Miss

How do you spell that?

Um, it’s the first 6 letters on a regular computer/typewriter keyboard. Sometimes people think I’m saying “Miss Squirty”. Others hear “Miss Quirky”. I’ve even come across inventive spellings, such as “Miss Querty” – cute, and logical. The name wouldn’t work in a French-speaking country, because then I’d be Miss Azerty.

Origins

The “qwerty etc” letter pattern was originally based on the most frequent letter pairings found in the English language. It ensured that typists spent most of their time typing rather than unplucking stuck hammers. This keyboard is also called the “universal” keyboard because it has proved its effectiveness to people everywhere, to this day. The qwerty keyboard has been my good friend since Mum kept an electric typewriter lying around the house when I was a wee girl. It was the tool I used to hack out my first little picture books about giant butterflies and grumpy wizards. Those ubiquitous keys have become part of my identity, and given me a job to boot.

Jane Hardjono | jane@missqwerty.com | +64 021 238 3077 | Hillsborough, Christchurch | New Zealand