2 we like to abbrev 6 pitter patter raindrops 8 … · images & text © beryl l pratt blog...

Images & Text © Beryl L Pratt www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-reading.org.uk

2016 June p1 A of 15Blog Archive Pitman’s New Era Shorthand


2016 June p1 B of 15Blog Archive Pitman’s New Era Shorthand

2 We Like To Abbrev

6 Pitter Patter Raindrops

8 Caravan Holidays

12 Short Letters 7

www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-reading.org.uk

www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk

PDF Date: 30 December 2017

http://long-live-pitmans-shorthand.blogspot.co.uk

http://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-reading.org.uk

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http://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk

http://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk

http://long-live-pitmans-shorthand.blogspot.co.uk





We Like To Abbrev

Pen shorthand is often described asrequiring the learner to memorise vastquantities of arbitrary abbreviations and sodismissed as unwieldy, unreasonable andoutmoded. As a shorthand student* orwriter, you now know that this is not true.Pitman’s, Gregg and Teeline* have a smallnumber of* strokes and signs to learn, andlike longhand, these are combined in alogical manner, with various othershortening devices, to form the words.Pitman’s and Gregg follow pronunciation,for example omitting the silent K in "knife"and writing “cough” with just three symbols.Some outlines depart from the rules inorder not to clash with others but these area minority. Teeline, although largely basedon spelling, also finds it convenient to avoidthese inconsistencies of normal spelling,

but writers can include as much or as littleof each word as they wish. All thesesystems are capable of representing thewhole word and all its sounds, but find itmore useful to abbreviate the morecommon ones, or those that would beawkward or too lengthy to write in full. Thisis nothing new as everyone already doesthis with their longhand.

* Omission phrase "shorthand s(t)udent"

* "Teeline" Insert the dot vowel, as this hasthe same shape as "outline", although thecaps marks helps it to be read correctly

* "number of" This is the same outline as"brief" so always insert the vowel in thelatter

We Like To Abbrev

With these systems, the shorthand is notreally a means of abbreviation in that theydo not require every word to be reduceddown to a barely recognisable fragment ofthe original, hence the misconception thateverything must be* memorisedindividually. The symbols for each soundare very much simpler than letters of the

alphabet, and this is why they are faster towrite, straight lines and curves in differentlengths and orientations. Teeline uses cut-down versions of longhand letters and so ismore familiar for the learner, but slower towrite as the outlines are longer.

* Omission phrase "mus(t) be"





We Like To Abbrev

In Pitman’s there are only two signs thatare not based on a consonant or vowel signthat matches their sound and these are

“and” and the downward thick dash for “he”which is only used in the middle or end of aphrase. The short form “why” is writtenwith a variant of the semicircle W sign, andthe short form “beyond” uses the Ydiphthong. Both of these marks werereplaced early in the development ofPitman’s in favour of the full Way and Yaystrokes to begin* a syllable. So these lattertwo do have a phonetic rationale, althoughnot obvious to the beginner. The majorityof words are written with all their sounds

represented* in the outline, with trueabbreviation (cutting out some of thesounds) being reserved for the verycommonest words. These are called shortforms and contractions. A short form is likewriting the longhand letter B for the word

“be”. A contraction generally uses the firstsyllable of the word, which is exactly whatwe do in longhand to save writing time, butall these could be written in full if the writerpreferred.

* "to begin" Based on the phrase shortform "to be" therefore through the line

We Like To Abbrev

The most compact and efficient shorthandthat everyone uses without a second’sthought or hesitation is numbers and othermathematical* symbols. The signs for plus,minus, times or multiplied by, and dividedby (called an obelus), are all shorthand forthese words. There are signs for “thesquareroot* of” (a tick with a horizontalline extended over the number), asuperscript two for “squared”, and asuperscript three for “cubed”. The list goeson and on, and complicated equations canbe written over a page which would takemany pages of text if they were beingdescribed in words. It looks to me like amap or a timeline with all the relevant

points, actions and results marked alongthe way in simple symbols, until you arriveat the destination, the final outcome of thecalculations. Because numerals are so quickto write, it is preferable in most cases touse them rather than their equivalentoutlines.

* "mathematical" The shorter words "maths"and "math" are normal outlines, above theline and vocalised

* "squareroot" Note that Ray is neverhalved when it stands alone





We Like To Abbrev

Throughout the history of writing, scribeshave used abbreviations in order to* get asmuch text as possible on their expensiveand scarce writing surfaces. Texts andbooks were not produced to be read by thegeneral population but by the elite few whowere literate, such as royalty, the nobility,priests, officials and administrators. Inreligious texts, abbreviations weresometimes used to replace the direct use ofwords and names considered holy, tomaintain respectfulness and avoid anysemblance of irreverence or worldliness.

Heavy use of abbreviations had the effectof restricting readership to those withappropriate training, and so the contentswould only be available to others throughthe spoken word, which would beaccompanied by an authorisedinterpretation of the text. This is a worldaway from our present-day experience ofthe publishing and sharing of information,sometimes ad nauseam if one does notcontrol one’s internet surfing time.

* Omission phrase "in ord(er to)

We Like To Abbrev

Many of the abbreviations are still with us.The ampersand is derived from the Latin “et”which means “and”. The percent sign isderived from the numerals for one hundred.The British monetary pound sign is anembellished capital L, from the Latin wordfor scales “libra”. The number or hash sign,two vertical lines and two horizontal lines,is a simplified form of a ligature for thelower case letters L and B, for the same

Latin word. The dollar sign is derived fromP written through S for peso. Diacritics(marks over the top) were also used as ashortening device, such as a plain orcurved line, or extra flourishes attached toone or more of the letters of the shortenedword, but these are now used to convert anexisting letter of the alphabet into a slightlydifferent pronunciation.





We Like To Abbrev

The variety of abbreviations used by scribesand copyists have mostly* disappeared intothe mists of history, but new ones arebeing created all the time for similarreasons. The most obvious is texting

“shorthand”. Its origin was to save on thecost of sending the phone message byreducing the number of characters itcontained, and later on to save time andeffort* entering the text on the early phonekeypads (before the arrival of touchscreens

and text prediction). The initial flurry oftexting inventions has now slowed and itseems to have settled down to a handful ofuniversally useful terms to be used ininformal settings, such as comments andforum conversations.

* "mostly" Omits the lightly-sounded T

* Omission phrase "time (and) effort"

We Like To Abbrev

Our diverse collection of commonabbreviations, and the earlier shorthandsystems with their arbitrary signs that mustbe* memorised en masse, have got ourpresent systems of shorthand a rather badpress. This is only dispelled when youactually begin learning it, although ifinterest is weak or enthusiasm absent, thenany system, however simple, is likely toappear unacceptably complicated whencompared with the ingrained longhand that

has been learned and used since childhood.Speaking for Pitman’s, I hope you havenow discovered that it is a well-designedlogical system that reflects the sounds,syllables and phrases of normal speech and,when written with reasonable neatness,may be read many years later by the writer,and by others who know the system. (1171words)

* Omission phrase "mus(t) be"





Pitter Patter Raindrops

We have had some very heavy rain in thelast few days and more is forecast for therest of the week. We would normally expectfine weather in the month of June andthunderstorms to come in July, but theyare here now. Our roads are perfect man-made stream beds, and as there are hillswhere I live, those roads that pointdownwards get the water from all the other

ones, providing the spectacle of twinstreams racing down the gutters on bothsides, clearing out any debris and jumpingover the drains that cannot handle thequantity. This is unusual enough to beinteresting to watch, but not so much as topose any threat to the residents or theirproperty.


We have a particular liking for heavy rain,as long as we are indoors feeling safe andcosy underneath the dependable and well-built roof, behind the solid walls and on thisside of the two panes of double glazing,watching the giant drops pelting the plants,jumping up off the hard surfaces andturning the pond from peacefully* smoothto a spiky confusion of droplets reboundingup from their* impact with the water. Thefish love it, as flies and other critters* arewashed in from the air, the* branches andthe greenery along the edges, and it alsoadds to the aeration of the pond, as well as

bringing its own fresh flavour to the pondwater for them.

* "peacefully" Insert the final dot, as"peaceful" could also make sense

* "from their " Doubling for "their"

* "critters" Note the outline for "creatures"has an Ar instead of the R Hook

* "air, the" Not phrased, as there is apause






I think our little game of triumphing overthe rain started when we had caravanholidays many years ago. The caravanswere very small by today’s standards, but itwas a hugely exciting adventure for uschildren. The rain would drum on the metalroof and reverberate around the interior,but we were safe in our little wood andmetal box. We could look out of the windowand see through the misty glass all theother little boxy caravans with their dimlights on. Somehow we felt that if it rainedat night, then the rain was all used up andtomorrow would be fine and sunny, readyfor a day on the beach. If it continued intothe day, then visits to the souvenir shops

had to make up for the lack of good beachweather. There were always theamusement* arcades to fill any* rainyhours, or the choppy angry seas to watch,which left us wondering why we everthought it was possible or advisable topaddle in it.

* "amusement" It is obvious that it is not"amazement" here, but the other forms of"amaze/amuse" and derivatives shouldalways have their vowel in

* "any" Essential to insert a final dot vowel,as "fill in" would also make sense


In a former house that we lived in aschildren, some of the boys decided to makea hut from scraps of wood. They used theexisting fence as one side, and built uptheir hut from any spare bits of wood theycould find. It was about the size and heightof a telephone box and I was allowed in sothat we could all huddle there against therain, in our private self-built* bolthole.Some bread and water would complete thesupplies, but most importantly* of all it hadto be raining. Unfortunately* one couldonly get in through the roof, lifting off oneof the panels. I did manage this severaltimes, although I felt it was not the bestplace to put the entrance. Maybe this iswhere I began planning what a good house

ought to be like, continuing to this day, andstarting with having a door in the rightplace. Just struggling to get in added to thesense of adventure and achievement, and Ithink maybe they put it there as a securitymeasure, as no adults could climb up andget in!

* "self-built" Outlines beginning "self" arealways written in 2nd position, to accordwith the vowel in "self"

* Omission phrase "mos(t) importantly"

* “Unfortunately” Optional contraction






Nowadays I can sit in my greenhouse,which has seats rather than plants, andlisten to the sound of the rain hitting theroof. Unlike the caravan, the rain can beseen streaming down the glass on all sides,so I feel that* I am out in it but strangelyunaffected by the wet and the wind. It hasa small gutter along each side and the rainshoots out of them in spluttering cascadeswhen there is too much water for thedownpipes to take. Summer rain is notparticularly cold, so it is a pleasant* way towatch the pond get drilled with the watery*missiles and the fish making the occasionallunge at flies that have washed in. Gettingback to the house, only twenty feet away,before the rain stops is another story

though and one of my favourite nurseryrhymes says it all:

I hear thunder, I hear thunder!ark don’t you, hark don’t you?Pitter patter raindrops, pitter patterraindrops,I’m wet through, so are you! (779 words)

* Omission phrase "I fee(l) that"

* "pleasant" Helpful to insert the vowel, asit is similar to "pleasing"

* "watery" Insert the vowel, as "water"would also make sense

Caravan Holidays

Our annual caravan holiday in the nineteensixties was the highlight of our year, fromour home in South London to the seasidetowns of Clacton, Herne Bay, Seaford orNewhaven. What is now a short day trip bycar was then a huge adventure by coach ortrain. All the luggage was carried by handand we waited for what seemed like ages atthe coach pickup point or railway station.Time was passed by playing with theScoubidou knotting* toy which was popularat that time, consisting of lengths of plasticthat could be woven into a multi-coloured

chain. This would be undone and redoneseveral times throughout the holiday, and ithelped pass the time while sitting on asuitcase waiting for the coach to come intoview. The coach was slower than the trainbut it had the advantage of a halfway break,although we children wanted that break tobe as short as possible.

* "knotting" Always insert the vowel in"knitting, knotting, netting" as the outlinesand meanings are all similar





Caravan Holidays

On arrival, there was more lugging ofsuitcases and maybe the possibility* of ashort bus ride to the caravan park. At thesite office we collected the key which wasalways on a very large wooden keyring,about the size of a smartphone today, tomake it impossible to lose. The caravanswere all numbered or had individual names,and the rows were marked with letters ofthe alphabet. There were some quite largecaravans but we knew that ours was one ofthe cheapest, so we were not reallysurprised as they shrank in size as we gotnearer our row. This was all forgotten aswe mounted the three little steps andopened the creaking door, revealing the

delightful prospect of inspecting all thecupboards. We were always very excited tofind the well-used boxes of board gamesand a few story books. There were justenough blankets to cover us but notenough to be entirely comfortable all night.The lighting was by gas mantle whichstarted off as an impregnated cotton globe.After its first use, it became very brittle andfragile, and we had to be very careful* notto touch or disturb it during the week.

* "possibility" Optional contraction

* "careful" Optional contraction

Caravan Holidays

There were* no toilets in the caravans, allfacilities were contained in the communalwash block. The shower water was onlyjust warm enough and we did not* look toohard at the grimy tiled corners andpipework in case we saw the spiders.Drinking and washing up water had to befetched from an outside standpipe and thedirty dish water went down the sink andinto a large galvanised bucket underneaththe caravan, which then had to be luggedto the communal drain for emptying. The

grass round the bucket and under the sitewater taps always grew longer and greenerthan elsewhere. All these were notdisadvantages, but added to our enjoymentand sense of achievement in survivingwithout the comparative luxuries of home.

* Omission phrase "there (w)ere"

* "we did not" Not phrased, to aid correctreading. If phrased it would look like "wedo not" or "we had not".





Caravan Holidays

Our grandparents had saved coins in a jamjar all year and so we felt like millionaireswith a whole ten shillings* each to spend.This would equate to about fifty pounds*today, in terms of what it would buy in theway of beach toys, sweets and souvenirs.At the site store we bought plastic beachshoes and straw hats, and invested in a tinof chocolate drink powder that could beadded to milk, which had to last all week.We children had beds that felt not muchlarger than a bookshelf, while our parentshad the fold-down double bed that filled thecentre of the caravan. We fell asleeplistening to the unaccustomed countryside

sounds of farm animals, seagulls and crowsrather than the pigeons and sparrows thatwe were used to. There was total darknessoutside, apart from the glowing windows ofthe other caravans. The day’s activitiesensured that we slept soundly and bymidweek we had got used to turning overin bed on the spot, without rolling off.

* "ten shillings" There were 20 shillings tothe British pound pre-1972 decimalisation

* "pounds" Always insert the diphthong, as"pence" is similar

Caravan Holidays

Mornings announced themselves throughthe ancient floral curtains. Anticipation ofthe pleasures ahead, the small size of thebeds, and the desire not to waste preciousminutes all encouraged us to get up assoon as our eyes opened. The door wasflung wide and the fresh air enticed usoutside while breakfast was prepared,along with the day’s sandwiches. The skywas studied intently for offending grey

clouds and plans for the day werediscussed. Time at the beach was thepriority, and going round the town wasreserved for later if the weather turnedcooler or rainy. Rain during the evening,however, would be positively relished as itpounded on the metal caravan roof, butwith the hope that it would be over by themorning and the sun shining again.





Caravan Holidays

Days at the beach were unhurried* andconsisted of sea, salt, sand and sandwiches.However hot the day, the sea aroundBritain is always cold, and so dips in thesea were only possible on a really hot day.If it was too chilly to go in, the sea couldstill be enjoyed by playing dare with thewaves as they broke and advanced up theshingle, or bouncing flat stones off theincoming waves. The only warm water tobe found would be in a shallow rock pool,

with its accumulation of soft sand in whichto sink toes, although the thought of a crabor two hiding did mean it had to be pokedwith a stick to ensure it was safe to tread in,or maybe wait for someone else to clearthe way before I set my feet in it!

* "unhurried" Note the Hay stroke keeps itsclockwise direction. The combination N +Circle S + Ray has an anticlockwise circlee.g. "answer, nicer"

Caravan Holidays

After the evening meal, we would open thedusty and faded boxes* of Ludo andDraughts, and the packs* of playing andSnap cards. My favourite card game wasFish, but the game of Snap was not restful*at all. Games by gaslight led to an earlynight, as staying up late in a cramped andill-lit caravan was out of the question*. Ouractivities were ruled by daylight andweather, rather than the electric light bulband the clock. We had to be well organisedwith a last visit to the wash block before

darkness, and once the central double bedwas unfolded, there was little chance tomove around the caravan.

* "boxes" "packs" Insert the vowels, asthese two are similar in outline andmeaning

* "restful" Omits the lightly sounded T

* Omission phrase "out (of the) question"using the optional contraction for "question"





Caravan Holidays

Damp sand gradually* accumulated in bags,socks and shoes, along with the aroma ofseawater and seaweed. By the end of theweek we had a collection of buckets,spades, shells, and stones with interestingpatterns or holes containing glistening saltcrystals. The chocolate powder seldomlasted beyond midweek, and on the lastday we almost convinced ourselves that wewere looking forward* to the greatercomforts of home. On the last dayinclement weather was our friend, becausewe would not be looking wistfully* at asunny beach that we were having to leavebehind. The sense of adventure anddiscovery is permanently attached to thememories of those holidays, and, in

hindsight, we now envy the easy ability torest completely from school and work,without the intrusion of mobile phones andlaptops which did not then exist. A weekspent finding out that we could survive,and enjoy ourselves, without our house andpossessions made us realise that home ispeople and enjoying activities together, andnot a building. (1226 words)

* "gradually" has full D, in order todistinguish it from "greatly"

* Omission phrase "looking fo(r)ward"

* "wistfully" Omits the lightly sounded T

Short Letters 7

All the paragraphs are 100 words

Dear Mr Andrews, Thank you for your emailgiving us a date when our representativemay call on you to discuss the buildingwork at your house. I can confirm that hewill be arriving at 9 a.m. on Monday 21stJanuary. He will be bringing with him the

amended plans for the extension and thenew layout for the landscaping work. I haveattached these for your consideration sothat when he comes, you and he candiscuss any extra alterations you wish us tomake. Please email me if you need tochange the meeting date. Yours faithfully(100 words)





Short Letters 7

Dear Friends, We have now received thereport from our accountants regarding thefinances of the Sports Club and I am happyto attach them for your consideration. Itrust that you will* find all of thesesatisfactory but if you have any questions*,please feel free to contact me and I will domy best to answer them. Once again* ourmembership has increased over theprevious year and we are delighted that ourfinancial situation has improved greatly. We

are now looking forward to being able tomake improvements to our facilities,buildings and membership rates. Yourssincerely* (100 words)

* Omission phrases "I trus(t) that you will""wu(n)s again" "Yours (sin)cerely"

* "questions" Optional contraction

Short Letters 7

Dear Parents, Thank you so much forsupporting our fundraising day at theschool last week*. It was a great day and Iam very pleased to inform you that weraised more than our target figure of onethousand pounds. As you know, this isgoing to be used to redecorate the playareas and update all the equipment,including the playground games. This will*take place over the summer months when

the school is closed for the holidays. Wehope to see you in September for ourHarvest Fete and show you all the newimprovements. Yours truly (100 words)

* Omission phrase "las(t w)eek"

* "This will" Downward L to make a goodjoin





Short Letters 7

Dear Miss Wood, I am replying to thecomplaint which you made about thewashing machine* which you bought fromour Newtown High Street store. Pleaseaccept our apologies for this breakdown ofthe appliance. Our engineer will becontacting you very shortly to arrange adate to inspect this. If he cannot effect arepair, we will replace the machineimmediately with an identical model,

although if you wish this could be anymodel of similar price that you prefer. Itrust that this action will resolve the matterfor you to your satisfaction. Yourssincerely*, Customer Services Manager(100 words)

* Omission phrases "wash(ing) machine""Yours (sin)cerely"

Short Letters 7

Dear Sir David, I am writing tocongratulate you on the success of yourrecent book entitled “Travels Around TheWorld.” I really enjoyed reading about theplaces you travelled to and it brought backhappy memories of some of the townswhich I visited many years ago when Ilived in the United States of America* for ayear, and in Australia for two years. I wishyou all the best with the next book, which I

shall look forward* to reading as soon as itis available. With best wishes* to you, Maryand the family, Tom Green (100 words)

* Omission phrases "United States ofAmerica" "look fo(r)ward"

* "best wishes" Upward Ish to make a goodjoin





Short Letters 7

Dear Alfred*, I hope you are keeping welland that you and Anna are enjoying yourretirement. I think your move to the villagewas a good one, where you can both relaxa bit more after all those years in the city.One of our colleagues has decided to writea short history of the company andwondered whether you would be willing toanswer a few brief questions. If so, I could

forward them on to you to answer at yourleisure, and there is no particular hurry, asit is a hobby project. Best regards, Albert*Morris (100 words)

* "Alfred, Albert" Care needed to writethese accurately, as they are very similar

* Omission phrase "I (h)ope you are"

Short Letters 7

Dear Mrs Johnson, Thank you for yourapplication form for the post of AccountsAssistant in our City office. Please attendfor interview on Monday 28 July at 11.30am, and bring with you all the certificatesthat you listed on your form, so that wecan make a copy of these for our records.You are invited to arrive early so that youcan take some refreshments before beingcalled in. The interview will consist of a

time of questions* with Mr Black and thena short written test on accountancy, officeand English skills. Yours sincerely*,Personnel Manager (100 words) (700 wordsTotal)

* "questions" Optional contraction

* Omission phrase "Yours (sin)cerely"

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