computer key marked with a right curly bracket. {} Braces; Curly Brackets.

A computer key marked with a left parenthesis. ( Left parenthesis; Open parenthesis

A computer key marked with a right parenthesis. ) Right parenthesis; Close parenthesis

A computer key marked with a left square bracket. [ Left square bracket; Open square bracket.

A computer key marked with a right square bracket. ] Right square bracket; Close square bracket.

A computer key marked with a left curly bracket. { Left brace; Open brace; Left curly bracket; Open curly bracket.

A computer key marked with a right curly bracket. } Right brace; Close brace; Right curly bracket; Close curly bracket.

Accent Marks

Accent marks are not normally part of the English language. Here are the names of some accent marks used in other languages.

` è Grave Accent

´ é Acute Accent

^ ê Circumflex Accent

¸ ç Cedilla

¨ ë Dieresis or Diaeresis