Shorthand language, a short introduction

A SHORT INTRODUCTION OF SHORTHAND

1. Founder and year of invention:-

This language is based on phonographic, which was invented by Sir Issac Pitman, a British national in year 1837, almost 200 years ago.

2. Introduction:-

As evident by name, shorthand is the manner of writing the words in short form. It uses symbols or abbreviations to represent sounds, words or phrases, allowing for rapid transcription. Shorthand systems vary in complexity and style, with some focusing on phonetics while others prioritize speed. Shorthand can be useful for taking notes during lectures, meetings or interviews, as well as for transcribing spoken dialogue in various fields such as journalism, Court reporting or medical transcription. Learning shorthand requires practice and familiarity with the chosen system, but it can significantly increase writing speed and efficiency once mastered. There are two sets of symbols. One is for consonants and the other is for vowels. They consist of lines, dots, slashes, hook, loops etc.Every language has its alphabets i.e English is starting from letters “ABC” and ending at letters “XYZ”. Similarly, shorthand language has also its alphabets and alphabets in shorthand are called consonants/strokes, starting from letter “P” and ending at letter “Hay”. There are two ways of writing the letters in shorthand for the purpose of recognizing the same i.e light strokes and dark strokes. Light strokes are written very thinly whereas dark strokes are written thickly.

3. Kinds of consonants:-

There are 24 consonants in shorthand starting from “P” and ending at “hay”, same are mentioned below:-

Some consonants/letters are written with two types, i.e upward and downward. For example, for "R" there are two kinds of strokes: round (downward) and straight-line (upward). Similarly, consonant “hay” (both upward and downward), depending upon whether there is a vowel sound before or after said letters.

4. Kinds of vowels:-

A vowel is represented by a dot (.) or a dash (-), which is written either with a light/thick stroke or dark/heavy/thin stroke, depending upon the sound of the word. There are 12 vowels in shorthand, out of which, 03 are light/thick dots, 03 dark/thin dots, 03 light/thick dashes and 03 dark/thin dashes. All the vowels are mentioned as under:-

*Sound*	*Vowels*	*Recognition*
aa	.	Thin dot
aye	.	Thin dot
ee	.	Thin dot
ah	-	Thin dash
o	-	Thin dash
oo	-	Thin dash
ah	.	Thick dot
eh	.	Thick dot
ih	.	Thick dot
aw	-	Thick dash
uh	-	Thick dash
ooh	-	Thick dash

If you want to remember these 12 vowels, following is the formula and key described in a chart:-

*Sound*	*Vowels*
aa	Pa
aye	May
ee	We
ah	All
o	Go
oo	To
ah	That
eh	Pen
ih	Is
aw	Not
uh	Much
ooh	Good

Pa (aa) may (aye) we (ee) all (aw) go (o) to (oo) that (ah) pen (eh) is (ih) not (aw) much (uh) good (ooh).

5. Diphthongs:-

Besides the vowels, there are 04 diphthongs in shorthand, which are also written before or after the word, as per its sound, same are as under:-

Sound

If you want to remember these vowels, there is a sentence to keep in mind the same which is as under:-

*Sound*	*sentence*
I	I
Ow	Now
Oy	Enjoy
Eu	Music

Furthermore, there are quarter-circles, consonants, loops, vowels, dots, dashes, special marks drawn close to the consonants, hooks, etc. Rules of "vowel indication" exist whereby the consonant stroke is raised, kept on the line or lower the line to match whether the first vowel of the word is written at the beginning, middle, or end of a consonant stroke without actually writing the vowel

6. Short Forms:-

There are also short forms of different difficult and frequently used words in shorthand, ignoring the fact that aid short forms are following the principle of vowels, consonants and exact outlines/strokes, rather the same are self and mental innovations of the author, which are also useful in quick writing.

7. Halving and doubling Principles:-

Another important feature of this language is that if the stroke is halved or is written with double stroke following the doubling principle, than it will change its meanings, which is also useful for speedy writing and saving the time.

8. Advantages:-

The advantages of this language are that words can be shortened and while writing, one cannot get tired. Words can be written quickly and rapidly without wasting the time and is useful in energy saving. This language has also developed with the passage of time.

It is much faster than conventional writing:

The persons attached to this profession can achieve as many as 150 to 160 words per minute. However, longhand writing only allows you to take notes at a speed of 20 to 30 words per minute.

It makes note taking easier:-

It is a great skill to hold attention. Shorthand combines the skills of recording and active listening, using it helps you stay engaged and taking notes even if the speaker leaves a lot to be desired.

Rapid and quick writing

The most important and useful benefit of this language is that through shorthand writing, one can do the work of hours in minutes and of minutes in seconds.

Not tiring

As the long spellings words are difficult to write in short time and in shorthand language, long words are to be converted in short forms, therefore, by writing the long spelling words in shorthand, one cannot get tired. For example, in English the word “representative” has 14 spellings, which need sufficient time for writing in longhand, however if you want to write/convert the same in shorthand, only two strokes and one hook is used and time to be consumed is only 01 or 02 seconds, so imagine that how easy is to convert the long spellings words in shorthand.

Writing the words as per their exact sound

The word is being written as per its sound. For example, in British English, the exact pronunciation of the word “question” is “ques-tan” but the same is spoken as “ques-chan”, therefore, the same will be written in shorthand according to its exact phonetic form as “ques-tan”, so the same is a phonetic language.

9. Why shorthand language starts from letter “P”.

Now the question arises that why shorthand is starting from letter “P” (16^th letter of English alphabets). The same will be discussed afterwards, first of all, it is important to note that shorthand is language of sounds. As it is the language of sounds, therefore, the related sounds have been gathered and then arranged by their respective sounds by making their pairs i.e P,B, T,D, Chay, Jay, Kay, Gay” etc etc (all pairs of letters are having same/equal sound). Pitman created his alphabet based on speech sounds rather than spellings.

What was the reason behind invention of shorthand language:-

Just imagine that two passages are leading to your house from the point where you are standing, one is 04 kilometers away from your house and the other is 07 kilometers away, which path you will chose to reach your house? Definitely, the answer would be passage of 04 kilometers distance, because it is a human nature/psychology that he chooses the short passage. Similarly, writing the words in long hand is very much difficult rather than writing the same in shorthand, therefore, its founder felt necessary to invent the same.

Nowadays, through social media and other platforms, in order to express our feelings, we use emojies, pictures, images, gifts like feeling happy, feeling blessed, feeling sad, get surprised, feeling shocked etc etc, which is also a short method to express our feelings with others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, shorthand language offers a concise and efficient way to record information quickly, making it valuable for note-taking, transcription, and secretarial work. Its use has evolved over time, from traditional pen and paper methods to digital formats, offering increased accessibility and versatility. Despite advancements in technology, shorthand remains relevant in various professions where speed and accuracy are essential.

Naseem Abbas Gujjar

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