Shorthand

Q. What is shorthand

A. Shorthand - in short - is any method of writing that is designed to maximise speed of writing and reading back. Typically, systems employ symbols or shortcuts that can be made quickly to represent letters of the alphabet, words or phrases. These methods have been variously known as stenography (narrow writing), tachygraphy (swift writing) or brachygraphy (short writing).

�

Q. Where did it come from

A. The Greek historian Xenophon (5th-4th century BC) used a form of Greek shorthand, but the earliest record of an organised system dates from 63 BC, when Marcus Tullius Tiro invented one which continued to be used for several centuries.

�

Modern shorthand developed in England. The publication by Timothy Bright of his Characterie: an Arte of Shorte, Swifte, and Secrete Writing by Character (1588) marked the beginning of this, and over the next few decades 13 systems were published. One of the best known of these early systems was Thomas Shelton's Short Writing (published in 1626), in which Samuel Pepys kept his famous diary.

�

Most of these early systems were alphabetic, but in 1736 the Reverend Phillip Gibbs was the first to break away from this. He developed a phonetic system, which is the way most shorthand 'alphabets' are devised today.

�

Q. Phonetic systems How do they work

A. By using a symbol for each of the consonant sounds and modifying these to show the vowels. Many people say that it looks like written Arabic, but it is far simpler, and totally systematic.

�

The real breakthrough in phonetic systems came in 1835, when Isaac Pitman published his. Pitman's shorthand works like this: there are 24 consonant sounds in spoken English, and each of these is represented using one stroke, such as curved lines, quarter circles, etc. When a word is to be written, its outline, or the shape of all its consonants joined together, is drawn first. Next, the vowels are drawn around the edges. Vowels take the form of short strokes or dots. The key to the system is that in addition to this simple base, there are an incredible number of speed tricks that allow it to be written fast.

�

Q. What about Teeline

A. Teeline is a newer system than Pitman Shorthand, designed to be easier to learn, and is most often used by journalists. It is slower than Pitman for recording spoken words, but its ease of learning makes up for this. The other advantage of Teeline is that it can be used in another language without having to learn anything new. Versions of Pitman have been designed for other languages, but they may be fundamentally different to the English form. However, this only means that the speed difference between Pitman and Teeline is even more marked in other languages, if you are willing to put in the effort.

�

Q. Why Should I Be Bothered

A. The simple answer is because it is very useful to be able to write at high speed. Also, with the next generation of PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) being more than powerful enough to process handwriting on touch sensitive screens, the speed of input will remain important.

�

For more on Phrases & Sayings click here

�

By Simon Smith