My Brief Experience with Pitman Shorthand
When I entered my sophomore year in high school back in the early 70s, there were some business-office classes that were being introduced into the curriculum. These classes sounded interesting and one of the classes offered was Pitman Shorthand. I had never tried it before and found it to be very challenging. It was a totally new language to me and in a short time I began learning this new speed writing skill and I found that I loved it.
Pitman shorthand was a speed writing skill wherein you needed lined paper and a pencil to draw a series of different shaped strokes in combination with light and dark impressions that you could only control using a pencil. The writing of a pencil-light stroke such as a straight diagonal line would represent a certain letter/sound of the alphabet and a heavier-pencil stroke of the same straight diagonal line would represent a different letter/sound, and yet (on lined paper) the same pencil stroke (light or dark) but written through the paper-line (or above the paper-line) would represent a different meaning altogether.
Pitman shorthand was a very fascinating new speed writing skill and I had learned so much throughout the school year, but just as I was doing so well and looking forward to starting the next level of my Pitman courses the following fall, the school announced that it would no longer teach Pitman shorthand the following fall semester and that they were going to introduce a new shorthand style called Gregg Shorthand. Our principal explained that there was only one business teacher who taught Pitman shorthand and that she was retiring at the end of the current school semester.
In the new fall semester two business teachers would be teaching the new shorthand style called Gregg Shorthand. The principal also explained that we had the option of continuing with our Pitman classes, but that it would be on a tutoring basis with a teacher during one of our study periods. The teacher would also provide additional tutoring after school hours if necessary. Then the principal also informed us about the new Gregg Shorthand style. This new shorthand style made it possible to achieve greater speed because you could write it with a pen and involved no light and dark shading, nor writing below, through or above the lines on lined paper. You could actually write Gregg shorthand on a blank sheet of paper, which made it easier to write and read. We were fascinated by this description of the new Gregg shorthand style and we had less than a month to decide what we were going to do -- to convert or continue with Pitman.
A group of us discussed these options and some girls felt that they did not want to lose all of their skills they had worked so hard to achieve and would continue with their Pitman classes on a tutoring basis. My best friend and I felt the same way, yet we were very excited about many of the features described in this new shorthand style. We had a hard time deciding, but I was leaning towards converting to the new style, and I was also torn because I loved participating in a classroom environment. My best friend and I also felt that it was more interesting and fun learning as a group because we openly shared our thoughts and ideas during our study periods.
Within one week we were so glad to learn that many of the girls had also decided to convert to the new Gregg shorthand style. We all officially made the hard decision to convert and learn the new Gregg shorthand style in the fall semester.
Learning the new Gregg shorthand style was a great challenge at first, but a few months later we felt that it was the best decision we could have made. We had much in common learning these new techniques and we enjoyed working together as a group. This new style was much simpler in style and form, and allowed for more freedom of movement and speed. As much as I loved Pitman shorthand, converting to the new style was a risk well worth taking and a decision I've never regretted... See my lens about Gregg Here
History Of Pitman Shorthand
Pitman shorthand is a system of shorthand for the English language developed by Sir Isaac Pitman (1813-1897), who first presented it in 1837. Like most systems of shorthand, it is a phonetic system; the symbols do not represent letters, but rather sounds, and words are, for the most part, written as they are spoken.One major exception to this is the fact that rs are always transcribed, even when recording non-rhotic accents. One possible reason for this could be that in the early 19th century, British English had not yet started to drop its non-intervocalic rs. As of 1996, Pitman shorthand was the most popular shorthand system used in the United Kingdom and the second most popular in the United StatesDaniels, Peter T. "Shorthand", in Daniels, Peter T. and Bright, William, The Worlds Writing Systems, Oxford University Press, New York, 1996, p. 811. ISBN 0-19-507993-0..
One characteristic feature of Pitman shorthand is that voiceless and voiced sounds (such as /p/ and /b/) are represented by strokes that differ only in thickness (the thick stroke representing the voiced consonant).Doing this requires a writing instrument which is responsive to the users drawing pressure: specialist fountain pens (with fine, flexible nibs) were originally used, but pencils are now more commonly used.
Another distinguishing feature is that there is more than one way of indicating vowels. The main vowel of a word or phrase is indicated by the position of the stroke with respect to the rules of the notebook. (For example, a small circle drawn above the line translates to as/has and the same circle drawn on the line translates to is/his.) However, there is a more straightforward way of indicating vowels, which is to use dots or small dashes drawn close to the stroke of the preceding consonant. The type of vowel is dependent on the relative position of the dot or dash to the stroke (beginning, middle, or end).
There are at least three "dialects" of Pitman's shorthand: the original Pitman's, Pitman's New Era, and Pitman's 2000. The later versions dropped certain symbols and introduced other simplifications to earlier versions. For example, strokes "rer" (heavy curved downstroke) and "kway", (hooked horizontal straight stroke) are present in Pitman's New Era, but not in Pitman's 2000.
History Of Pitman Shorthand
Pitman was asked to create a shorthand system of his own in 1837. He had used Samuel Taylor's system for seven years, but his symbols bear greater similarity to the older Byrom system. The first phonetician to invent a system of shorthand, Pitman used similar-looking symbols for phonetically related sounds. He was the first to use thickness of a stroke to indicate voicing (voiced consonants such as 'b' and 'd' are written with heavier lines than unvoiced ones such as 'p' and 't'), and consonants with similar place of articulation were orientated in similar directions, with straight lines for plosives and arcs for fricatives. For example, the dental and alveolar consonants are upright: "|" [t], "|" [d], ) [s], ")" [z], "(" (as in thigh).
Pitman's brother Benn settled in Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States, and introduced Pitman's system there. He used it in the 1865-67 trial of the conspirators behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In Australia the system was introduced by another Pitman brother, Jacob. Jacob Pitman is buried in Sydney's Rookwood Necropolis, in Australia. The epitaph is written phonetically.
IN MUVING MEMERI OV JACOB PITMAN, BORN NOV. 28, 1810 TROWBRIDGE ENGLAND, SETELD IN ADELAIDE 1838 DEID 12TH MARCH 1890 ARKITEKT INTRODIUST FONETIK SHORTHAND AND WOZ THE FERST MINISTER IN THEEZ KOLONIZ OV THE DOKTRINZ OV THE SEKOND OR NIU KRISTIAN CHURCH WHICH AKNOLEJEZ THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IN HIZ DEVEIN HIUMANITI AZ THE KREATER OV THE YUNIVERS THE REDEEMER AND REJENERATER OV MEN GOD OVER AUL BLESED FOR EVER.
At one time, Pitman was the most commonly used shorthand system in the entire English-speaking world. Part of its popularity was due to the fact that it was the first subject taught by correspondence course. Today in many regions (especially the U.S.), it has been superseded by Gregg shorthand, developed by John Robert Gregg.
Consonants in Pitman shorthand
Read More on Pitman Shorthand
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