Learning Shorthand in one month is daunting, but if you have the right strategy or commitment, it could be possible to master it in just one month. To start learning, first, you must pick any shorthand system, either Gregg or Pitman. If you choose Pitman on your first day, then stay with it! You should set aside 30-60 minutes for daily practice, drilling rapidly and accurately simultaneously.
Why Learn Shorthand?
If you are a student who has just completed your studies and found a job, then the shorthand skill is best for you to get a job on merit. Many Private or government departments announced jobs for stenographers, stenotypists, or clerks requiring shorthand skills. So, after learning and mastering Shorthand, you have many job opportunities.
If you are a journalist and have to take notes, shorthand skills will greatly help you. With the help of shorthand skills, you can take notes easily without missing any point. The Average longhand writing is about 20-30 words per minute, while Shorthand can reach a speed of between 80 and 120 words per minute or more. This higher speed is especially useful when information comes quickly. So, Shorthand allows for more information to be written in a shorter time so that people do not miss relevant points or details.
Read More: How To Transcribe Shorthand Notes Accurately: A Comprehensive Guide
The faster writing speed of Shorthand makes note-taking more efficient. With quicker writing, you can capture more complete notes, including both the lecture’s main ideas and details that might be missed with slower handwriting. By using Shorthand, notes can be made with more detail that will be useful in comprehending and recalling information.
Basic symbols and Shorthand alphabet
Pitman Shorthand is one of the best and most popular shorthand writing methods developed by Sir Isaac Pitman in 1837. A phonetic writing system encodes the sounds of speech rather than its semantics. In the Pitman system, a wide range of strokes, loops, and dots denote the sounds.
Here are the basic symbols of Pitman Shorthand and the alphabet detail.
Consonants
Pitman Shorthand uses simple strokes in one of four directions (horizontal, vertical, or from left to right; overhead and other). Each consonant is represented by a shape close to a circle that tells you how, where, and when it should be used.
Here are the first six consonants:
| P | Pee | Pay, ape, up |
| B | Bee | Bay, Abe |
| T | Tee | Tay ate, it |
| D | Dee | Day, Aid, Do |
| Ch | chay | Chest etch, which |
In the above image, the constant arrows indicate the direction in which the strokes are written. These are the fundamental writing rules, the same as in the picture. We will always write according to this direction and never in another direction.
Here is the second group of consonants.
| F | ef | few, safe, for |
| V | vee | View, save, have |
| TH | ith | thing, bath, think |
| TH | thee | thy, bathe, them |
| S | ess | seal, ice, us |
| Z | zee | zeal, eyes, was |
| SH | ish | she, wish, shall |
| ZH | zhee | measure, treasure, usual |
In the image, these shorthand consonants are curves, and they are written downwards.
Here are the next Eight consonants:
| K | Kay | Cane, leak, come |
| G | gay | gain, league, give |
| M | em | may seem him |
| N | en | nay, seen, no |
| NG | ing | long, sing, thing |
| L | el | lay, coal, will |
| W | way | weigh, aware, we |
| Y | yay | youth, yellow, yes |
These are all light strokes except g and eng. When a vowel comes before a horizontal stroke, it is written above the stroke; when it comes after a horizontal stroke, it is written below the stroke.
Light Straight Strokes:
P: A light downward stroke.
T: A right knee glide
Heavy Straight Strokes:
B: A heavy downward stroke.
D – a heavy downward stroke at an oblique angle
K: Slightly bowing under the line.
F: Light, descending-bowl-stroke-left
Th: A light stroke aimed down and to the right.
J: A diagonal, upward stroke with lots of pressure.
G – a horizontal, straight, and heavy line.
V: Downward curved stroke, slanting left.
The (soft): A broad curve going down to the right.
Light Curved Strokes:
L: Light up-stroke curved
R: A gentle stoke down word curve
M: a slight horizontal curve.
N = Light horizontal, curved opposite way.
Heavy Curved Strokes:
W: a downstroke that ends with an upward, heavy curve.
Y: A thick downward curve
H: Represented by a small check.
Vowels:
In Pitman Shorthand, Vowels are represented by dots and dashes, placed at different positions related to consonant strokes.
Short Vowels:
A (as in cat): A bright pearl at the start of a duct.
E ( as in ‘bet’): A light dot placed at the median of the stroke.
I (bit): A small dot at the end of a stroke.
Long Vowels:
A (like ‘father’): Short dash at the start of the stroke.
E (as in ‘meet’): A light stroke striking the character’s face.
I (i as in ice) A light tick, used to end a stroke.
Other Vowels:
O (like ‘cot’): Light spot at the start of the stroke.
U (as in ‘but’): a small dot within the stem.
O (pronounced boeht): A light stroke made to the left.
U (as in ‘boot’): A short ascending central stroke
Diphthongs:
To form diphthongs, the following signals are used:
Single tick (as in ‘my’): A small angular mark.
2/ O (as in cow): A small angular mark with a curve.
Basic Symbols
Pitman Shorthand uses some very simple symbols for common words and sounds not covered by the alphabet, which will be covered later.
The: A small horizontal tick.
Of: A small vertical tick.
Or: A little slash on a slant.
To: A small downward tick.
In the above image, there are some built-in symbols called short forms. These symbols are written as same.
Practice
Regular practice and knowledge of these symbols are essential to mastering Pitman Shorthand. Writing Shorthand through dictation or reading will also help improve your speed and accuracy.
The alphabet and basic symbols used in Pitman Shorthand work together to allow spoken words to be quickly recorded and orderly. Understanding and practicing these things will help you the most in your note-taking or transcriptions.
