From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Speedwriting is a
shorthand
writing system developed in
1924
by
Emma Dearborn, an instructor at the
University of Chicago. It uses
alphabetic characters and was originally designed so that it
could be written by pen, or on a
typewriter.
Speedwriting is phonetic with a k used for a hard c, C
for ch, j for g in age. It condenses words by omitting
silent letters and only writing long
vowels, and initial short vowels. Sentences are ended with
\ and a / is used for omitted syllables. There are other
abbreviating devices, including capitalisation, and the use of
punctuation marks to denote combinations of sounds. It uses
around 100 abbreviations for common words and
suffixes.
In 1942 a stylized script for faster handwriting was
invented, in which the t is uncrossed (l is looped to
distinguish them), i is undotted, m is a simple curve like a
stretched n and 'w' is also a simple curve such as a 'u'.
Speedwriting also utilizes fluid symbols, primarily for the
terms "it", "it's" and "the".
Common Abbreviations:
- . = the
- + = and
- v = of, have or very
- f = for, if
- b = by, bye, buy
- r = are
- u = you
- s = is
- underline last letter = -ing
- overline last letter = -ed
- - = -ment
- a = -ate
- j = tion
Speedwriting is more than twice as fast as longhand, due to
using half the letters, but it is nowhere near as fast as
symbolic
shorthand systems. Speeds of up to 120 words a minute are
possible for short periods of time, with speeds of 80 words a
minute being regularly attained. It is therefore more useful for
someone wanting a simple system to speed up handwritten note
taking than for reporting.
The following line is written in speedwriting.
. flo lin s wrtn n spedwri \
References
-
Stenography. Retrieved on
2006-08-18.
-
Speedwriting. Retrieved on
2006-08-18.
External links
Free dictation demos at the shorthand site for Teeline, Pitman
and Gregg
Categories:
Writing |
Writing systems |
Shorthand systems
