| A, | 19.5% | E, | 32.0% | I, | 16.7% |
| O, | 20.2% | U, | 8.0% | Y, | 3.6% |
The foregoing tables give all the essential facts about the mechanism of the English language from the standpoint of the solution of ciphers. The use to be made of these tables will be evident when the solution of different types of ciphers is taken up.
Data for the Solution of Ciphers in Spanish
The Spanish language is written with the following alphabet:
A B C CH D E F G H I J L LL
M N Ñ O P Q R RR S T U V X Y Z
while the exact sense often depends upon the use of accents over the vowels. However, in cipher work it is exceedingly inconvenient to use the permanent digraphs, CH, LL and RR and they do not appear as such in any specimens of Spanish or Mexican cipher examined. Accented vowels and Ñ are also not found and we may, in general, say that a cipher whose text is Spanish will be prepared with the following alphabet:
A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z
and the receiver must supply the accents and the tilde over the N to conform to the general sense.
However, many Mexican cipher alphabets contain the letters K and W. This is particularly true of the ciphers in use by secret service agents who must be prepared to handle words like NEW YORK, WILSON and WASHINGTON. The letters K and W will, however, have a negligible frequency except in short messages where words like these occur more than once.
In this connection, if a cipher contains Mexican geographical names like CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO, MUZQUIZ, the letters H, X and Z will have a somewhat exaggerated frequency.