By , he published his book Gregg Shorthand , and this form of rapid writing spread to the United States, and then to other nations. It was used discreetly, similar to a pen-and-paper version of a hidden tape recorder. Counterculture-movement participants, such as pacifists and anti-tobacconists, had speedwriting enthusiasts in their mix, in order for them to take secretive notes and get messages out fast to their group-mates.
These quick-notes were much like the tweets and text messages of today. During the s, Gregg Shorthand was a skill that helped secretaries get hired for jobs. This writing technique is also called stenography. Office workers of the s had to be able to type and take dictation in order to be hired for many positions. In high school, female students took typing and shorthand as a matter of course.
During that era, clerical positions were considered desirable ways to make money for single women. Speed and accuracy were requirements for secretarial work, so time tests were given during employment screenings. Gregg shorthand is still being used today, even though the antiquated days of secretaries taking dictation from bosses, then typing their letters on typewriters has mostly gone by the wayside.
I taught myself Teeline which I think is British as a reporter — I doubt that future generations will bother though. As with Trudy Christopher, I suspect editors were impressed because they saw in it a reflection of other qualities they were keen on i. Most shorthands other than Pitman and Gregg seem lost. I loved all of the comments which inspired me to write mine. I never knew why I took Gregg shorthand in my elementary school years.
But then I found out why…I had an awesome spiritual teacher who constantly inspired me to live my life to the fullest. Throughout my years in working with him, I would constantly jot down in shorthand his gems of wisdom — wherever and whenever I could — on just about everything from regular notepaper to napkins to pages torn out of the phone book.
Today there are tons of published books available on his teachings and words. Nowadays I am happily attempting to sort through pages and pages of this delicate script towards what may be a monumental masterpiece of wisdom for me and others who enjoy not only timeless reading but happy living.
Shorthand is a way of writing words at the speed they are spoken. I find it interesting that although shorthand has virtually disappeared, nothing has filled that gap. The modern way of creating a transcript would be to make an audio recording, and then play it back slowly, while typing. Although the shorthand method is probably somewhat faster, it also requires a great deal of effort to learn.
In fact, the early editions show how the same system can be used to transcribe French, German, Greek, Russian, Latin, and Sanscrit. It would probably have worked well for this purpose, but as time went on, Pitman shorthand was increasingly adjusted for higher speed, and these changes made the system harder to learn.
The chaotic situation made it easy for Gregg to introduce his system, based on different principles, a few years later. In Britain and its former colonies, Pitman remained the dominant shorthand until shorthand started to fade out in the s.
Dare I wonder aloud if texting is the new shorthand? Marcus Tullius Tiro, a learned freeman living in Cicero's house, obliged, inventing what became known as Tironian Notes.
This method was officially adopted, but shorthand had a difficult time. The Byzantine Emperor Justinian forbade its use after AD, as it had come to be seen as a secretive code, encouraging subversion. It became associated with witchcraft and magic during the early medieval period and largely disappeared.
In the monk John of Tilbury published an abbreviated word system, prompted by the late Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket's interest in preserving sermons. In the 15th Century, the discovery of a book of psalms written in Tironian Notes in a Benedictine monastery led to a renewal of interest in shorthand. By physician Timothy Bright had devised an English system consisting of lines, circles and half-circles.
The 17th Century diarist Samuel Pepys used a form of shorthand. Several other variations developed until Isaac Pitman, from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, came up with a phonetic system, Stenographic Sound-Hand, in the s.
It was exported to the US, becoming the dominant system there. Irish-born Robert Gregg was 18 when he invented his own phonetic system, Light-Line Phonography, in the s, which gradually supplanted Pitman in the US. In the s Emma Dearborn, an instructor at Colombia University, started Speedwriting, allowing more than 20, different words to be written once the user has learned 60 rules and a list of about brief forms.
Lots of other systems have come along, but the most popular in the UK today, Teeline, was first published in by shorthand teacher James Hill, who wanted a system that was easier for beginners to grasp than Pitman.
Some users of Pitman argue that Teeline is inferior , limiting exponents to lower word speeds. Mary Sorene worked as a shorthand writer at the Old Bailey for 11 years from the early s. At one point she could write words per minute using Pitman.
I don't think shorthand has died at all. I think it will be going on long after I'm carted off. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Pitman shorthand expert Mary Sorene demonstrates how it works.
Image source, Alamy. Image source, Wikimedia.
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