Orthic Shorthand Home The Manual Supplement Resources Notes

A Manual of Orthographic Shorthand

The Cambridge System

CONTE NTS

Introductory Remarks

The Cursive Alphabet

Doubled Letters

General Rules

Orthographic Spelling

Diphthongs

The Two Sizes of Character

Dividing a Word

Punctuation

Initial Capitals

How to Write and Join the Characters

Specimen of Fully-Written Style

Ordinary Style

Abbreviations

Omit A and O before M and N

Drop the dots

Replace TH- with writing higher

Let -Y stand unaltered

Abbreviate common endings

The General Method

Phrases

Abbreviations for Common Words

Specimens of the Ordinary Style

The Introductory Remarks

Key

From Macaulay’s History

Key

St John II

Application to Foreign Languages

French

Adaptations

Specimen

Key

German

Adaptations

Specimen

Key

Danish

Adaptations

Specimen

Key

Italian

Adaptations

Specimen

Key

Latin

Adaptations

Specimen

Key

Greek

Adaptations

Specimen

Key

Hints for the Reporting Style

Key to Hints

[Modal vs position writing]

Specimen (Moderately Abbreviated)

Key

A Manual of Orthographic Shorthand: The Cambridge System

by Hugh L. Callendar, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. 1891.

Rendered into Markdown by Jeremy W. Sherman based on the version made available by Google Books.

This version of Hugh L. Callendar’s A Manual of Orthographic Cursive Shorthand by Jeremy W. Sherman is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Manual_of_Orthographic_Cursive_Shortha.html?id=kQ5SAAAAYAAJ.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://jeremywsherman.com/.

Introductory Remarks
The present system is an adaptation of the alphabet and principles of Cursive Shorthand to the common orthography.

Two and a half years’ experience in teaching Cursive has convinced me that the dif culties which beginners nd in learning to spell correctly by
sound are much greater than I had previously imagined; and that it is unadvisable to attempt to introduce a phonetic system of shorthand at
an early stage in education.

I have every reason to believe that the present adaptation of Cursive to the common spelling will be found much more simple and easy to learn
than any of the phonetic systems at present in vogue. There is very little to learn beyond an alphabet of 26 characters, and the method of
joining them. In fact many students have succeeded in reading and writing the present system with nothing but the bare alphabet to guide
them.

With the exception that the method of spelling adopted is orthographic instead of phonetic, no changes has been made in the fundamental
principles of the system. These have been already discussed and explained in the introduction to the Manual of Cursive Shorthand. It is needless
therefore to repeat them here.

The characters of the alphabet are for the most part the same as in Phonetic Cursive; but the change of spelling has made it necessary to
rearrange some of them.

Advantage has been taken of this rearrangement to introduce several improvements in matters of detail, which have been suggested by the
experience of teachers. The general style of the writing has been made even more owing and lineal than before. The awkward backslope \ has
been eliminated from the alphabet, and restricted to use in terminations, where it is comparatively harmless. [Jeremy: It’s used for -ing.]

The writing requires no great niceties of penmanship. No distinction is made, as in other systems, between thin strokes and thick. Only two sizes
of character are employed, instead of three or four. The vowel characters are connecting strokes joined in their natural order together with the
consonants. The great majority of the signs are written on the ordinary slope of longhand, and the forms and distinctions between the
characters are such as are already familiar to every one who has learnt to write in the ordinary style.

The system is strictly alphabetic. A letter is always represented by its alphabetic character. There are no alternative hooks and loops, or halving
and doubling principles, to puzzle and distract the student. A word can be written in one way only. The rules are consequently very few, de nite,
and easy to apply.

In learning the system the student should work straight through the alphabet and following pages, writing and analysing every example as he
comes to it. By the time he reaches [the end of the joining rules] he will thus have become thoroughly familiar with the alphabet. He will then
be able to read through the specimen [of the fully-written style], every word of which is spelt in full.

The Cursive Alphabet

Letter Example

A ab, act

B bad

C cabby

D adder

E fed

F left

G get

H hit

I city

J jug

K luck

L like

M melt

N know

O proof

P plate

Qu query

R roller

S sort

T trust

U upper

V wavy

W wow

X exit

Y eyes

Z size

The arrows show the directions in which the characters are written.

Doubled Letters
Doubled letters are shown, not by repeating the character, but by putting a dot below; thus, odd, too.

Exception: ee; thus, sleep, cp. sup.

General Rules

Orthographic Spelling
All words, when written in full, are spelt according to the common orthography. The characters are to be joined together smoothly, without
lifting the pen, or making any unnecessary angles or breaks. All the more common and important joinings are fully explained and illustrated in
‘How to Write and Join the Characters’.

Diphthongs
When two vowels come together forming a ‘diphthong’, the angle between them is slurred or rounded off into a continuous curve; thus, ai
= , oy = , ou = , eau = .

When, however, the vowels are separately sounded, either the characters are separated, or the angle between them is marked, as in the words

re-enter, Oölite, Deä, create, Leo, asco, serious, fuel, poem.

The Two Sizes of Character

The two sizes of character must be carefully distinguished, just as [lowercase] ‘c’ and [uppercase] ‘C’, and , are distinguished in longhand.
[Jeremy: Note that cursive lowercase L is basically a vertically stretched cursive lowercase E.] The rst letter of a word is generally written so as to
end on the line. The beginner should write between double-ruled lines at rst, as in the following examples:

Characters written against both base and midline rules, rst in alphabetical order, then in small/large groupings. Example words are provided at
the end.

[Jeremy: Here’s a ready-to-print double-ruled paper template for US letter paper.]

Dividing a Word
A word may always be divided if it happens to be convenient. The necessity for this, however, very seldom arises except in the case of compound

words. lawsuit, Woolwich, virgin.

Punctuation
Punctuation is effected in the usual way, except the Hyphen , and the Dash . [Jeremy: They are the normal hyphen and dash, except
a vertical stroke intersects each in the middle, like a plus sign. This distinguishes them from raised A (“and”) and raised O (“though”).]

Initial Capitals
Initial capitals are marked thus . Jack, Clay, S.E., L.S.W.R.

How to Write and Join the Characters

In the following alphabetic list are given examples and explanations of all the joinings which are likely to cause the beginner any dif culty.

You can jump to a speci c letter or signi cant joining:

ay
B
C

ch
D
dw
E
ea
ee
F
G
gh
H
I

ia
J
K
L

standalone L versus R
M
N

ng
nsp
O
oa
ou
P

sp
ps
ph
R

rce
S

standalone S versus E
sh, sr, and shr
sp
T

th
word- nal th
tw
U

U versus EE
W

wr
wh
word- nal ws
wn
X

xh
xp
xt
Y
Z

A is a short horizontal connecting stroke. It forms the diphthongs ai, au, ay.

Ay may be curved either way. The form is used whenever it joins more clearly or easily than the form , as after

thus, days, quay; cp. says, hay.

B is written like the letter , but with a more open loop and without the hook upwards at the end. It forms the compounds:

bd rob’d

bj object

bl able

br bray

bs absurd

bt subtract

bv subvent

C is written like the letter c, but it is not turned up at the end, unless followed by e.

Ch is written and joined exactly like the longhand letter o; thus, chair, Christ, ache, cp. ahead.
Other compounds are:

ck suckle

cl close

cr crutch

ct act

D and t have similar characters, but that for d is made much atter, and about three times as long. It forms the compounds:

dge judge

dj

dle ddle

dr dread

dv

dw dwell

[Jeremy: The Supplement published a year later suggests in ordinary style always omitting the D from the pre x ADJ-, which is probably
why no example is given.]

E is a short upstroke; it must not be confused with s, which is written downwards.

Ea may be curved either way like ay. The form is used except after . An angle must always be made after

before or ; thus seat, seas, eat, real, pearl, years.

The diphthongs ee , ei , ie are all written upwards much more steeply than u. steep, cp. stupid. eu , ew new.

F is joined without an angle after vowels; thus, if (not ).

It is joined to following characters like the longhand letter s; thus,

ft soft

fd puff’d

ri e

fr afraid

fs skiffs

G is like the left-hand half of a capital G. It forms the compounds:

gh high

gl glory

gr agree

gn sign

H is a large circle or backward loop beginning at the bottom. It is distinguished from ch by the way it is joined; thus, hat,

chat, what, which

I is a short upstroke, like e, but dotted.

ia may be curved either way like ea; thus, social, optician; chief.

J is like the letter j, but is not dotted.

K is like g, but is turned the other way. It is joined in the same way as f.

L is a small circle or loop like r, but is turned the opposite way, clockwise. [Jeremy: L leaps clockwise and hangs below, R runs in
reverse and stands above.]

When standing by itself as an initial, L is distinguished from R by pre xing a short hair-stroke showing the way it is turned.
In other cases the distinction is obvious; cp.

black bread

clay crow

addle dry

ow fro

glad grade

play pray

little litre

slay Israël

held herd

world already

Other compounds are:

lf half

lk walk

lp help

lt wilt

lv salve

M is like n, but much longer and atter.

mp imply

mb limb

ms

N is like the rst hook of the letter n.

No angle need be made in the compounds:

ng singer

nsp inspect
Other compounds are:

nc since

nch inches

nd India

nf infer

nj injury

nl unless

ns sense

nt sent

nk sink

nqu inquest

nv invent

O is made about three times as long as a.

Oa is distinguished from o by writing the a above; thus, oar, cp. or; oak.
Other compounds are:

oi toil

ou out

oy boys

P is a long downstroke, like the upper half of the stroke of the letter . It is made about three times as long as s.

In joining s before and after p, the s-tick is sloped backwards; thus

sp spear

ps cusps
Other compounds are:

ph phrase phlegm

pl place

pr present

pt depth

phth

Qu is like the lower loop of the letter ; it is turned the opposite way to j. esquire.

R is a small circle like L, but is always turned the opposite way, like the loop of the longhand letter . For examples, see L.

The compound rce is written like the form of the longhand letter e; thus, erce. [Jeremy: I’ve never seen this style of cursive e
used outside Callendar’s own writing. It is like the uppercase cursive E made like a mirrored, round 3, only it is written the height of a
lowercase letter, and has an added leading hairstroke crossing above the midline to make the top circle of the e. The result is basically
the counter-clockwise Orthic r sitting atop a half-height Orthic c with a rise at the end for the e.]
Other compounds are:

rd

rt

rf

rk work

rn learn

rp

rs

rv

S is a short downstroke like the tick at the beginning or end of a capital .

When standing alone, as an initial, it is written straight down, thus , to distinguish it clearly from e; cp. S.E.

In the compound Sh the h circle is made smaller for neatness; sh is distinguished from sr by the way it is joined; thus; cp.

shed- Tisri- shred- school

Other compounds are:

sc scent

sk

sl slew

sm

sn

sp sphere

squ square

st still

sw answer

T is like the hook at the end of the letter .

Th is written like the letter . [Jeremy: That’s a looped-through version of the d Callendar often writes at the end of a word, as seen

for example in “end” . That word also shows the funky e Callendar uses to explain how to write the compound rce.]
At the end of a word, the circle of the h need not be completed; thus,

with

both
Other compounds are:

tch sketch

tle turtle

tr truth

tw two

U is a long up-stroke on a at slope, making an angle of about 30° with the line.

U is distinguished from ee by being written much less steeply; cp. seen, sun.
Dipththongs

ua guard

ui suit

V is distinguished from ste by its size; cp.

minster

Minver

stew

view

W is an upward hook, which may be turned either way.

The rst [clockwise] form is always used at the beginning of a word, except before r. Thus

way

woe

wet

cp. write

wr is distinguished from th by its size.

wh is made by enlarging the w hook so as to look like the h- circle; cp. who, ha.

ws ; at the end of a word the addition of the s tick to the w hook forms a loop; thus

sews

cows

laws
Other compounds are:

wk hawk

wl owls

wn dawn

X
No angle need be made in:

xh exhort

xp expense

xt extent

yacht

yet

yore

yule

daze

Fitz

puzzle

Specimen of Fully-Written Style

The preceding rules and examples will enable the student to read the (1) specimen of writing given on the opposite page, of which this page is a
(2) key. Every word of this specimen is written in full letter for letter (3) just as it is here spelt. Nothing is left out. The small gures in (4) brackets
show where each line of the shorthand ends, so that the stu-(5)dent may have no dif culty nding his place in the key, if (6) he happens to be at
a loss to make out a word. (7)

The ability to write any word in full just as it is spelt, is (8) of the greatest value, especially for the correct spelling of proper (9) names and foreign
words, which is often a serious matter, (10) and is quite impossible in any phonetic system. (11)

Even when thus written in full the system is very brief as contrasted (12) with ordinary writing. For practical purposes a still further increase (13)
of brevity may be effected without any sacri ce of clearness, by (14) the use of shorter out-lines for such words as and, the, (15) for, to, etc., which
occur so often in every page of English (16), and by the employment of a few other simple methods of (17) abbreviation, which are illustrated in
the sections that follow, (18) and which constitute the ordinary style of Cursive.

[Jeremy: The specimen ends here.]

In the reporting style two new methods are introduced, namely ‘expression by mode’ and ‘phraseography.’ These, together with the extension
of the methods used in the ordinary style, combine to render the reporting style of Cursive as short, consistently with clearness, as any system of
writing can possibly be made. It is intended to treat this subject more fully in a future publication, but the methods are so simple that it has
been thought worth while to include a short sketch of them in the present manual. It is probable that the hints given in “Hints for the Reporting
Style” will be suf cient to enable any intelligent student to apply them successfully for himself without further assistance.

Specimen of fully-written style. See preceding text for key.

Ordinary Style

Abbreviations
The following methods of abbreviation are used in correspondence and in ordinary writing.

Omit A and O before M and N

The vowels a and o are omitted before m and n, except initially and in rare words; thus, can or con, al(o)ne, w(o)m(a)n. An

omission of this kind can always be corrected, if desired, by writing the omitted character above; thus, band, bond.

Drop the dots

Dots are generally omitted in common words such as it, in, is, if, him, his, will. [Jeremy: Sic, without examples of the outlines in Orthic. Note this
method includes omitting both dots above the letter i and dots below doubled letters. Both omissions are used in writing “will.”]

Replace TH- with writing higher

Initial Th is omitted in all common words. The omission is shown by writing the rest of the word above the line; thus, the, they, this,

them, tho’, that.

Exception: The character a written above the line stands for the word and.

Let -Y stand unaltered

In adding in ections to words ending in y, the y is not changed to i or ie; thus, applyd, trys, easyst, happyr.

Abbreviate common endings

Some common terminations are abbreviated as shown in the following list:

Ed. The e may generally be omitted; thus,

us’d

kiss’d

stirr’d

Ful

useful

beautyfully

Hood hd

manhood

Ing ing

using

saying

seeming

This form is used only for the in ection -ing and not in such words as king; cp. sing, singing.

It is better to curve the stroke, thus , after d, m, n, t, v, and vowels.

Ight t, below

night

light

Ion un, dotted if necessary

action

Ity y, above

ab(il)ities

pec(uliar)ity

Less ls

thankless

fearlessness

Ly y below

nearly

easily

dailies

Ment mt

comment

arrangement

Ness ns [J: Don’t use this. Write ness as detached ess instead per the general method of abbreviation. See ‘ness’ in the Supplement. Then
per that method use ns for ations.]

happyness

thoughtfulness

Ough o’

ought

brought

Ther hr

others

Ward ard

towards

[J: Note that each links to itself, to aid in teaching fellow writers.]

The General Method

The general method of abbreviating long words is to write only the rst syllable, and, if necessary, to indicate the termination by writing the last
letter or two, separated by a small interval from the rst part; thus,

dif(feren)t

dif(feren)ce

ack(nowledge)

esp(eciall)y

cir(cumstan)ce

extr(aordinar)y

rep(resentati)ve

In many cases the termination may be joined, as in the last three examples.

Phrases
Words may often be joined together provided that they are closely connected in sense. This applies especially to common words, auxiliaries, and
particles, such as those contained in the list [of common words in the next section]: ex. gr.

able to do

as it is

I am not

I have had

I shall be very

to be

ought to have been

with a view to

Abbreviations for Common Words

The following is a list of the abbreviations for common words used in the corresponding style. Many of them are such as are commonly used in
longhand. [J: Note that each links to itself, to aid in teaching fellow writers.]

ab(ou)t

al(way)s

(a)m

I’m

am(oun)t

an (or a)

and

a(n)y

ar(e)

wer(e)

b(e)

b(ee)n

bec(ause)

betw(een)

b(u)t

ca(n)

ca(n)-b(e)

ch(il)d

c(oul)d

d(o)

d(oe)s

d(ow)n

ever (raised r)

f(or)

f(or)m

f(rien)d

g(oo)d

gr(ea)t

ha(ve)

h(a)d

m(a)de

m(igh)t

mo(re)

m(o)st

n(o)t

c(a)n’t

n(oth)ing

o(f)

o(f-th)e

(o)n

(o)nly

(o)ne

(o)nce

pe(r)h(aps)

r(igh)t

rou(nd)

se(l)f

s(el)v(e)s

sha(ll)

she

sh(oul)d

thems(el)ves

theref(ore)

thing

thro’out

t(o)

int(o)

u(nder)

w(ee)k

w(oul)d

wh(ich)

(wi)th

y(ou)

y(ou)rs

Specimens of the Ordinary Style

The Introductory Remarks

Specimen of ordinary style. See introduction for key.

Key
See the rst section. :)

From Macaulay’s History

Specimen of ordinary style. See next section for key.

Key
The State of England in the Reign of Charles II.

It is time that this description of the England which Charles the Second governed should draw to a close. Yet one subject of the highest
moment still remains untouched. Nothing has yet been said of the great body of the people, of those who held the ploughs, who tended the
oxen, who toiled at the looms of Norwich, and squared the Portland stone for St Paul’s. Nor can very much be said. The most numerous class is
precisely the class respecting which we have the most meagre information. In those times philanthropists did not yet regard it a sacred duty,
not had demagogues yet found it a lucrative trade, to talk and write about the distress of the labourer. History was too much occupied with the
Courts and camps to spare a line for the hut of the peasant, or the garret of the mechanic. The press now often sends forth in a day a greater
quantity of discussion and declamation about the condition of the working man than was published during the twenty-eight years which
elapsed between the Restoration and the Revolution. But it would be a great error to infer from the increase of complaint that there has been
any increase of misery.

The great criterion of the state of the common people is the amount of their wages; and as four- fths of the common people were, in the
seventeenth century, employed in agriculture, it is especially important to ascertain what were then the wages of the agricultural [Page 2]
industry. On this subject we have the means of arriving at conclusions suf ciently exact for our purpose.

It seems clear that the wages of labour, estimated in money, were, in 1685, not more than half of what they now are; and there were few articles
important to the working man of which the price was not, in 1685, more than half of what it now is. Beer was undoubtedly much cheaper in that
age than at present. Meat was also cheaper, but was still so dear that hundreds of thousands of families scarcely knew the taste of it. In the cost
of wheat there has been very little change. The average price of the quarter, during the last 12 years of Charles the Second, was fty shillings.
Bread, therefore, such as is now given to the inmates of a workhouse, was then seldom seen, even on the trencher of a yeoman or of a
shopkeeper. The great majority of the nation lived entirely on rye, barley, and oats.

The produce of tropical countries, of mines, and of machinery, was positively dearer than at present. Among the commodities for which the
labourer would have had to pay higher in 1685 than his posterity now pay, were sugar, salt, coals, candles, soap, shoes, stockings, and generally
all articles of clothing and all articles of bedding. It may be added, that the old coats and blankets would have been, not only more costly, but
less serviceable, than the modern fabrics.

St John II

John 2:1–13, KJV.

John 2:14–25, 3:1–2, KJV.

[For the Key to the John II passage, see any copy of the King James Version of the Bible.]

Application to Foreign Languages

Owing to the peculiar character of the vowel system and the facility with which the characters can be joined, the alphabet of Orthographic
Cursive is immediately applicable with very slight modi cations to almost all foreign languages. It is impossible here to work out the subject
fully, but the following specimens will be of interest as shewing the capabilities of the system. They are written almost in full, containing only
one or two tri ing abbreviations, such as -mt for -ment, analogous to those used in the ordinary style of English.

French
Adaptations

English y is used to write French é .

Both forms of English -ing are used instead to write French ée .

Specimen

Specimen of French. The blue highlight marks an example of how the grave accent is written by crossing the outline.

Key
De tous les systèmes de gouvernement et de garanties politiques, à coup sûr le plus dif cile à établir, à faire prévaloir, c’est le système fédératif ;
ce système qui consiste à laisser dans chaque localité, dans chaque société particulière, toute la portion de gouvernement qui peut y rester, et à
ne lui enlever que la portion indispensable au maintien de la société générale, pour la porter au centre de cette même société, et l’y constituer
sous la forme de gouvernement centrale.

German
Adaptations

English g and c are swapped, giving German g and c .

English sh becomes German sch .

English under-ea becomes German ei .

English -ing becomes German -ung .

German omits h both after vowels and after t.

Specimen

Specimen of German

Key
Die anziehende Kraft des geriebenen Bernsteins war bereits im Alterthume bekannt, jedoch ohne dass derselben weiter nachgeforscht wurde.
Sie wurde gewöhnlich in Gemeinschaft mit der Anziehung des Magnetsteins gekannt, und von dieser nicht unterschieden. Die gleiche
Eigenschaft wie beim Bernstein war später noch an einer bituminösen Steinkohle (Gagat) wahrgenommen worden.

Der Erste, welcher die Anziehung des geriebenen Bernsteins von der des Magnetsteins mit Bestimmtheit unterschied, und sie mit dem von der
griechischen Benennung des Bernsteins (ἤλεκτρον) entlehnten Namen bezeichnete, war W. Gilbert (um 1600). Er fand, dass Edelsteine, Glas,
Harz, Schwefel, u. s. w., nach dem Reiben…

Danish
This Danish adaptation is thanks to Jacob Moen. It is new as of 2020 and was not included in the original 1891 text.

Adaptations
å is an a with a oating apostrophe over the middle.
ø is a crossed o.
æ is a crossed a.
Raising is used for the j in jeg:
^eg for jeg

Raising is used for the de- pre x, analogously to its use for th in the English the, thus:
^n for den

^r for der

^t for det

Specimen

Specimen of Danish

Key
Allerede i min barndom, omkring 8-9 års alderen, kunne jeg tegne nogenlunde hæderligt. Jeg tror, jeg hørte til den lille gruppe af børn, som
helt tilfældigt lærer at se på den måde, der sætter en i stand til at tegne. Jeg kan stadigvæk huske, at jeg sagde til mig selv, også som ganske
lille, at hvis jeg ville tegne noget, måtte jeg først gøre "det".

From the Danish translation of Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Note that a and o could have been omitted before n and
m much more often than they were in this specimen.

Italian
Adaptations
Final o is omitted after consonants.

Specimen

Specimen of Italian

Key
L’historia si puo veramente def nire una guerra illustre contro il Tempo, perchè togliendoli di mano gl’anni suoi prigioneri, anzi già fatti cadaveri,
li richiama in vita, li passa in rassegna, e li schiera di nuovo in battaglia. Ma gl’illustri Campioni che in tal Arringo fanno messe di Palme e d’Allori,
rapiscono solo che le sole spoglie più sfarzose e brillanti, imbalsamando co’ loro inchiostri le Imprese de’ Principi e Potentati, e quali cati
Personaggi, e trapontando coll’ ago nissimo dell’ ingegno i li d’oro e di seta, che formano un perpetuo ricamo di Attioni gloriose. —I Promessi
Sposi, Introduction.

Latin
Adaptations

Final um is written with English y.

Specimen

Specimen of Latin. Note the end-of-line hyphens in _tribu-norum_ and _dom-inatio_ used to mark that the word continues on the next line.

Key
Urbem Romam a principio reges habuere. Libertarem et consulatum L. Brutus instituit. Dictaturae ad tempus sumebantur. Neque decemviralis
potestas ultra biennium, neque tribunorum militum consulare jus diu valuit. Non Cinnae, non Sullae longa dominatio; et Pompeii Crassique
potentia cito in Caesarem, Lepidi atque Antonii arma in Augustum cessere, qui cuncta, discordiis civilibus fessa, nomine Principis sub imperium
accepit. —Tacitus, Annals, I.1.

Greek
Adaptations

English y becomes Greek η .

English straight ing becomes Greek ω

[Jeremy: That covers adapting Orthic to Greek. As for adapting Greek to Orthic, it appears that Callendar decided:

Spiritus lenis is unmarked.

Spiritus asper is marked by writing an English h .

All tone marks are omitted.

I guess that makes this an atonic Greek orthography. I expect diaeresis would be indicated by an angle joining, as discussed in “Diphthongs.”]

Specimen

Specimen of Greek

Key
Ἐπειδήπερ πολλοὶ ἐπεχείρησαν ἀνατάξασθαι διήγεσιν περὶ τῶν πεληροφορημένων ἐν ἡμῖν πραγμάτων, καθὼς παρέδοσαν ἡμῖν οἱ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς αὐτόπται
καὶ ὑμηρέται γενόμενοι τοῦ λόγου, ἔδοξε κἀμοὶ παρηκολουθηκότι ἄνωθεν πᾶσιν ἀκριβῶς καθεξῆς σοὶ γράψαι, κράτιστε θεόφιλε. —St Luke I.1–3.

Hints for the Reporting Style

Hints for the reporting style. See next section for key.

Key to Hints
Jeremy: This section is an original addition of this work. The images have a dot at the start of every fth line to help you jump back and forth
between the shorthand and this key.

The original text provided no key for these hints. If you wanted to learn the reporting style from the manual, you needed to learn to read
ordinary style rst.

The reporting style differs from the ordinary style only in the more extensive use of (2) abbreviation and phrasing.

Words are abbreviated as in longhand by the application (3) of the general principle given in §10. This method is so simple that with a little (4)
practice any reporter can easily extemporise suitable abbreviations for himself, according to the (5) context of the subject upon which he is
engaged. In order however to secure the greatest possible (6) uniformity of style among writers of-the system, it’s intended shortly to publish (7)
a standard list of abbreviations for common words in the form of a vocabulary.

(8) It’s impossible to treat the subject of reporting adequately in the present publication, (9) but we will proceed to give a few hints which will be
of use to students. (10)

. In abbreviating a common word it’s generally suf cient to write the rst 2 (11) or 3 letters of the termination, but terminations and in exions
which are evidently required (12) by the context may be omitted. Mere initials may be largely used for repeated names (13) and titles.
Examples

s = sir,
l = lord,
p = page,
q = question,
pr = principle,
rep = (14) represent,
imp = important,
fou = found,
ea = each,
mu = much.

(15) In the case of short words it’s often better to join the last letter;

pt = part,
(16) sht = short,
tn = town,
ler = letter,
ld = world,
ming = morning.

(17) Letters which are weakly sounded, such as GH in STRAIT = straight, may often be left (18) out in abbreviating; initial H in such words as
HIM HAS HAD especially in (19) phrases and compounds;

chas = which has,

shtnd = shorthand,
chil = which will.
. (1) SLURRING. This method of abbreviation is largely used in Gurney’s and in the (2) script systems which are universally employed in
Germany. In hurried writing it is not (3) always possible to preserve the exact forms of-the characters, but it’s important to keep as far as (4)
possible THE GENERAL OUTLINE of a word. Examples of common slurs are:

(5) double-width D = DD or TD,

deep double-width D = DV,
UUN = USION or UTION. (6)

The larger and more characteristic signs should be retained, but the smaller signs such as L R (7) may be slurred; examples

expeec = experience,
beev = believe,
aso = also,
gt (8) = grt,
mter = matter,
eduun = education,
nstuun = institution. (9)
. MODES. If the larger signs are omitted in abbreviating, their omission should (10) be indicated by mode, that is by bringing the outline and
writing the termination close (11) to the rst part of-the word.

The omission of B P or V is indicated by (12) mode I, that is by writing the termination above; thus

whichr = whichever,
gn = given.
(13) The omission of G K J or QU is shown by writing the termination below, called (14) mode III; thus

sn = sign,
st = sight,
tn = taken,
wa. = wage,
was = wages
(15) The omission of other characters and syllables may be shown by mode II, that is by (16) writing the termination on the same level;
thus

dif-ce = difference,
a-plish = accomplish.

(17) Some common words and pre xes, especially b and con or com, may (18) also be expressed by modes, but this method must be
applied with caution; –

(19) un-n = uncommon,

i-c. = i-c(o)nceive,
isha. = ishabe (i shall be),
chasn = (whi)ch has b(ee)n,
(20) yd = bey(on)d,
f
= before,
ter
= better,
nlnt
= benevolent,
fry = for every.

[Modal vs position writing]

[Jeremy: ‘Benevolent’ demonstrates how indication by mode differs from the xed positions used in Pitman’s shorthand. While Pitman’s
positions are relative to the line, Orthic’s modes are relative to the preceding character. Thus a raised n implies the pre x be-, and then an lnt
raised relative to that n implies the v.]

Specimen (Moderately Abbreviated)

Specimen of a moderately abbreviated reporting style. See next section for key.

Key
Local Government.

I agree with Sir Charles Dilke in attributing the utmost importance to the question of local government in the future. I agree with him in the
estimate which he has formed of the high place that question will occupy in the programme of the Liberal party. Experience justi es us in the
hope that the Reformed Parliament will do much in the direction of completing the work which previous Reformed Parliaments have
commenced. What was the main and the material advantage which resulted from the Reform Bill of 1832? It was the concession of municipal
government to our country towns — a concession which has been highly appreciated, and which has been wisely used, and which has added
most materially to the comfort and the happiness of the populations concerned. And what was the greatest result of the Reform of 1867? It was
the extension of the functions of local governments by the creation of a system of education national in its scope, but locally administered. And
it remains for the Reformed Parliament which will meet in 1886 to complete this work and to carry it further. I can conceive of no nobler and no
more congenial task for those who represent the whole people than that of extending to the counties and to the metropolis and to the sister
kingdom the liberties and the institutions which have conferred so great a bene t upon us the provinces. Gentlemen, local government is
important altogether beyond its usefulness. It is the best political education, and I am convinced that the welfare and the contentment of the
whole population can only be secured in proportion as the whole population are called in to take a part and a share in the obligations and the
responsibilities of government. But, the extension of municipal institutions is not all that we have to do in the way of local government. We have
in the future to elevate our conception of the meaning of the word. It is not merely a parochial and municipal, it is not even merely a provincial
question, it is a national question also. What are the great problems of the future? We have to deal with obstruction in the House of Commons.
We have to deal with the system under which the greatest legislative assemblage in the world has begun to lose its usefulness, and in
consequence lose its in uence. And that result can never be accomplished as long as the Imperial Parliament is burdened with an ever
increasing amount of petty detail with which it is incompetent to deal, and which ought to be referred to other bodies.

What are the two greatest and most pressing needs of our time? I think most men would say the provision of healthy decent dwellings in our
large towns at fair rents, and in the country facilities for the labourer to obtain a small plot of land which he may be able to work.

Theme built by C.S. Rhymes