Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Wel, Hwel and Hway are the only instances of a hook adding a sound
BEFORE that of the main stroke, all other hooks add a sound after. It helps
to think of the strokes below that have such permanent "attachments" as
complete strokes in their own right, otherwise confusion may result when
learning the R, L, F/V and N hooks.
The reason they have attachments is that, as the system developed in its
early days, more strokes were required than were available from the straight
lines at various angles and segments of a circle. Therefore various unused
combinations were made use of, e.g. Ray was given initial hooks to make
Way and Yay, which were originally shown by the small semi-circle and the
downstrokes that we now use for Rer and Ler; the combination S-CHR, not
occurring in English, was used instead for downward Hay, the H sound
originally being represented by only the aspirate dot and the upstroke that is
now used for Yay.
Gay Horizontal 0
Hay Down 30° Down version for better joins Aspirate dot
and can be reduced to a
downward tick before some
strokes
Downward Ell
thicken for Ler
Ish Down 45° Sometimes upwards for better Part of the Shun hook
joinings.
Zhee Down 45° Always down – no thick stroke Part of the Shun hook
ever goes up. This is the sound
in "measure"
Em Horizontal 90°
Ing Horizontal 90° This is a single sound. The "ing" dot and the "ings"
Derivative words may retain dash
separate En and Gay, where
the resemblance to "ing" is
coincidental.
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Name &
Examples Additional vowel Mnemonic
Place
SHORT
Vowel plus one = diphone
VOWEL
1 THAT
bat sahib
2 PEN
bet
3 IS
bit
1 NOT
tock
2 MUCH
tuck
3 GOOD
took
LONG
VOWEL
1 PA
pa
baa-ing
2 MAY
pay
payer
3 WE
pea
previous
1 ALL
saw sawing
2 GO
so sower
3 TOO
sue
bluer
1 I
by buyer
1 ENJOY
boy loyal
3 LOUD
out power
3 MUSIC
few fewer
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The dashes are written at 90° to straight strokes, therefore they change
their angle as the stroke changes its angle. The dash is generally written
from the stroke outwards and about a quarter of the length of a normal
stroke; a dash should not be written straight up or straight backwards, in
order to maintain smooth writing and avoiding catching the nib against the
paper. Against horizontal strokes the dash is always written downwards. For
curved strokes, the angle of 90° changes along the length of the stroke. The
angle of a dash vowel is therefore not meaningful when used in an outline,
but is only meaningful when used alone as a short form – See Short Forms
List 4 page Short forms from vowel marks:
Some dash vowels end up being written with an upward slant and this is the
only time that any thick mark is written upwards, as in the outline "bought"
above. The angle of the dash may be adjusted slightly in places where there
is limited room between strokes:
droll dhurrie roach
Heavy dots and dashes must be written with one stroke of the pen, not
moved around on to thicken them up.
Students of phonetics will notice that in Queen's English "pay" "sew" and
similar words are not simple vowels but diphthongs, despite all the
shorthand books describing them otherwise. They and the diphthongs below
are, however, single phonemes (meaningful units of sound) in English, and
generally found within one syllable, which is why they are perceived as one
sound. I suspect that such words are pronounced with simple vowels in
English accents other than the present Queen's English standard. This is
borne out by a teachers' textbook that I have which advises south of
England teachers to place extra emphasis on the "pure long vowel" of "lake",
which to southern English ears does sound more like an accent from further
north of the country.
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Two vowels sounded in quick succession, glided together and producing one
syllable.
There are 4 diphthong signs - two first place, two third place.
There are no second place diphthong signs.
No heavy versions.
The first three never change angle, the last may be rotated when joined.
First place
ice eyes idea item Ivan ire, I have, I think, I say, I shall
night nigh deny downright fortnight finite Anno Domini but nights denies
First place
poise toy joy coy coil moist noise foible voice hoist
Joined only to upward Ell. The angle is adjusted slightly but this does not
clash with the third place vowel "owl" because of the outline's position. Not
joined to other strokes because not convenient and could be confused with
"of the":
Third place
out ouch joust cow mouth noun found shout loud how (short form)
Joined initially to upward Ell, despite being a third place vowel, for
convenience:
bow prow pout brow browed dhow/Dow doubt vow thou sow Howe
Third place
puma tune tuna tube cube suitable fume music Hume you (short form)
(the surname "Hume" is sometimes pronounced "home")
Joined finally where convenient, when nothing else follows in the outline.
Rotated when joined finally to horizontal strokes or upward ell. Do not rotate
when free-standing, because this clashes with the W series of signs:
thank you, if you will, for you are, you should, can you, may you
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DIPHONES
Arrowhead, at 45° angle pointing south west, is used for a dot vowel plus
any other:
Arrowhead, at 45° angle pointing north east, is used for a dash vowel plus
any other:
Also used for these types of endings, although the vowels are barely
sounded separately:
trachea* tracheae* Separate dots are used for the plural to distinguish the
outlines - the extra dot cannot be mistaken for Dot Hay, because Dot Hay is
never used finally.
(a) short forms that have stroke Ing added, because short forms are not
vocalised, and the Ing needs only its own dot:
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TRIPHONES
As with "tracheae" above, the dot cannot be mistaken for Dot Hay, because
Dot Hay is never used finally
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VOWEL PLACEMENT
1. A vowel sign is placed to the side of the stroke, at the beginning, middle
or end. The vowels are therefore described as first, second and third place
vowels.
All the strokes of the outline or phrase must be completed before any
unjoined vowel is written.
The beginning of a stroke is counted from where the pen starts writing
it. With strokes that can be written in either direction, the vowel
placement will vary, and care should be taken when the stroke stands
alone, both in writing and in transcription.
Vowel before: place to left of up or downstrokes, upper side of
horizontal strokes
Vowel after: place to right of up or downstrokes, lower side of horizontal
strokes
ape pay, Abe bay, aid day, age jay, ache Kay
ale low, air row, awake way, ayah yes, ahem high
Dash vowel inside the circle – Books vary in showing at what angle it is
written:
4. Shun hook – vocalise the stroke just as you would if the shun hook were
not there, with the following exceptions:
In most cases the dot inside the hook is the vowel immediately before the
Shun, but sometimes it is the vowel before that:
(b) Third place dashes, diphones and diphthongs are written outside the
shun hook when the hook is final (because they need more room) and inside
when the hook is medial (to avoid the sign being read as belonging to the
next stroke).
fusion solution ammunition revolution revolutionary education educational
The vowel between the Sh and N of the "shun" is not vocalised at all, and
the fact of the vowel being written inside or outside the hook is coincidental
to getting the dot or dash or other sign against its own stroke, i.e. it is not
part of the "shun" syllable.
Circle S + Small shun hook – the hook is deemed to include the vowel in
"much" and requires no vocalisation itself. The vowel that comes between
circle S and the small shun hook:
In these examples underlined above, the vowel sign is actually being written
against the little hook and not against the stroke, i.e. it is sounded after the
S and before hook, and not sounded before the stroke. A third place vowel
before the stroke should be placed a little way inwards from the hook. The
following illustrates two vowels on the hook side of stroke:
apposition opposition imposition
*In "owl" the third place vowel is joined to the beginning of the stroke for convenience, the
only word that does this.
like alike
ash shy shah shot show shut she shoe/shoo shoot/chute sheet shout
7. After a halved stroke, the vowel should be written against the second
stroke, as it is sounded after the T or D:
8. All dots and dashes should be just far enough away to be distinguishable
as separate marks, so that they do not interfere with the recognition of the
strokes themselves. Only these instances have a dash vowel joined:
awl also; the short form "all" may also be joined as in: almost already
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INTERVENING VOWELS
1st and 2nd place vowels: place against the preceding stroke:
pod paid bat boat dock duck tag take jag jug
mock make notch nape shadow shed lock lake
rag rug wad wed yak yoke hack hake hang hung
3rd place vowel: place before the following stroke. This is because a third
place vowel written after the first stroke could end up in an angle between
strokes and therefore be ambiguous – you would not know whether it was a
third place vowel after the first stroke, or a first place vowel against the next
stroke:
A compound word is one that is made up of two other words. In the outline
for a compound word, the vowel often remains where it would be if the
words were written separately, thus aiding legibility:
The above does not apply to derivative words, where there is one word and
one affix; these have the vowels placed normally according to the basic
rules:
(B) coming between an initial hook and the stroke (e.g. PR and PL)
Other vowels between the stroke and hook are indicated as follows:
A dot vowel is written as a disjoined circle, in its correct place, after the
stroke unless that place is occupied by another vowel or there is no room to
write the vowel.
A dash vowel is written across the beginning of the stroke, through the
centre or through the end; it is not written across the end because that
would look like the "ings" suffix. Where a second place dash vowel is written
through the stroke, the following vowel has to be written against the next
stroke, as in "courage" and "occurrence" below:
tolerable correspondence church George shovelful fulfil courage occurrence
The above use of R or L hook plus intervening vowel is not generally used for
words of one syllable:
Some short words use the intervening vowel to gain a brief outline, where
clashes are unlikely:
nurse dark gnarl barm course Turk
NOTE: The prefixes "self-" and "self-con-" also use a circle (in this case
representing the S sound), and the outline is always in second position to
match the vowel in "self".
self-confidence self-control
"self-" and "self-con-" must always be written, unlike the vowels which are
only written when needed (see Theory 18 Prefixes page).
POSITION WRITING
First position:
I
ABOVE the PA ALL THAT NOT
ENJOY
line
Second
position: MAY GO PEN MUCH
ON the line
Third position:
LOUD
THROUGH the WE TOO IS GOOD
MUSIC
line
Note: the vowel in the prefix dot "con-" is ignored when deciding on the first
vowel sound of the outline. As there is such a large number of con- & com-
words, a means of vowel indication through position writing has to be
maintained. Words beginning with the disjoined circle for "self-" or "self-
con-" are always written in second position, to accord with the vowel in the
word "self".
"Father" should be started at high up as possible, and the end of the stroke
will probably run through the ruled line, unless your shorthand writing is
very small. With "latter" the end of the stroke may invade the ruled line
above, but this is acceptable. You should not reduce the full double length in
order to squeeze it within the ruled lines. You need the full length for clarity,
so aim for longer rather than shorter. Inserting the vowel helps when there
is only one stroke – the vowels are placed further apart on doubled strokes.
Only a full up or downstroke can be written through the line, so if the first up
or downstroke is halved, or there are only horizontal strokes in the outline,
third position is also ON the line, sharing it with second position.
Note:
Vowels have a PLACE against a stroke
Outlines have a POSITION in relation to the ruled line
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Omitting vowels is the very first step in writing at speed, which is why it is
introduced at an early stage. This transition resembles writing separate
letters of the alphabet and then going on to "joined-up" writing – you write
lightly, flowingly and speedily, rather than slow drawing and pressing into
the paper. This is the point in your learning when you realise that shorthand
can be written fast, and eagerness takes over from frustration.
STROKE
This is a single straight or curved line that represents a consonant sound. All
the horizontal and downstrokes are paired, thick and thin, to match the
related sounds of voiced and unvoiced. No thick stroke is ever written
upwards,
Thick and thin refers to the width of the line and not the lightness or
darkness of the colour, although the thick lines may end up being darker in
colour because it takes pressure to form them. The outlines here were
written with blue ink in a shorthand pen with flexible nib, and therefore the
thick strokes appear darker because of the pooling of the ink. Pencil outlines
may also show variation between grey and black. Black ink should produce
much less variation in shade. Some older books refer to shading which
should not be taken literally but is a description of the overall appearance of
the marks.
There is no stroke or sign that is written straight upwards in its basic form;
however, the halved Ess is written upwards in certain situations (being a
halved stroke and therefore similar to writing half of a Circle Ses, part of
which would necessarily have to be written upwards):
OUTLINE
This is the shorthand form for a word, before the unattached vowel signs are
added. Write the strokes one after the other, joining them end to end,
without stopping at the angles, lifting the pen or going back to thicken or
correct any part. All the strokes must be completed before inserting any
further dots, dashes, vowel signs or intersections. Each stroke must be
written in its correct direction. A few strokes have alternative directions in
which they may be written, in certain circumstances.
(a) One or more strokes forming a continuous ink line, including any
attached vowels, hooks, circles and, optionally, unattached non-vowel
marks:
(b) Two parts written close together, used where certain joins are awkward,
impossible or illegible – the outline is called "disjoined":
PROXIMITY
I am confident, in control
Packing your shorthand outlines tightly together along the line is not a good
idea, as proximity is meaningful in certain circumstances. The only time to
do that is when you are running out of paper in an emergency or writing that
time-honoured secret shorthand postcard that the postman cannot read!
INTERSECTIONS
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STROKE COMBINATIONS
In any combination of strokes, it should be clear which strokes are involved
and where each one starts and stops. Alternative methods are used in the
following combinations:
(a) Three similar straight strokes in succession – break up the outline, use
the hyphen sign if it helps:
pop-up cake-cutter
Where a halved or doubled straight stroke would not make an angle with
other strokes in the outline:
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ADDING VOWELS
Dot "con-", dot "-ing" and dash "-ings" are considered part of the outline, in
the same way as joined diphthongs, and, unlike the unattached vowel signs,
they should never be left out, except when using proximity for "con-".
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PHRASING
There are three overriding rules governing how an outline's form is chosen. I
am referring to the choices made throughout the history of Pitman's
Shorthand by its creator and by subsequent publishers (Pitman
Publishing/Longman).
Legibility = can be read back reliably and correctly; this includes ensuring
outlines do not clash
Lineality = keeping to the horizontal line of the notepad and not invading
the line above or below
The basic rules are simple, but variations and exceptions arise because not
all combinations of strokes produce good outlines. They are also necessary
to insure the system against the inevitable distortion of handwritten outlines
versus the drawn perfection on the textbook pages. The system is geared to
having the best possible outlines for high-speed writing and reliability.
Producing the minimum number of rules or the slimmest possible textbook is
not a priority in New Era.
Join the consonant outlines end to end, in the same order as the
sounds occur in the word.
Incorporate any abbreviating devices available and suitable.
Insert the vowel signs.
If the resultant outline violates "facility, legibility, lineality" then
decide on a better outline.
Some outlines depart from the normal rules because of the extreme
convenience and brevity gained.
The rules are really just a way of describing how the outline choices were
made, thus helping the student understand what is going on. Understanding
requires intelligence but no great effort and is infinitely better than
memorising, which is inefficient, painful and discouraging. As long as the
initial understanding is followed by lots of writing practice, memorising is
totally unnecessary and redundant.
Seeing a page thick with rules can be very daunting, but if you learn the
example outlines thoroughly, they themselves will speak volumes to you and
in far less time and space than the lengthy chapter they were presented in.
They enable you to spot a bad combination simply by instant mental
comparison with known good outlines. Every shorthand writer does this
when correcting a dubious outline that has been dashed off.
If you have an understanding of why the choices of outline were originally
made, you will be better informed to make your own choices when you need
to decide on the outline for a new word without recourse to a dictionary –
either it is not in there, or you do not have access to the book. Until the
publishers see fit to reprint Pitman's Shorthand dictionaries and bring them
up to date, being able to do this is becoming ever more important for
shorthand writers.
You do not need to know all the niceties of the theory when first learning,
but the more you know, the better you will be able to write new words,
either ones not in the dictionary or when no dictionary is available. To
aspiring high-speeders they are a never-ending toolbox for further creative
abbreviation.
Some textbooks advise knowing all the rules and applying them perfectly in
order to write good and fast shorthand, but I disagree strongly with this.
When writing shorthand, your outlines will of course embody the rules, but
you will never be thinking of the rules – either the outline jumps to mind or
it doesn't, and you must move on in the next fraction of a second. If you
need to make up an outline during dictation, you will still not be thinking of
the rules, you will be basing your new outline on one you already know.
Shorthand outlines are visual and further learning and consolidation should
concentrate on that, writing and seeing them constantly on the page and
associating the spoken sound with them.
Perusing the rules is for when you are sitting in your armchair at home,
correcting faulty outlines by consulting the shorthand dictionary or textbook,
and wondering why the outline looks like it does. For the learner, the
outlines are the food, your understanding of the rules are the knife, fork and
spoon that shape the meal and help it go down. When you are out and about
using what you have assimilated, the cutlery stays at home!
zeal
Use Ess if no
other stroke
session
poses
persist
Circle Sw - -
Sway
sweep
Use Way if no
other stroke, or
medially or
sway persuading
finally
Kingsway
Stee St
Loop
stop post
testing
Use Tee if no
other stroke
stay
Ster Ster
Loop -
poster
masterpiece
Never initially,
use other
strokes
sterling starry
Ses and Sway are mutually exclusive as regards position on the stroke,
therefore they will never clash with each other.
Circle
S
Circle - - -
Ses
dances
Circle - - -
Sway
sweeper
Stee - -
Loop
stopper
danced
Ster - - -
Loop
Dunster
See Theory Vowels page for vowel placement against strokes that have
these circles and loops.
Only Circle Ses can be vocalised, the others cannot. Other than Circle
Ses, it is the stroke that is vocalised.
There are no thick versions of circle or loops.
They must be written in the correct circular motion i.e. anti-clockwise
(left motion) or clockwise (right motion), according to the rules below.
They are read first and last in the outline, or that section of the
outline, with the stroke and its various vowels, hooks, halving, etc
coming in the middle.
If the word starts or ends with a vowel, strokes must be used instead.
May be added to short forms and contractions.
May form part of phrases.
Ensure to close the circle or loop so that it does not look like a hook.
Ensure to take the circles right round so they do not look like loops.
When used medially, circles will not always be exactly circular, they
will take on distortions, see adjustment and chisel below as examples
of this. When this occurs, do not mistake them for loops – medial
loops are always followed by a sharp change of direction, see
masterpiece in table above, something circles never do.
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CIRCLE S
A vowel may come between the Circle S and the stroke (e.g. sap, pass), or
the two may be run together (e.g. spa, apse). The outline gives no indication
of this, unless vocalised. In this respect the Circle S differs from the R and L
hooks which generally represent a compound consonant e.g. PL and PR.
Circle S is written:
sack sky axe case sag guess eggs hose (=upward Hay) ways yes
Between two similar straight strokes, still anti-clockwise, the same as you
would write it if the first stroke was the only one:
Inside curves:
Between two curves that have the same motion, follow that motion:
If the curves have opposite motions, the circle generally goes clockwise,
often (but not always) resulting in the circle being outside the angle:
mason massive season unsolved arising
What you should NOT do with Circle S is make a sudden change of direction;
this somewhat awkward joining is used very sparingly, being reserved for
indicating:
Between M-N and N-M, in derivative words, the circle should remain with its
original curve:
Outside an angle:
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With hooks
Where the circle and hook would individually be written on the same side of
the stroke, when you wish to show both, the circle must be written INSIDE
the hook. Theoretically, circle is extra small and the hook remains its normal
size; in practice the hook generally needs to be ever so slightly larger to
avoid ink blobbing, and the circle can be flattened into a tiny loop (it is not a
Stee loop which are never used inside hooks). Do not let your small hooks
grow in size and get confused with the larger hooks (Shun, and L Hook on
curves).
L Hook: supple splay settle saddle satchel sickle safflower soufflé civil
R & N Hooks to curves: suffer sever summer mains signer nines fines vines
F/V Hook: puff puffs cuff cuffs tough toughs
Way: use Circle S with Way for those words when Circle Sway is not
possible:
Wel: does not take Circle S, instead discard the hook and use Sway Circle on
stroke Ell:
well swell
Where there is a vowel between a final F/V and S, this is generally a plural
of an outline that is already written with full strokes:
A medial Circle S does not indicate a hook purely by its direction, because
the direction of the circle is used only for convenience. In many cases a
medial hook can be shown as well, with the circle following the motion of the
hook:
Small Shun Hook: Circle S, and Circle S following N hook, can both be
followed by the small shun hook
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Medial circles Between two straight strokes the hook should be shown, the
circle following the direction of the hook. Medial circles use the direction that
is most convenient, so the direction cannot be reversed to indicate any
hooks, unlike at the beginning and ends of strokes (apart from the necessity
to choose the direction for legibility, it would also not be clear whether the
plain circle, if so used, meant an N Hook on the first stroke, or an R Hook on
the second stroke):
The combination S-CH-R is not found standing alone in any English word,
therefore this outline is used for the stroke downward Hay. Should such a
combination appear in a new word or name, it would be have to be written
with stroke Ar after the S-CH, or stroke Ess plus Cher if the word began with
a vowel. However, this sequence of sounds can be written in the middle of a
word, providing the S is shown inside the hook, thus avoiding clashing with
the downward Hay:
Circle S can be added to final Stee and Ster loops and Circle SES:
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In case of difficulty, mentally remove the circle and then read the outline
correctly, before mentally adding the S back in:
pray spray, upper supper, play splay, apple supply, pint pints, dove doves,
roof roofs
fund funds, amount amounts, nine nines, inner sooner, ever sever
Dot "con-" dot "-ing" and dash "-ings" are read first and last, if present:
(a) there is an initial vowel before the S, or a final vowel after it. The stroke
can then be vocalised, although its presence lets you know there is a vowel
involved:
(b) the S is the only consonant sound in the word (because you need
somewhere to put the vowel); retain the stroke in derivatives:
ice sigh sighing sighs/size, sea sea-level but sleeve, sea-kale but sickle
(c) the vowel between the S sound and the stroke is a triphone, and in other
places to distinguish from plurals:
signs science, virtues virtuous, heirs heiress, Jews Jewess, dangers
dangerous
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S versus Z sound
NZ: line lines NS: lance - lances lanced lancing lancer lancet
Note: lens lenses As lens is singular, despite its Z sound, stroke N and Circle
Ses have to be used for the plural, and there is no such word as "lences" for
the plural to clash with.
Those with a linguistic interest may notice that words like mince/mints are
pronounced identically, but perceived differently. "Mints" is halved to
indicate the T, as the T sound is part of the original word; the T sound in
"mince" is the first part of the S sound (if you removed it the word would
sound like "minz"):
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The S sound can change into the Z sound in plurals and genitives, but when
it does, it is not changing the word into a different word. The circle is used to
represent both in order to preserve the general shape of the outline and to
allow its consistent use for plurals and genitives:
Consistent and easy outlines are achieved, but at the expense of some
words such as mace/maze peace/peas where the S and Z sounds signify
different words. The longhand has solved the problem, in only using the
letter Z and sometimes letter C, to show othe difference. The shorthand has
partly solved this problem in a similar manner, with the aim of writing words
briefly and reliably, rather than strictly phonetically. Shorthand does not
always preserve the basic outline when forming derivatives, but as plurals
and genitives cover so many words, the advantages of allowing Circles S to
do duty for both S and Z sounds outweigh the disadvantages.
Suggestion for advanced writers: if you have constant trouble in your line of
work with certain pairs of outlines, you can choose to use stroke Zee finally
for Z-words (as long as you are aware this it is not an official outline) but
you may wish to indicate that there is no following vowel, by using a short
vertical line parallel to the stroke, or some other mark of your choosing.
Such idiosyncracies should be strictly limited by necessity, and given very
careful consideration before adoption. As always, keep a note of your
departure from the normal rules. You cannot adopt any such method if you
wish to teach shorthand!
An initial Z sound has to use the stroke, even though no vowel comes before
it:
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CIRCLE SES
This is a large circle, used in middle or at the end of an outline, placed in the
same way as Circle S, to represent:
S-Z: bases paces busses faces voices losses masses taxes fixes
Z-S: possessive exhaust exist resist
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S-S sound at the beginning: Circle Ses is never used at the beginning of
an outline, as that place is taken by Circle Sway. Two initial S sounds should
be shown with the full stroke Ess followed by Circle S. This makes an easier
outline and logical derivatives, as the formation of an angle is avoided, its
place being taken by the circle.
sauce sauces, cease ceases ceasing, sighs/size sizes sizing sizeable, scissors
secede
Differentiation: Where the SeS or SeZ (with short E) is part of the basic
word (e.g. not a plural or a verb S-ending) or if a diphthong or diphone is
involved, Circle S plus stroke Ess is generally preferred; this is because there
is such a large number of this type of word that a regular means of
differentiation is needed between them and plurals of shorter words. The
derivatives will generally keep the stroke Ess, but Circle Ses is sometimes
used where it is more convenient e.g. to avoid an awkward joining or to
shorten the outline. This is an example of speed/ease of writing being more
important that having "tidy" rules:
Exceptions have been made for the following very common words for the
sake of convenience. The outlines are distinctive with Circle Ses, and
therefore they do not need to use the stroke S:
exercise exercising, success successful, emphasise emphasised
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Basic words with vowel other than short E can use the Circle Ses:
Words like those above form their plural by a change of vowel. It would be
good practice to omit the singular vowel, and always insert the plural one:
crises hypotheses
Some of these types of words have identical plurals and verb endings in
longhand, although pronounced differently, so vocalising the Circle Ses may
be helpful:
If the accent falls in different places, you can indicate this by adding a small
cross next to the vowel. This method is useful for many pairs of words where
the nouns and verbs have different syllables accented. As the words are
generally spelled identically, this merely aids comprehension of the text as
you read your shorthand back, especially important if reading back in situ,
with all eyes on you. My personal suggestion is to replace the vowel – the
position of the cross lets you know what the vowel might be, and other
vowels should not be necessary. You should ensure that the cross does not
look like a diphthong or diphone:
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With hooks
Circle Ses can be combined with N hook to straight strokes, in the same way
as Circle S:
Vowels
See Theory Vowels page for how to vocalise Circle Ses. In brief, the short
vowel sound as in "pen" is not indicated in Circle Ses, as it is the most
common, but any other vowel between the S-S may be written inside the
circle.
Adding a third S
Circle S can be added onto the big Circle Ses by continuing the motion,
writing the small circle on the other side of the stroke:
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Other uses
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CIRCLE SWAY
This is a large circle, used at the beginning of an outline, placed and read in
the same way as Circle S, to represent the sound of SW.
Never used medially or finally.
No vowel comes before the "SW-" and not vowel comes between the S
and the W.
Never vocalised, as there is no vowel to show. The vowel that follows
it is placed against the stroke.
The name "Sway" is for convenience – any vowel may come after it.
swivel swath swathe Swiss Swaziland swish swim swamp swan swing
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With hooks:
Circle Sway can be combined with R hook to straight strokes, just like Circle
S:
sweeper swabber sweater switcher swagger
When used with stroke Ell, the initial hook that would normally form "Wel"
becomes redundant:
It never combines with the hook on stroke Yay or Way. If such a word arose,
it would probably best to start the outline with Circle S on Way, followed by
the appropriate strokes or diphone. Someone who is swayed might be a
swayee? If you lived in the town of Swaye, maybe you could be travelling
Swaye-wards? People do make up words and the shorthand writer has to
write them, whether they are in the dictionary or not.
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Swahili
In some words the S and W, although together, are parts of separate words:
If a vowel comes before the SW, use stroke Ess and medial semicircle W:
Homeswell Harmsworth
Face shorthand learning square on, squash the problems and master the
squiggles!
See Theory 2 Vowels page for vowel placement for strokes that have loops.
Both loops are applied to the stroke in the same way as Circle S.
Stee represents the sounds ST, and also ZD finally.
Ster represents the sounds ST + slurred vowel + R.
No vowel comes between the S and T sounds.
Stee can be used at the beginning, middle and end of an outline.
Ster can be used in the middle and end only.
Read first and last.
The name Stee is for convenience only, any vowel can come before or
after it.
The name Ster does approximate to the vowel it contains i.e. slurred
and unaccented.
The loops themselves are never vocalised – with Stee there is no
vowel and with Ster the vowel is always slurred.
There are no thick versions.
Can be combined with R and N Hooks on straight strokes, but no other
hooks.
Can be followed by Circle S.
STEE LOOP
The loop should be shallow, closed and extend half the length of the stroke.
Keep the final part flattened so that it does not look like Circle S. Ensure it is
closed so that it does not look like a hook. If the stroke is halved, then the
Stee loop is half of that length:
On a doubled stroke, the loop remains the same size as on normal length
strokes:
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paste best toast tossed dust deduced just chest cost guest
fast vast atheist lithest essayist ceased sauced zest schist lushest fascist
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posed buzzed abused dazed cruised refused mused nosed raised whizzed
When used finally, there does not have to be a vowel before the ST:
lapsed traipsed waltzed blitzed
Stee loop is used medially after Tee Dee Jay Ell, where it makes a good join
with a clear angle (but also see derivatives note below):
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With other strokes, the join is not so good, or cannot be made, so these use
dot "-ing" or Circle S and Tee:
last lastly, post postal, vast vastly vastness, most (short form) mostly
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In compound words, even though the second word normally uses the loop, it
is quicker to write one outline with full strokes – loops by nature involve a
change of direction, whereas consecutive strokes keep the movement going
forward more quickly; a speed-reducing pen-lift is also avoided:
The following do not follow the normal rule about keeping the strokes of
derivative parts separate but the convenience of the outlines prevails:
*Note the Circe S in "nestle" looks like a Stee loop, but it is not, this is
merely a distortion of the circle when it is written between the two curves. A
medial stee loop never crosses the outline.
post pots, fast fats, toast tots, chest chats, must moats, waste waits
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With R Hook on straight strokes
The ST is read first, then the stroke with its R Hook next. There is always a
vowel sound between initial Stee loop and the stroke. The R Hook is used in
these cases because the vowel before the R sound is indeterminate:
The stroke with its N Hook are read first, and the ST read last. There is no
vowel between the N sound and the ST:
Where there is a vowel between the N sound and the ST, these outlines are
derivatives using a full stroke En:
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Circle S following
Circle S can be added after Stee loop by continuing the motion, writing the
small circle on the other side of the stroke:
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Derivates of the above type of word retain the original outline and do not
take Stee loop (but see also below**):
**The past tense of words beginning with ST does however use the Stee
loop, to avoid ending up with two full strokes:
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For the combination STR, use Circle S and stroke T with R Hook:
astound astonish astray astute esteem estate pasta chesty majesty gusto
When the ST precedes a stroke with a hook that cannot be combined with
the loop, then Circle S and Tee must be used. The hooked form is used
because the vowel is unaccented:
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perfectionist expressionist
tenderest
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Derivatives
stain stains stained compare with stand standard stunt stint constant stance
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STER LOOP
(*This town name does have several other traditional local pronunciations)
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Stroke Ing cannot be added after Ster loop, therefore use dot "-ing":
For "-ingly" use all full strokes (the strokes for "-ingly" are often used
disjoined elsewhere in shorthand, when a join is not possible):
blusteringly
Ster loop not used on doubled or halved strokes. The following are not
doubled strokes, but two of the same stroke in succession:
popster* Chichester (*not in dictionary)
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The stroke and its N Hook are read first, and the Ster read last. There is no
vowel between the N and the Ster:
Where there is a vowel between the N sound and the Ster, the full stroke En
is used:
Circle S following
Circle S can be added after Ster loop by continuing the motion, writing the
small circle on the other side of the stroke:
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Derivatives
When a D sound follows, the Ster loop cannot be written medially and so the
outline uses Circle S and TRD:
There are very few cases where Ster is used medially, and in derivatives the
outine generally uses Circle S and T or TR:
Small hooks are approximately one fifth the length of the stroke. They are similar size to C
up.
Large hooks are approximately one third the length of the stroke.
Hooks are never in any circumstances written on the outside of curves.
Hooks are always written thin, never thick.
On straight strokes, the beginning of the hook is written parallel to the stroke, it does not c
tend to look like either a plain circle S or a circle S attached to the hook.
In some combinations the hook is slightly deformed to allow the joining, e.g. "cudgel" unde
way, the hook should not be curled round in such combinations. Where alternative forms ar
Thee, and strokes that can be written either up or down, it is generally possible to avoid a l
sometimes the formation of other parts of the outline have to take precedence over the exa
Keep the hooks open so they do not look like circle or loops.
Keep the small hooks small and the big hooks big – ensure there is a good difference betwe
The small hooks remain the same size regardless of whether the stroke is halved, full or do
reduced in length slightly when the stroke is halved, to maintain legibility – do not reduce t
a small hook.
In the R and L hook series, the hooked strokes have names – Per, Pel, Sher, Shel etc., so t
easily, although the name is not quite in keeping with the primary use of the R and L hooks
The hooks always represent something after the stroke, even though with initial hooks the
In the table below, impossible combinations are shown with a dash.
Some combinations are theoretically possible but no examples are forthcoming, these are t
words or non-English names. These unused combinations may be employed when creating
hook may serve to represent a whole word e.g. Shun for "association".
Name Stroke R L N
Pee
upper
apple
Bee
rubber able
Tee
tray ton
bottle
utter
Dee
draw done
paddle
adder
Chay
satchel chain
pitcher
Jay
cudgel
badger Jane
Kay
crow clay cane
Note the
stroke starts
acre
on the line,
with the hook
Note the hook starts on the line, with the stroke tackle
below the line
slightly above the line
Gay
grow gain
glow
Note the
stroke starts
eager eagle on the line,
with the hook
Note the hook starts on the line, with the stroke below the line
slightly above the line
Kway - -
queen
Gway - -
Gwen
Hay - - -
Hay - -
hone
Way - -
won/one
Hway - -
whine
Yay - -
yawn
Ell - -
lone/loan
aniline
Ler - -
fuller than
(phrase)
Wel - -
woollen
Hwel - -
Whelan
Ar Hooked form is allocated to reversed Eff-R Hooked form
is allocated to
reversed Eff-L earn
rain
Eff
flow fun
offer
free raffle
(reversed) (reversed)
Vee
river
(reversed) rival
(reversed)
Ith
ether thin
Ethel
three
(reversed)
Thee -
other then
bother
(reversed)
Essene
Zee Hooked form is allocated to reversed Thee-R -
zone
Ish
usher initial
shine
Sher always down Shel always
up
Zhee -
measure Asian
Em
men
camel
hammer
Imb, -
Imp
Normally
hamper indicated by
dampen
Em plus PL/BL
Doubling also used for this sound:
jumper
En
inner
nine
final
Ing -
Normally
indicated by hang on
banker
Ing plus (phrase)
KL/GL
This is used for ing-ker and ing-ger, not ing-er.
longer
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pray play brew blue tray dray crow clay grew glue
upper apple rubber rubble batter battle adder addle acre eager eagle
etcher fetcher voucher lodger Roger catcher cadger cudgel hopper yapper
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L is a large hook inside the beginning of the stroke. As hooks are never
written outside the curve, the difference has to be shown by having a larger
hook:
flow fly evil Ethel camel tunnel bushel essential
Sher is always written downwards and Shel always upwards, so they can
never be mistaken for each other:
There appears to be no word that contains ZH-L with an slurred vowel, but
should one occur, it would never be written upwards, as it is a thick stroke.
That combination of sounds would probably is best written using the full
stroke Ell.
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Vocalisation
Vowels are always placed outside the hook. Only the Shun Hook takes a
vowel inside and then only in certain circumstances (see Shun Hook on
Theory 2 Vowels page).
(a) No intervening vowel Vowels are read immediately before the double
consonant or immediately after:
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Care with "per-" needs to be taken, because there are many similar words
starting with "pre-" and "pro-".
Other examples:
collect courage college forget caramel colony ignore
Unlike Circle S, the presence of a hook in the middle of a stroke does not
affect the correct placement of a third place vowel against the second of the
2 strokes. This is because, although the hook is written between the strokes,
the R or L that it represents is spoken after the stroke, i.e. there is nothing
spoken between the two consonants other than the vowel:
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Ar Rer Ess Zee do not use R or L Hook (see below) and these shapes when
hooked are used to represent reversed versions of hooked F V Ith Thee.
Reversing is used:
The reversal is not a mirror image, either vertically or horizontally, but the
"mirror" is along the stroke's own angle of formation. They cannot clash with
Ar Rer Ess Zee because of the presence of the hook – see zither below which
has both strokes together.
Thel does not take right curve form. Most words with that combination use
stroke Ell (see below). No known examples of the voiced THel.
offer suffer afront/affront affright affray (afront = in front of; affront = insult)
Right:
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(b) Two or more stroke outlines The form is used that gives a better join
(clear angle of join, best hook, and similar motion of curves/hooks). If all
else is equal, the right curve is preferable, because it then matches the R
hooks on straight strokes, thus helping overall legibility:
Left:
*3rd place vowel is placed against the Fer because "hand" and "think" are short forms
tougher duffer chafer Jeffrey/Geoffrey overalls* Avril Trevor driver
Right:
frap freebie Africa fresco fraction frequent frog
*Vowel belongs with second word; being reversed, it does not count as short form here,
therefore vowel is needed.
Notes:
*Under the rules, "confront" would be a left curve but it is too close in meaning to affront,
therefore it is written with the right curve, its "-con dot" keeping it different from "front".
Distinguishing outlines: afresh fresh, affranchise franchise
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Left:
piffle baffle briefly stifle toughly duffel/duffle acephalous
Right:
Notes:
envelope novelise ethereal level monthly
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A medial circle keeps the strokes separate, in the same way that an angle
does:
"Inflationary" has a choice of full outline or contraction. For "inflationism" and "inflationist" a
non-dictionary right-curve would be more legible.
For "reflationary" a non-dictionary contraction similar to "inflationary" (i.e. right curve and
omitting shun hook) is better. Any contraction decided upon must not clash with
"revaluation".
"Refloated" is presumably disjoined, rather than using the awkward joining of the reversed
form, to accord with "floated".
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The suffix "-ful" and "-fully" are normally written the same as the single
words:
Ing plus R hook is not used for ing-er as one might expect, but instead for
ing-ger (hard G) and ing-ker, as these are more common sounds:
Note:
Bangor clangour* *"Clangour" can also be pronounced without hard G, like "clanger"
ing-er is written by just adding Ar, which has the advantage of retaining the
original form. Some dialects in UK pronounce a hard G in words like these
but this is not taken into account in Pitman's Shorthand:
sing singer clang clanger swing swinger but singe singer (one who singes)
*Formerly with hard G, but now pronounced like "hanger"; derived not from "hang" but
from Medieval Latin angarium = shed
Although Ing can use the R hook, ing-ger and ink-ker can also be shown by
doubling the stroke; this is used where the hooked form does not join easily,
or if alone.
anger/anchor sinker
Ing does not take a large L hook, because that would not indicate the sound
of hard G or K that occurs in the middle. Therefore, Gay or Kay with L Hook
is used:
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Hooked strokes can be halved for T/D, according to the normal rules:
Sometimes the hook has to be opened out or flattened slightly. The pen
should flow into the hook smoothly with no undue effort at making a sharp
angle. On no account should the pen be lifted from the paper. Do not curl
the end of the hook round in an attempt to make it look like the normal full
hook:
Some Circle S + hook combinations in the middle of the outline need extra
care to write clearly. A slight exaggeration of the size of the hook is
unavoidable if the hook is to be seen at all, and giving the hook a very slight
corner as it emerges from the stroke is helpful. It is safe to elongate the
Circle S, as it will not clash with Stee loop which never crosses a stroke.
Such expedients will keep the outline readable:
explain disbranch massacre miscreant gossamer
If the hook cannot legibly be written, then Ar Ray or Ell must be used:
On curved strokes, Sway Circle/Stee Loop cannot be used at the same time
as R or L hook:
swimmer swooner suaver swivel steamer stainer stinger
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"-ery" "-ary" As the vowels are distinct, stroke Ray is used, so that the
outline can be fully vocalised:
brave braver bravery, grain grainer granary, verse varies
Way, Yay, Hay, Kwa, Gwa cannot take an initial R or L hook because
because they already have an initial attachment, as well as being
unpronounceable without a vowel between. An R or L sound after them will
use strokes.
Ray with initial attachment would look like Way, Whay, Yay or upward
Hay
Ell with initial hook is used for Wel, Whel
Ler already signifies two consonants
Ess, Zee, Ar, Rer do not take an initial R or L hook, because of the
uncommonness of the combinations. Their initially hooked forms are
"borrowed" by F V Ith Thee as a reversed form, see explanation above. An R
or L sound after them will use other strokes.
pen open bone bin ton dine done chain chin John Jane June
gain again rain terrain wine won/one win whine yen hen hone
tough tiff doff deaf chafe chief active attractive dive endive drive chive
achieve
gave gaffe graph gruff grove groove grief/grieve aggrieve engrave
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Ell takes its N Hook at its end, whether upwards or downwards. An Ell
standing alone is always written upwards and therefore a hook at the base is
Wel and at the top is L-N. See also below When Not To Use/Downward Ell
Ish + N hook is used in those cases where the Shun Hook is not appropriate
or convenient, mostly single stroke words and sometimes sh-nt/sh-nd:
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(a) The hook is used medially if it makes an easy and clear join:
(b) With horizontals and upstrokes, a hook may be impossible to write or the
angle insufficient for clarity, so strokes En is used:
*R sound is always shown, even though it is not pronounced in many English accents;
exceptions only occur in a very few abbreviating devices.
Stroke En is preferable when it starts its own syllable, so long as the join
remains good. Syllables generally have their own stroke, with abbreviating
devices used for additional sounds within the syllable. In practice you will
omit most vowels and the remaining consonant structure of the outline
generally lets you know where the syllables break and where the vowels are:
(d) The hook may need to be opened out slightly to join the next stroke:
paint painted plant planted but print printed, sprint sprinted, misprint
misprinted
band banded blend blended, attend attended but brand branded, strand
stranded
appended abandoned expended responded supplanted disappointed*
suspended*
*Although the attachments are on the same side, the initial stroke helps to keep the second
stroke straight, therefore N Hook can be used.
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Vocalisation
The stroke is vocalised as normal, with a third place vowel being written
outside the hook. The stroke is read first, then the vowel, then the hook.
pan pen bin bon bun boon tine join town tune
If the next syllable starts with a vowel, the vowel sign is placed against the
next stroke, as it is spoken after the N sound:
opening open-air open-eyed defence/defense plantain
A fully vocalised outline will generally have a vowel sign after the stroke and
before the N or F/V hook, even if that vowel is slurred or unaccented (unlike
some of unaccented vowels with the R & L hooks):
eaten pardon deaden kitchen kitten reckon dozen raisin exception: cousin*
*The dictionary outline gives no second vowel for this word, despite its similarity to dozen
and raisin. A third-place light dot vowel would be appropriate, if vowel insertion was felt
necessary.
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The stroke is read first, then the hook, then the halving or doubling sound. It
is easier to remember if you think of the hooked stroke as being halved or
doubled:
pen penned/pent, pave paved, puff puffed, pine pint/pined, bone boned, buff
buffed
tone toned, tough toughed/tuft, drain drained, drive drift, gain gained, gave
gift
chain chained, chuff chuffed, jive jived, win wind went, wave waved, wife
waft
shun shunned/shunt, man manned, nine anoint, lean leaned, earn earned
Circles or loops are read last of all, after the hook and the halving/doubling:
rain rains, rent/rend rents/rends, render renders, raft rafts, rafter rafters
hunt hunts, hunter hunters, win wins, wonder wonders
The only time the hook is read after a halving or doubling sound is when the
hook is used in a few phrases to represent another whole word. This goes
against the rule for the order in which the elements are read – the rule is
always observed within a word, and only occasionally broken for adding a
word in a phrase. The instances of such phrases are few but the usefulness
gained is worthwhile, and no clashes will be found:
part, part of, sort, sort of but parts of, sorts of compare bereft served
If the N hook is already in use in the main word, you cannot then make it do
double duty for the next word in the phrase as well, such as "kinder than"
"blunder on" "gift of" "bereft of".
Derivatives
Derivatives will not always retain the N hook of the primitive outline, they
will vary according to the subsequent strokes, vowels, and attachments that
are involved, in exactly the same way as spoken words change their syllable
stress and their vowels. This also applies to words that are not derivatives
but share the same consonant structure.
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When a final vowel follows the N F or V sound, the stroke En is used. Thus
the existence of a final vowel is indicated without actually writing it:
pen penny, puff puffy, proof/prove privy, Ben Benny, Bev bevy
With straight strokes, a full stroke En is needed if there is a vowel before the
ST:
A few words retain the hook and used halved Ess for the "-est" sound, to
gain a better outline:
buoyant truancy triune Rayon ruin ruined fluent fluency affluent confluent
pioneer
You cannot use the NS circle (i.e. hook N closed up into a circle to indicate
NS) medially between two strokes because that would rely on the direction
of the circle. As the direction of a medial circle is decided by convenience
only, its direction cannot indicate an N Hook (see Theory 4 Circles/Medial
Circles for fuller explanation).
In the following outlines the NS/NZ circle is being used to show the N, but
that is allowed because there is no other stroke immediately following, only
the small shun hook:
As with other hooks to curves, the Shun Hook is always written inside the
curve, never outside. It is written approximately one third the length of the
stroke (the same size as the L hook on curved strokes):
*N omitted
You cannot combine the large Shun Hook with N Hook, the full stroke N
must be used:
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Straight strokes:
The Shun Hook can be written on either side of a straight stroke, according
to the following rules. It is written approximately one third the length of the
stroke (the same size as the hooks in Kwa and Gwa). Balancing the outline
takes precedence over rules (b) and (c):
*Dictionary has a U diphthong for "super" but this is no longer a common pronunciation
*dictionary outline, some books give downwards stroke Ish for Goshen
Two straight strokes in the same direction also require their attachments
balancing:
A preceding curved stroke that makes no angle with the straight stroke
requires to balanced, for the same reason, i.e. to to prevent outline
becoming one long indeterminate and illegible curve:
The strokes that have initial attachment as part of their basic form also need
to observe balance, as there is the same tendency to curve the outline:
persuasion cohesion adhesion equation
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If there is no balancing required, then the direction of the Shun Hook is able
to indicate the presence of a vowel, without actually writing it. The hook is
written on the opposite side of the preceding vowel. Mnemonic: the hook
"shuns" the vowel:
*2 pronunciations
"er-shun" uses Ray rather than Ar as it keeps the outline moving forward
and is therefore quicker and more legible:
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As there is always a vowel between a Tee, Dee or Jay, and the Shun Hook, it
is not necessary to indicate its presence, and therefore, if there is no
balancing required, the Shun Hook is written on the right hand side
(anticlockwise) in order to keep the outline moving forward:
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A preceding third place dot vowel or diphone is shown next to the small
Shun Hook; second place vowels are not indicated; first place vowels do not
occur between S-Shun:
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Adding S
The Shun hooks do not take Stee or Ster loops, or any other hooks. The
Circle S may end up slightly flattened into a small loop but should be kept
small. The Shun Hook to should not be allowed to sprawl, to avoid mistaking
it for a full stroke. Imagine these pairs written less than neatly and without
vowels:
Words written in longhand with double SS are still just plain Shun, do not be
tempted by the longhand spelling to insert an additional Circle S:
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In middle of outline
Medial Shun Hooks generally join well, although in some joins the large hook
needs to be opened out slightly.
optional sectional rational additional conditional traditional
The direction of the Shun Hook is maintained when it is used medially, but in
a few words it changes sides in order to join the last syllable:
Shun Hook cannot take a loop, therefore "-shun-ist" uses a halved Ess,
either up or down:
Some endings have to be disjoined or use full strokes for the "shun":
pensionable mentionable sanctionable
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On a halved stroke
The Shun Hook is written about half the length of the halved stroke and the
T or D is sounded last:
With stroke En, halved stroke Ish is preferred, because the join between a
full stroke and a halved En would have no angle and be illegible:
*full Ish, because lack of sharp angle: halving would be acceptable (as it "brushed"
"pushed") but with the hook as well the outline would become indistinct
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After a triphone (mostly long U diphthong plus another vowel), the stroke
Ish is used to provide distinguishing outlines:
*Dictionary has a U diphthong for "super" but this is no longer a common pronunciation
Some words look like shun but on closer inspection they do not contain the
SH sound:
taut tight teat treat straight strut street chat chit itched stitched switched
cat act sacked stacked staked stickered stroked skate scoot ached crate
cleat
fat fight fought fraught fright flight float flit aft soft sift swift staffed fluffed
thought threat throat east iced shot shoot brushed crashed fished light slight
let lit
wilt welt wet wit yet yacht hat hot heat height quote quit squat
tad Ted toad tread trod stride strode strayed strewed/Strood chide chewed
code kid keyed clad cried skid skied cowed crowd screwed
fad fade feed fried frayed freed Fred thud thread shade showed shred
led lead sled willed wild wide wade/weighed head yawed quad squad
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bad bed bid bride bread/bred braid/brayed breed blade sobbed stubbed
swabbed
dad dead did died dried jawed jade edged pledged staged caged
good God guide egged sagged tagged dogged nagged mugged swigged
glowed
dot debt date jet jut get goat gloat greet grate* vet vote
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(c) Final hook If there is a final hook, halving can signify either T or D, for
both thin and thick strokes. This allows many past tenses to be formed
without changing the form. The T or D is spoken after the hook sound:
(d) Final attached diphthong Halving can signify either T or D, for both
thin and thick strokes:
In plurals, the vowel is no longer joined and so the outline reverts to rule (a)
and (b) above, i.e. write both strokes if one is thick and one is thin:
Outlines that represent "two thins or two thicks" can retain their halving in
the plural, they are not relying on an attached diphthong to be allowed to
halve:
pout pouts sprout sprouts tout touts trouts mute mutes newt newts nude
nudes
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inept tepid insipid reptile rapid abrupt morbid rabbit rabid abide debit
Past tenses in "-ed" generally halve the last stroke, and therefore the
outline will sometimes change slightly. You cannot just add stroke Dee to the
end of the existing outline. As a rule outlines with similar sounds have
similar outlines and do not show differences based on what part of speech it
is (although some clashes do need to be dealt with by having distinguishing
outlines):
sacred secret, applaud applied, asset assayed aside acid Note also: acidic
acetic
Some because, despite their 2 syllables, halving would produce an outline as
short as the monosyllables, and so there is the same need for differentiation
between T and D:
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(c) An initial stroke halved generally follows the thin/T thick/D rule:
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Ray
Ray halved for T is never used standing alone, or alone with only a final
Circle S, to avoid similarity with short forms "and" and "should", and a
halved Chay (see also the Extra Care section below):
It may be halved if it has an initial circle or loop, a final hook or when joined
to another stroke.
Halved Ray is used finally for -art, also for -ard where stroke Ard cannot be
joined:
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Hay:
if there is only one stroke in the outline, use upward Hay halved for T. If
hooked, halve for either T or D:
hat hats hot height heat hint hunt honed hound haft heaved
When there are other strokes in the outline, up or downward Hay halved
may be used for either T or D as convenient:
Overall, on an unhooked upward Hay, it is safe to halve for T and use stroke
Dee for D. The two outlines "cowhide" and "go-ahead" seem to be the only
examples of Hay being halved for D.
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Way Yay
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rinds similar to as the/has the – rounds similar to is the/his the – hat similar
to chats
Rising strokes such as "and" "should" Ray and Hay must keep their shallow
angle. As the examples above are different parts of speech, that helps
greatly in reading back, but similar pairs that are the same parts of speech
present the greatest danger of misreading. If you write extremely small
outlines, the distinctions will be more difficult to maintain.
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Em En Ell Ar
These strokes in their plain unhooked form are halved as normal for T:
mat meet moat omit emit summit smote remit remote permit promote
not/knot note neat ant scent* present pleasant descent intellect internal
pelt bolt tilt dealt jolt kilt gilt/guilt fault felt volt
melt moult smelt knelt insult little lilt ultimate halt hilt
When halved for D in their plain unhooked form, these strokes are
thickened, in order to provide a more distinctive outline:
(a) Em and En
M-D and N-D strokes are not compound consonants, as they can have a
vowel inbetween:
mad mode mood amid middle timid seemed steamed hemmed gummed
need nod end owned annoyed sand send sound stoned stained swooned
ST-N-T/D: for root words, use the formation as in "stand"; for past tenses,
keep the original form:
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The strokes Eld and Ard are compound consonants, they do not have a
vowel inbetween. They are always written downwards, as no thick stroke is
ever written upwards:
sold sailed styled oldest hold/holed healed wild but Oldham, old age, oldwife
Stroke Ard is used when there is a vowel before, and no final vowel after:
aired erred card cord coward hard hardly hardest hoard heard unheard
arduous
Exception: assured retains its form in assuredly assuredness, these two are
the only instances where there is a vowel between, although it is very lightly
sounded.
Ard is able to take an initial Sway Circle, Stee Loop or W-sign, and Circle S
either end:
Sometimes Ray is used for the -erd sound where it makes for a quicker
outline or where Ard does not join easily:
laid lid load followed valued allowed allayed relayed unload truckload
red/read reed/read arid married narrowed queried salaried
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Ing
These strokes cannot be halved in their plain form, as those shapes are used
for the halved and thickened versions of Em En Ell Ar, where they are of
more use because of their greater frequency.
Ing plus T or D needs to have the full stroke added, as the halved form is
unavailable, being allocated to N-D. The lightly sounded K sound that comes
inbetween the two is omitted:
*Some regional British accents pronounce a hard G at the end of such words as "long"
"hang" but this is not shown in Pitman's Shorthand.
Note: ink inked wink winked show the K because it is part of the original
outline.
Ing may be halved if hooked for R, and the light K or G sound is omitted:
anchored/angered blinkered tankard drunkard fingered lingered
hungered/hunkered
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Ler Rer
Compound words
(a) Second word of the compound begins with T or D The first word of
the compound does not use halving to indicate the T or D of the following
word, as this would obscure where the syllables naturally split. Keeping both
words in their normal form is more legible:
Some phrases also use halving for a T or D that rightly belongs to the next
word, or even a whole word like "it" and "to". They can do this because
phrasing is a matter of choice and you would only use it if you felt it was
readable and convenient:
copy right but copyright, up right but upright, right angle but right-angle
brush wood but brushwood, go ahead but go-ahead, cow hide but cowhide
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Vowel placement
Vowels are placed to the stroke as normal, and read before or after that
stroke. The three places of the vowels are closer together along the stroke,
so that more care is needed when inserting them.
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This order of reading always applies within outlines, but in some phrases it is
overridden because of their great usefulness. Note that the hook is being
used to indicate another complete word, not a sound within a word:
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(a) Final Vowel When a final vowel follows the T or D sound, a full stroke T
or D is necessary in order to place the vowel sign, thus indicating the
existence of a final vowel without actually writing it:
chat chatty Jude Judy kit kitty good goody fat fatty
avid video meat meaty mid media knot knotty need needy
The presence of the full Tee or Dee stroke at the end of an outline does not
always mean that a vowel follows, because the monosyllable rule above
sometimes requires a full stroke for other reasons. In such cases inserting
the last vowel should be considered, and always inserted in names:
Use disjoining. Note that it is the last stroke that is halved. In everyday
shorthand the vowels are omitted and so the disjoined strokes can be
written closer to the rest of the outline:
*Examples of how the disjoined strokes are closer when the outlines are not vocalised, this
applies to all.
*This does have a change of thickness, because curved strokes are only thick in the middle.
Two half length strokes may be joined as long as there is a clear angle,
otherwise use full strokes or disjoin:
The sounds of -NT -ND would normally be achieved by adding N hook and
halving the preceding stroke, but in the following words that would not
produce any angle of join. There is no choice but to use a halved stroke En,
and its use does not therefore always indicate a vowel between the N and
the T or D:
Medial hook to produce a join: definite defend toughened tenant pennant
For two lots of medial nt/nd, halve both: accountant redundant abundant
dependant
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(d) Shun Hooks & Circle Ses With the large Shun Hook, the stroke is
halved as normal, but after the small Shun Hook and Circle Ses, use stroke
D:
paid unpaid repaid but rapid, played replayed but replied replete rippled
decked bedecked but abdicate induct
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Exception: bicycle bicyclette* *= Dictionary, but stroke Tee would give a more
reliable distinction
(g) After triphones the full stroke T or D is used. The past tense is shown
also with each example:
Normally halvaing for past tenses occurs on the last stroke, but outlines like
"accentuate" have pushed the halving back onto the stroke before, in order
to have a full stroke T to accompany the triphone. This also allows
derivatives to match. Compare with:
*Dictionary has diphthong "U" for the first vowel, but that pronunciation has become less
common
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An R sound following a T or D may require the use of an R Hook on a
stroke Tee or Dee, thus making unnecessary any halving of the preceding
stroke:
Straight
- -
With attachments With attachments With attachments
Curved - -
Ell - -
Alone With attachments With attachments
The vowel added by the doubling syllable is never shown in the outline, and
indeed cannot be shown as there is nowhere to write it. As its vowel is
slurred, this is not a problem. Doubling is not used when the vowel is an
accented one, full strokes are used, to enable the outline to be vocalised.
Downstrokes all go through the line, as their angle is steep and crossing the
line cannot be avoided. It is possible to start first position outlines higher up,
but this does not really make a lot of difference and should not be relied
upon. Occasional extra vocalisation would be a wise precaution.
Upstrokes are written at a shallower angle, taking up less vertical space, and
they can therefore have the normal three positions. This is easier to achieve
because the lowest part of the stroke is at the beginning – there is slightly
more control over the beginning part of any stroke or outline than at the
end.
Horizontal strokes are positioned as normal, i.e. above the line for first
position, and on the line for second and third positions.
Where the doubled stroke is not the one that is being put in position (i.e. it
is not the first up or down stroke, or the only stroke), it is immaterial where
it ends up being written.
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Straight Strokes
A doubled plain straight stroke looks identical to two of the same stroke in
succession (see below), and so doubling is only used when there are other
attachments to help with the legibility of the outline. A final circle S can also
be added to any of the outlines and is spoken last of all:
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*Same thickness stroke the whole length – do not be tempted to do part thick and part thin,
as in "Ted" and "debt".
*Because these have more than one stroke, they can remain doubled in the plural even
though they no longer have an attached diphthong.
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Curved Strokes
Curved strokes are doubled for all the sounds. Unlike straight strokes, no
restriction is necessary because a double curved stroke does not resemble
two of the same stroke in succession. No thickening is needed for the D
sound, as that is represented as part of the doubling:
*Exaggerate the joining angle slightly – the change of thickness helps to show the join.
theatre thunder thither aster Esther Easter oyster sister Note: eastern
*Names need to be clearer, as context cannot help, so separate strokes are more helpful.
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centimetre diameter pedometer, kilometre* thermometer
"intro-" only uses doubled En when convenient to join, and the doubled
stroke takes no initial vowel:
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Ell
A plain Ell when alone is doubled only for -ter, and the form retained in
derivatives:
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If the Ell has attachments or preceding strokes, it can be doubled for all the
sounds:
The doubled Ell is normally written upwards; it is only written downwards for
ease of joining i.e. after N NS NG to maintain the direction of the curves,
and after SK. As there is never a vowel after it, it never changes direction to
indicate a following vowel, as the normal length Ell can sometimes do:
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Ing
The doubled stroke is exactly the same sound as the normal length hooked
form, but is only used where the hooked form does not join easily or if it is
the only stroke in the outline. There are thus two versions for the same
sound:
Use hooked form for better join; use hooked form where both would be
convenient i.e. after Kay Gay:
pinker banker/Bangor bunker blinker tinker tanker
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ING-ER: to add just -er to Ing, use stroke Ar (there are far fewer of these,
which is why doubling Ing adds -ker/-ger and not -er):
Doubling + suffix
A doubled straight stroke is the same shape as two of the same stroke in
succession. As the latter are less common, always vocalise them.
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In Phrases
Doubling can be used in phrases for "there their other dear". Generally all
short forms consisting of a full stroke can be doubled to add these words. In
normal outlines, this use of the doubling principle should be more cautiously
applied and is safest when restricted to the most common phrases:
we have been there, I think there is, I am sure there is, making their way
some other way, my dear sirs, in other words but any other, no* other
*In phrases, always insert the vowel in "no" and leave "any" unvocalised
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When not to use
potter potters pottering padder batter bather bother tatter tether dither
Some outlines/syllables that are not doubled can do so if they form the end
of a longer word, i.e. they are preceded by other strokes, which helps with
legibility:
The initial circle at the beginning of Hay does not count as an attachment as
it is an integral part of the stroke:
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*One of the few outlines that does not have any writable vowel marks, as they are
incorporated into the -ER syllable of the hooks
Unequal length with no clear join: Strokes of unequal length must have
a clear angle of join, otherwise use hooked strokes or disjoin:
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Accented syllable: Do not use when the syllable has an accented vowel –
the full strokes are needed in order to have somewhere to write the vowel
sign:
Exceptions
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Triphones: do not use when preceded by a triphone that has long last
vowel – seeing the full separate strokes let you know that there are three
vowels involved (this principle is also used in halving and with Shun Hook,
for the same reason):
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Final vowel: Do not use when a final vowel follows – full strokes are needed
to provide somewhere to write the vowel, and in some cases lets you know
the vowel is there, even if it is not being written in:
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Past tenses: for -erd endings, mostly found in past tenses, use halving:
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Exceptions:
picture structure infrastructure conjecture rupture debenture
*Stroke Em repeated for a negative, this will be covered in a future Prefixes/Suffixes page
Upward Hay
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Ray following:
* "hearty" and "hardy" are distinguishing outlines; hardy follows the rule, hearty does not.
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Hook following:
hoper hopper hypertension hibernate
* "electric" is a contraction. Take care that "hydraulic" and "hydro-electric" are not read for
each other.
L Hook following:
Halved:
Doubled:
hunter hinder (=further back) hinder (=obstruct) hounder hinterland
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Final attachments:
Circle S following:
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Medially (see below for how to form the Hay circle going back on itself):
*Outlines like this look unwritable with all the vowel signs inserted, but are easy to write
unhesitatingly when unvocalised!
* "poorhouse" and "beerhouse" are distinguishing outlines; poorhouse follows the rule,
beerhouse does not.
bloodhound wolfhound deadhead hot-head bareheaded
Finally:
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Downward Hay
Use when the H sound is the only consonant in the word:
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Medially and finally: use when upstroke not convenient – sometimes the
choice is made because of the join with the following stroke, rather than the
preceding stroke e.g. "Abraham". Note that the downward Hay can only take
a final Circle S when it is attached to another stroke, because only then is it
obvious it is a Hay and not some other stroke. The circle part of the Hay is
written anticlockwise (diagram below):
*this is the only instance of a Downward Hay following stroke D – "hoc" is a separate word
and this outline is really behaving like a mini-phrase.
Before Ray: Upward Hay is generally used before Ray, but a few words
produce better outlines with downward Hay. The first four are taking
advantage of halving the Ray, and the last two are avoiding 3 straight
strokes in succession which would be illegible:
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Tick Hay
Downward Hay is reduced to a tick (i.e. just the lower third of the stroke):
*these two are positioned according to the second vowel, in order to provide distinguishing
outlines.
Ar, Ard: here/hear heard hearer hearsay hereby hire hired hireling
* "hearty" and "hardy" are distinguishing outlines; hardy follows the rule, hearty does not.
** "Harare" not in dictionary, could also be written like "horary". The form offered here,
using two of stroke Ray, accords with the accented vowels that follow them – take your
choice.
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Tick versus full Downward Hay If the H sound has an initial vowel before,
or triphone after, use the full stroke. This is the only time that the stroke
Hay indicates the presence of a vowel or triphone. (This rule is the same as
that for the use of Circle S versus stroke Ess, and Hook En versus stroke
En):
Tick Hay in phrases Tick Hay may occur medially in a phrase. Vocalisation
should be considered, as in a phrase it is identical to Tick The. You cannot
used both ticks together in a phrase:
Note the exact placement of first place vowels in regard to the tick – the
vowel sign is placed at the extreme end of the stroke, necessary so that the
vowel sign is not mistaken for a second place vowel. This does not mean
that the vowel is spoken before the H – if there were a vowel before the H,
you would be using a full downward Hay stroke to place it against. Note also
that the tick does not count as the first up or downstroke:
Dot Hay
Use Dot Hay when the other forms cannot conveniently be written. It is only
used if the resultant outline remains legible when unvocalised.
Mostly used in compound words, where the original form of Hay would
make an awkward join.
Never used initially or finally.
The dot is always placed close against the vowel that comes after the
H sound, and both signs are placed against the following stroke,
regardless of whether the vowel is a first, second or third place one (as
the H is medial, this is similar to the behaviour of vowels after a
medial Circle S or medial hook).
The sign for a vowel that is sounded immediately before the H sound
also remains with its own stroke, whether first second or third place
vowel, because it cannot "jump" over the H, e.g. "apprehend" below
The dot is always written against a vowel sign. If you omit the vowel
sign, then also omit the Dot Hay. Dot Hay on its own is meaningless,
but a vowel sign on its own is preferable, when hard-pressed, if you
feel the outline needs it for clarity.
Over a dot vowel, so they occupy the same position against the stroke,
i.e. a line drawn between them would resemble a dash vowel. The Dot
Hay is the outer one of the two. The two dots are not side by side in
relation to the stroke.
Immediately before and beside a dash vowel, which will vary according
to the direction of the stroke.
To the left side of a diphthong.
This can look similar to two vowel signs written together e.g. genii nuclei
tracheae* but as Dot Hay is never used finally and is never placed
immediately after a stroke, this does not present a problem.
*see outlines on Vowels page
*choice of pronunciations
**always insert the U diphthong, so it does not clash with "demonise", although if you
wanted a non-dictionary distinguishing outline, using downward Hay would make sense (as
in "ad hoc")
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Dot Hay in compound words Some outlines that use stroke Hay will
change to Dot Hay when they are part of a compound word, either because
stroke Hay is inconvenient or impossible to join, or to obtain a briefer
outline. The list is not exhaustive:
hall – townhall guildhall Whitehall Vauxhall
*optional contractions
* "poorhouse" and "beerhouse" are distinguishing outlines; poorhouse follows the rule,
beerhouse does not
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Prefixes
Initial in- , when not a negative, is shown by a small "-in" hook to upward
Hay only.(This hook is only used for inh- instr- inskr-) The hook does not
need vocalising, as the vowel is included in the meaning of the hook. The
stroke Hay still goes through the line because the first sounded vowel is a
third place one, despite it not being represented by a dot:
Negatives in- and un- use stroke N, which makes a much more reliable
outline, considering that the meanings are opposites:
inhospitable inhuman inharmonious unhelpful
These three use upward Hay for better join before Gay Em Ell:
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Derivatives
Some words that use downward Hay on its own, use upward Hay to
accommodate attachments and to form single-syllable derivatives:
hoe hoer (one who hoes) but hoar, higher but hire
Where the rules call for a downward Ell (see Theory 14 L Forms page), Tick
Hay cannot be used:
hallucination halcyon compare haloes
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Writing the Circle Stroke Hay must never be allowed to resemble S-CH or
S-Ray, so medially and finally it is sometimes necessary to write the circle
going back upon itself. The use of such an abrupt change of direction is
always kept to an absolute minimum in the rules of Pitman's Shorthand.
Whichever method is used to write the Hay, the final shape is always the
same, i.e. the circle never changes sides:
*this word is sometimes pronounced with a separate additional H sound, a possibly false
etymology from "hold", but the dictionary outline reflects the normal pronunciation
WH: the H sound is included in the Whay and Whel strokes, therefore does
not need to be indicated separately.
where while
The sound of W is represented in two main ways. The outline uses whichever
method produces the easiest outline to write and read, and in some cases to
indicate the presence of a preceding vowel:
Stroke Way
Small semicircle:
Stroke Way
This is the form most commonly used. As stroke Way has an initial hook as
part of its basic form, it can take no other initial hooks or initial loops:
way we* wee weep wiper web wobble weighbridge *Short form
*Worcester, worsted (woollen cloth) and the endings -ward, -wart, -wort are the only
outlines that do not show the longhand R (see Theory 10 Halving/ward). In the first two,
the letter R is not sounded at all, the vowel is the same as that in "wool".
Stroke Way can take an initial circle as part of a compound word or in those
cases where Circle Sway cannot be used (see page Theory 4 Circles/Sway):
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Initial semicircle
Sometimes called "abbreviated W". Before simple Kay Gay Em Imp/Imb Ar
Ard Rer Ray, the W is represented by a small attached semicircle:
Used because it joins better than stroke Way, and is quicker to write.
It is a right semicircle = clockwise.
Changes its angle slightly when attached to Em Imp/Imb Ray i.e. the
first part of the semicircle is always parallel to the beginning part of
the stroke.
Not used if the word begins with a vowel.
Never omitted unless it is replaced by the medial semicircle in a
compound word or phrase.
The order of reading is like a Circle S: read the W first, then the vowel, then
the stroke:
General Examples:
*Have to use stroke Way with Em here **More on these two below
The initial semicircle may be followed by a diphthong, but use stroke Way if
followed by a diphone or triphone, the point being that the latter have
separately sounded vowels, forming an extra syllable, and having the full
stroke Way helps to indicate this:
Initial semicircle is only used with simple strokes, so use stroke Way if the
next stroke is hooked:
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Medial semicircle
It represents the W sound plus the following vowel sound, and replaces that
vowel sign – it is written in the same place against the stroke as the vowel
sign would occupy.
The medial semicircle is occasionally called the "W diphthong" in some older
books, reflecting the fact that it is made up of only vowels, even though
sometimes it does the job of a consonant when it begins a syllable.
For the compound words, I have given the root word in the "compare" line.
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THAT
IS
PA
*pronounced sham-wah = mountain antelope; also pronounced (and sometimes written) "shammy" = suede
polishing cloth.
MAY
WE
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NOT
twattle twaddle 'twas somewhat* *Note the Dot Hay against the W sign
wishy-washy churchwarden Cornwall Cornwallis
MUC
H
GOO
D
ALL
GO
misquote misquotation compare quote quotation Further on these in the Kway section
TOO
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In compound words the semicircle stays with its own word, which means
that a first or second place vowel may end up moving forward to the next
stroke. This allows the outline to reflect the words that the compound word
is made from, making the outline more legible:
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The longhand convention of writing the letters "Wh" for the sound of HW
should be ignored when forming shorthand outlines. Shorthand instruction
books describe the strokes Hway and Hwel as representing "WH" and "WHL"
which is referring to longhand and not to the sounds. It is better to associate
the strokes with the sounds they represent, and treat the longhand spelling
as a separate matter entirely.
Even though many people do not pronounce the H, you should still learn the
different forms because of their usefulness in providing distinguishing
outlines and because the longhand still needs to be spelled correctly
regardless of popular pronunciation. Outlines should be consistent and not
change to reflect people's differing pronunciation.
Stroke Hway This is stroke Way with an enlarged hook to represent the
sound of "HW". It is a compound consonant = no vowel may come between
the H and W sounds. This is not an additional hook to give an additional
sound. It is therefore best to learn the stroke as a whole without mentally
taking it apart into its constituent sounds.
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Strokes Wel Hwel These are basically the upward Ell stroke with an initial
hook. The hook, representing the W or HW sound, is read first:
These two hooks add their sound to the Ell in the same way that Circle S
adds its consonant before a stroke i.e. the W or HW is spoken first, then the
vowel, then the L sound:
General examples:
Wel and Hwel cannot clash with a downward Ell plus N hook or Shun hook
because the latter are never written alone – they follow a stroke and so the
direction they were written in is always clear:
Note: swell swelled swelling Circle Sway described in full on page Theory 4
Circles/Sway)
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These strokes include the W sound and are best learned as a whole stroke to
represent the compound consonant. A first place vowel goes outside the
hook, same as for normal size hooks:
equip quote quota equity aquatic quiet disquiet
*These two outlines are identical if unvocalised - see Theory 11 Doubling/Two Straight
Strokes for further on this.
*Dictionary gives "penguin" with stroke En rather than Ing, possibly assuming that
pronunciation reflected the derivation pen+gwyn (Welsh: head white, originally referring to
the Great Auk), in contrast to sang+uine (Latin: sanguineus=blood-like).
queer* compare clear choir/quire *Distinguishing outline, as this and "clear" are
both adjectives
There are a few words that make better outlines by using the medial
semicircle for the KW sound, and with most of them it is seldom necessary
to write in the semicircle:
*Advisable to insert the semicircle for unusual words, and in "misquote" so it does not look
like "mistake"
Note: quite* equal* equalise equality (both using short form) equality (not
using)
*short forms
Do not use Kway or Gway if there is a vowel between the K/G and the W
sounds:
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Initial vowel
If the word starts with a vowel, then stroke Way must be used, because you
cannot write a vowel to the semicircle. Seeing stroke Way where you might
expect to see the initial semicircle lets you know that there may be a vowel
before it, thus improving legibility when vowels signs are omitted: omitted:
Derivatives
wick wig wigger* but wicker Wicker Wigger which have different
derivations**
Pondering word derivations and outline choices is out of the question during
dictation, but as long as your outline reflects the sounds spoken, you will be
able to transcribe correctly.
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Whichever form of W is used in the basic outline, this may change to one of
the other methods when the word becomes part of a phrase or compound
word. The main consideration is the ease of the join, producing a speedy and
reliable outline, but the resultant outline must be easy to read back, even
when vowels and unattached signs are omitted. It is seldom necessary to
insert any of the unattached semicircles when writing phrases, but they are
shown in some of the examples, so that you know where the signs belong.
Note that "woman" "women" take their position from the 2nd vowel, so that
their difference is maintained when the outlines are not vocalised. They also
need to have a semicircle at all times, whether attached or unattached,
because in phrases or compound words they could be read as "man" "men".
The phrase "men and women" is common enough to remain unvocalised, but
in other phrases vowels may be necessary to show whether these words are
singular or plural.
The verb "will" in phrases is represented by a plain upward Ell and the
semicircle is not necessary – it is always very clear what is meant and to
insert it would defeat the purpose of the phrase, which is to gain speed.
When "will" is used as a noun, it can take the semicircle, if felt necessary:
will, I will, he will, that you will be, if he will have but goodwill freewill
Rather than hesitate over semicircles during a dictation, you should use full
strokes or write the two halves of the outline separately and then find out
the correct outline later. Even in longhand there is often a question over
whether to write something as two words, a hyphenated word or one word.
Writing a longer outline or two outlines is far preferable to hesitating and
losing the next few words. Making an awkward join, when separate outlines
would be more readable and reliable, is also a hindrance.
However, joining or not joining can indicate different uses of the same two
words, shown up by where the emphasis falls in the sentence (underlined).
In the second of each of the sentences below, joining the outlines would be
inappropriate and make the shorthand awkward to read back:
We arrived last week. His last weak excuse was not accepted.
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Names and place names are best vocalised whenever possible, as context
cannot help.
This sign is unlike any other. Prior to the Centenary version of Pitman's
Shorthand in 1913, this was the sign for the W (or HW) plus the "eye"
sound, as in "wife" "Wight" "white", and also the short form "why" that we
still use. It behaved like the W semicircle – sometimes joined initially to
certain strokes, sometimes unattached medially. Note that "why" is a right
angle (90°), unlike the other three angular diphthongs (60°):
SW at the beginning of a word uses the Circle Sway, see Theory 4 Circles
page.
Longhand often uses the letter W to indicate a long vowel. In those cases it
does not come under any of the above headings, and the appropriate vowel
sign is used:
awe awl awesome awful awkward dawn mow owl
Upwards Ell
Upwards when it is the only stroke in the outline, regardless of length
(halved, full or doubled) or attachments:
ale ales ill eel Ely allow
lot lots let late elate lute/loot lit slit slat light lights slight
Upwards with most strokes, other than in the combinations described in the
next sections:
kilt colt exalt* exult** guilt/gilt fault felt asphalt *elevate, raise **be
joyous
"underl-" words are disjoined, therefore the Ell can remain upward – as
these words are mostly derivatives, this allows the original word to remain
unchanged, whilst avoiding the undesirable join between the En stroke and
upwards Ell. It also has he added advantage that the outlines are less likely
to be confused with all the "in-" and "un-" words:
(b) N-S-L
nasal nozzle nuzzle noiseless noiselessly senseless businesslike
thistle Methuselah Thessalonians thusly, this letter *, this will* but they will
*Because of the circle S, downward Ell is the only way to make a join. Ell used in phrases
for "will" is normally upwards.
Special outlines London Londoner Londonderry but generally thus: Landon
Linton
After small Shun Hook, follow the motion – most of them have downward
Ell:
(e) These not only continue the motion, but also produce compact
outlines with clear sharp joins
helterskelter compare skelter scolder scalder – one might expect upwards Ell
in the second part of "helterskelter" in order to retain the direction of the
circle, but compactness is more important here.
Note distinguishing outlines: unsold unsoiled (unsold has the shorter outline
as it is the most frequent word; outlines with diphthongs very often keep the
strokes in full)
Hook L is used in a few instances (even though vowels may intervene)
where it produces a brief and distinctive outline that cannot clash with
anything else (more such outlines on Theory 7 Hooks R L page):
3. Vowel indication
For initial and final Ell, and only with certain strokes, different in each case.
Vowel indication never occurs medially – medial Ell is chosen only for
convenience and to a lesser degree to show derivatives.
(a) Initially Before simple horizontal stroke - Kay Gay Em Emp En Ing - the
downward Ell (full or halved) is used to indicate an initial vowel:
The rule for vowel indication does not apply if there is a circle or hook
coming between the Ell and the next stroke, as downward Ell there would
not make a good join:
Alaska Lasky Elswick Liskeard* algorithm logarithm *pronounced "liss-kard"
(b) Finally After normal-length Eff Vee S-Kay Kway Ray Way Yay and
upward Hay:
Downward Ell = no final vowel
Upward Ell = final vowel
dwelt indwelt but twilight twilit (These seem to be the only examples, as most
instances of w-lt use stroke Wel halved)
Keeping halved Ell mostly upwards has the additional benefit of providing
distinction from stroke Ld which is always downwards.
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Derivatives
Some derivative outlines may change the direction of the stroke Ell. Keeping
derivatives similar to the original is useful but is never done at the expense
of a flowing and reliable outline:
Parts of compound words benefit from keeping their forms, enabling the
components can be more easily recognised, but only if a good outline
results:
Negatives
"unl-" words follow the rules above i.e. use downward Ell, so long as the
next stroke can be joined:
Outlines for similar negatives such as imm- irr- inh- inn- unn- etc are dealt
with in the same way (see Theory 18 Prefixes page). This section on
negatives points up the necessity for shorthand writers to have a good grasp
of how English words are formed and their meanings.
These and similar negatives are also described on Theory 18 Prefixes page.
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Downstroke Ler
Downward Ell is thickened to add the unaccented sound of "-er". It is it is
only used where a downward Ell would normally be used, i.e. it never
replaces an upward Ell. No vowel sign is required for the unaccented vowel
within it. No vowel may come after the stroke, but it can take a final circle
S:
Downstroke Ld
Ell is halved and thickened to indicate the sound of Ld. The stroke Ld is
always written downwards. No vowel comes between the L and D sounds,
and no vowel comes after it. With the derivatives, it does not matter
whether the original Ell was up or down:
ailed old old-age Oldham piled polled pulled boiled bowled Note: bold
bailed billed brawled tailed trailed toiled tolled doled dialled drilled
calm qualm halm haulm calf/calve half/halve Ralph* *When pronounced "rafe"
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Word starts with a vowel, and a vowel comes after as well, use Ar. It
is helpful to insert the 2nd vowel for these:
arrow array awry aria area airy/eyrie* era eerie *eyrie (eagle's nest) has several
pronunciations
(a) Always use Ray before these strokes, to get a good join, regardless of
vowels:
*the diphone for "aer-" is no longer current usage, but may be found in some older
shorthand dictionaries.
arid arrayed erode eradicate erudite Urdu aerodynamics * *see above note re
"aer-"
Chay Jay: arch urchin search research starch artichoke urge origin
serge surge surgeon sturgeon sargeant storage steerage
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A circle or hook shows up the join, and therefore Ray can be used before the
Em for vowel indication:
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(c) Both Ar and Ray join well before the remainder of the strokes, so vowel
indication is possible:
Pee Bee: eruption arpeggio Orpington orb arbour Arabella urban
S+R+downstroke use Ray for better joins, whether or not a vowel follows
the R:
syrup stirrup surplus serpent sorbet Surbiton
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Medially
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2. If the vowel calls for Ar, it is used where it joins well, mainly before
horizontal or upstrokes:
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3. Use Ar before Em, Imp/Imb for a good join, the same as you would
initially, without regard to vowel indication:
*Such a long outline is not typical of the system. A non-standard suggested contraction
could be to disjoin or intersect stroke En with "surmountable" and write in 3rd position.
The following are not in the shorthand dictionary, and are suggestions based
on the examples above:
A non-standard suggested alternative for "cameraman", for those likely to use it frequently,
might be to use M with R hook i.e. ca-mra-man
The vowel sign should always be inserted for the plural "-men" and all
plurals that are formed only by a change of vowel.
See Theory 10 Halving/Ray for halved Ray = part port fort etc
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Some outlines use R Hook, despite the intervening vowel, to gain an even
briefer outline and/or avoid awkward joins. This is only done when the
possibility of clashes is absent or minimal:
* "colonel" is the only word whose outline has an R despite its absence in the longhand –
solely to indicate pronunciation
*Outline is in 2nd position, to accord with the first vowel of the word, not the first vowel
shown in the outline
Such outlines need particular attention to learn because many of them could
be written reasonably (but longer) within the main rules, and some might
otherwise be very awkward or straggling outlines. Keeping them in your
vocabulary notebook whenever they are encountered is helpful, so they can
be practised further.
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Finally
flower flowery veer vary severe sovereign* *middle vowel is not pronounced
Words with Hook R can also change to Ray when there is a following vowel:
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3. After 2 downstrokes use Ray to keep the outline from descending too
far:
prepare despair disappear aspire stapler taxpayer
After Eff and Vee, Ar gives a more facile outline, which outweighs having 3
downstrokes:
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3. Use Ray with final hooks, this makes for a fast and forward-moving
outline, and easy derivatives:
spurn burn born borne barn stubborn
If a vowel comes between the R and the N or F/V, Ray is the natural choice:
When only Ray can be used after the Shun Hook, it may be advisable to
insert any final vowel:
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5. For the sound "-ser" Use Ray after Kay Kway Gay Eff Vee En to gain
a speedier outline (no examples found for Gway):
kisser causer accuser crosser cruiser closer successor
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rear reared roar roared uproar rower* rosary *as in rowing boats
Farrar furore* farrier furrier (more furry) but furrier furriery (fur dealer & fur
trade, shorter U vowel) – different derivations provide opportunity for
distinguishing outlines
*pronunciation varies
juror adhere adhered abhor abhorred
Three plain straight strokes in the same direction must be avoided, because
it would not be clear whether 2 or 3 strokes were meant, so the final stroke
uses Ar. The resulting join between Ray and Ar is not ideal, so care is
needed to write accurately:
rarer roarer hurrier hairier
Note the following where the hook or circle shows the junction:
The above outlines need not invade the line above, because they are written
at a shallow angle. Invading the line above is not critical, because that line is
already written; descending too far is more to be avoided because you will
have to jump over the lower part of that outline when writing on the next
line.
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After Hay
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After W Semicircle
W Semicircle behaves similarly to Circle S at the beginning of an outline:
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Derivatives
If there is a hook between the two strokes, the other R stroke may join
better:
sire seer (prophet) compare sigher seer (one who sees) sayer sower/sewer (one
who sews) which are 2-syllable derivatives and therefore more readable
retaining their original stroke Ess. This is in contrast to single syllable
derivatives, which generally change their form as necessary e.g. said, seen,
sown, sawn, sighed (to be discussed on a later page.)
*2 pronunciations given.
"Suer" is a 2-syllable derivative and would therefore keep the stroke Ess whichever vowel
sign is used. "Sewer" (drain) is not a derivative, but uses stroke Ess because of the
triphone, and also to form its derivatives conveniently, i.e. sewerage, sewage. (Latin: ex +
aquaria = ex + ewer = sewer)
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Stroke Rer
Stroke Ard
*Exceptional, in that a vowel is allowed after the Ard stroke, being lightly-sounded
marred mired admired nard nerd un-aired
**If personal name, use full outline, as context cannot help = Lord's Cricket Ground, Mr
Lord
If title or noun, use short form = Lord Nelson, The Lord's Prayer
boarding-house boarding-school
Any vowel sign following it (i.e. the next syllable) is written against the next
stroke:
Dot Ing: herding hoarding boarding but Harding Arding as stroke Ing is
preferable for proper names.
Ard is used for the past tense of outlines with a doubled stroke + N hook:
An outline using R Hook or doubling uses halving for "-ered", rather than
Ard, as the syllable is mostly unaccented:
order ordered enter entered compare: inter interred deter deterred where
the accent is on the last syllable.
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Prefix Irr-
Contractions:
If unsure about an "irr-" word during dictation, add the extra initial Ar
anyway, whether it is correct or not – it will be perfectly legible. Avoiding
hesitation during dictation is the highest priority, but the outline should be
looked up and drilled at the first opportunity, so that you are always using
the shortest outline available.
These and similar negatives are also described on Theory 18 Prefixes page.
R not shown
Suffixes -ward -wort -wart -yard. These are unvocalised when used as
suffixes. See Theory 10 Halving page for description and examples. Follow
normal rules if writing as whole words:
ward wort wart yard* *short form
The following outlines omit the R as even in the longhand the R is redundant
and unpronounced:
The adjective/adverb worse worst and verb worst* worsted* are pronounced
as normal and so the R is shown in their outlines.
Stroke Imp/Imb
*same as pompon = wool tassel; "pompom" & "pom-pom" is also a type of automatic
cannon
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embog ambiguous ambivalent imbibe* imbiber* *Note the first B is part of the
stroke Imb
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Zambia Zambezi Zimbabwe* zombie *Note the first B is part of the stroke Imb
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Comparison with the words they are derived from (or related to) shows how
the stroke Imp replaces the plain stroke Pee:
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Hooks
N Hook:
pompon* Pompeian pumpion plumpen tympan tampon trombone *same as
pompom
Shun Hook:
Where there is no vowel before the Shun Hook, the lightly sounded P is
omitted and stroke Em is used:
exemption presumption resumption consumption assumption redemption
gumption
Never takes L Hook, use either stroke Ell or compound consonant Pel Bel.
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Halving
Names and place names must remain clear, as context cannot help, so
stroke Imp is used, even though the P sound may be spoken just as lightly
as the above words:
Speakers will vary according to how much they pronounce the light P sound,
and some may leave it out altogether, but the shorthand outlines should
remain constant. What people say when they are speaking carefully may be
entirely different from their pronunciation in actual fast usage.
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4. Not halved when it has Shun Hook, use halved Ish+N Hook:
*adjective = full of ambition, suggested outline, not in shorthand dictionary. A lone stroke,
thickened, halved and with shun hook is too indistinct to be reliable. See also Theory 9 Shun
Hook/halved stroke page.
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The sound of imper/imber (with the accent on the first syllable and a slurred
second vowel) is represented both by doubling and by using the R Hook. The
two strokes shown above represent identical sounds, and which to use
depends on the convenience of the join.
Use the doubled stroke when it is the only stroke in the outline, or after a
downstroke or Em:
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Use the hooked form in all other cases i.e. after upstrokes and straight
horizontals (the doubled stroke would join perfectly well to a horizontal, but
the hooked form is preferable so that it can be halved for past tenses):
camper/camber scamper Camberwell Camberley Cumberland
If the Imp has an N hook, the doubling adds -der (these 4 words are the
only examples):
As doubling of stroke Imp only adds -er, to add the sound of -eter, stroke
Tee with R Hook is used:
trumpeter embitter imputer Lampeter
If there is no central vowel, then the P sound is only lightly sounded and
need not be represented: use Em doubled, which adds the -ter sound as per
normal doubling rules:
Plumptre (plump-ter & plum-ter) The dictionary gives no final vowel for the first
outline. Isaac Pitman's Phonographic & Pronouncing Dictionary of 1894 gives
the name "Plumptree" same as the first outline but with a heavy final vowel
to match the spelling. This is a town-derived surname = place of plum trees.
*For ease of joining **Not doubled, to provide added distinction from "shrimp" as both are
nouns
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1. Vowel between: not used if there is vowel between the M and the P/B
sounds:
map mapped mope moped (past tense of mope) moped (bike) maypole myopia
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1. If the word is derived from one that uses a hook i.e. PR PL BR BL, retain
that form and use stroke Em before it:
person impersonate personal impersonal perfect imperfect* *Contraction
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6. Compound words: not used where the M and P/B belong to different
words:
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lamb limb thumb womb numb number (= more numb, pronounced "nummer")
Stroke Ish only has one form, but can be written in two directions:
The default is downwards, but is written upwards for convenient
joining or to maintain balance, similar motion or lineality (=keeping to
the line)
Can take Hooks
With R Hook = "Sher" is always written downwards
With L Hook = "Shel" is always written upwards
In some instances Ish + N Hook is used instead of Shun Hook
Denotes the suffix "-ship" in derivatives
Used for short forms: shall/shalt wish wished sure short (Short Forms
List 4)
The thick stroke "Zhee" is always written downwards, with no
exceptional uses, so is not part of this page
Initially
Medially
Finally
Hook between
Hooked Ish
Halving
Balancing, Angles & Similar Motion
Lineality
Derivatives
Suffix -ship
Words of non-English origin
Initially
1. Alone = always down
Ess (Zee) Ish (Zhee): chassis shush shortish shrewish Shushan shish-kebab
Ar Rer Ard: shire shore share shareholder sharer shared shirt shear/sheer
Medially
The direction of Ish is chosen to fit in with the stroke before the Ish. If the
stroke after the Ish doesn't join well, there is always the option of disjoining:
Finally
1. Downwards after most strokes:
Tee (but not Dee): tish toyish attaché latish sluttish Saltash sottish sweetish
Although plain Tee always takes downward Ish, stroke Dee (plain or with
attachments) always take upward Ish. The reason for this is not explained,
but I am assuming it is to provide an extra differentiation between the two
strokes.
Down Ell: foolish vilish retain downward Ell of "fool" & "vile", compare
Felisha Felicia
Hook between
If there is a hook between Ish and the stroke it is joined with, Ish will be
written in the most convenient direction:
1. Initial Ish is always upwards before the following:
KL KR GR: shackle shaker sugar chagrin/shagreen Note: shocker*
*probably as a distinguishing outline from "shaker"
shuffle shovel
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2. Final Ish will follow the motion of the intervening hook ("similar
motion"):
punish Spanish replenish banish brandish blondish outlandish
Hooked Ish
1. R Hook – Sher is always down:
Derbyshire (note vowel) dasher Cheshire casher kosher gusher Note: cashier
2. L Hook – Shel is always up, and the central vowel is not shown if it is a
short E or a slurred vowel:
For -ly, add the dot vowel: officially superficially initially essentially
Used for some words beginning "shel-" to gain a more convenient outline
(there are no words beginning "shl-" that they could clash with):
3. N Hook
Stroke Ish + N Hook is used instead of the Shun Hook after triphones and
where the Shun Hook is not convenient or appropriate to write:
continuation sinuation tuition situation* striation*
*Direction of Ish balances the initial attachment
Shun Hook is not used in these derivatives because it would not join, so full
strokes are necessary:
Halving
For past tenses, where the Ish already makes an angle the direction can
remain the same, but these do need extra care as the angle is not very
sharp and a halved Ish is less clear than a full stroke:
In compound words and phrases, the Ish may change direction in order to
form the necessary angle or continue the motion of the preceding hook:
Lineality
Ish goes upwards to keep the outline compact, to avoid 3 or more
descending strokes, but only if the joins remain good:
Derivatives
In compound words, retain the original direction wherever possible:
Suffix -ship
Stroke Ish is used to denote the suffix "-ship" and occasionally the noun
"ship" (=boat), either joined or disjoined, and in full where that is more
legible:
citizenship township friendship hardship courtship fellowship worship
This is dealt with more fully on Theory 20 Suffixes Contracted/ship page.
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(a) Dot Initial con/com is represented by a dot written at the head of the
stroke:
Place it exactly at the head of the stroke, and not slightly to one side
or the other where it might be mistaken for a first place vowel sign.
The vowel that comes after the con is the one that decides the position
of the stroke. As there are so many con/com words, this is an extra
aid to recognition.
The dot represents the whole of the syllable – do not write an extra
stroke M or N just because the longhand has two of that letter.
The con dot is not omitted in the way that vowel dots are omitted at
will.
compose comparison comparative compatible competition compress
*Although there is no vowel before, these 4 use the left (anticlockwise) version of the
hooked stroke VR to allow easier derivatives, but "confront" and "afront" follow the normal
rule.
A longhand com or con may be pronounced "cum" or "cun", but this cannot
be indicated in the outline:
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When using proximity, the outlines take their position from the first vowel of
the word, as normal.
In the following, the initial prefix is the first up or downstroke, so that is the
one that takes its rightful position in regard to the line. The second half of
the outline can also be in position according to its vowel, but only if a
convenient outline results:
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In the following, the initial prefix is a horizontal stroke. The first up or downstroke comes somewhere
after the con-, so that is the stroke that is written in position in regard to the line. The position of the
whole outline is still decided by the first vowel sound of the word, not the vowel that follows that
particular up or downstroke (see asterisked examples below):
*With these two, the first up or downstroke is the very last one, but the outline is still placed according to the first
vowel.
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Proximity within a phrase can replace an initial con dot if the outline can be
written close to the one preceding. Unlike the "medial con" words listed
above, the con- word in such phrases must retain its correct position in
regard to the ruled line. The words should form a natural phrase, otherwise
legibility will be reduced:
In some advanced phrases, the con can be omitted altogether and the
remainder of the outline joined, providing the phrase is a common/obvious
one:
*Contraction
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The originals use short forms: come coming income become welcome
overcome
locum-tenens but locum locomotion locomotive* *Optional contraction
The idea is that the short forms are not mistaken for vocalisation of the
following outline. Sometimes the con- word cannot be placed clearly in the
combination and is better written with the con dot:
Compare:
The conditions ... The committee ... All consumers would consider
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precognition incognito
Cum and cog at the beginning of a word are always shown with full strokes,
therefore it is irrelevant whether they are grammatically a prefix or not:
Pronounced CON:
Whichever outline is used, the spelling in your transcript will be the same.
Alternatives are given here because the shorthand dictionary does not reflect
current pronunciation.
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(d) "Concom-" Write the first syllable in full and use proximity to represent
the second one:
(e) Some con- and com- words are clearer written in full, even though
it is a grammatical prefix:
commissar commissary commissariat commiserate
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*Using short form "in" hence the N is unvocalised **Using short form "come"
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2. ACCOM-
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*Suggested outlines for the plurals. As they are both nouns, adding Circle S to the short
form would be ambiguous.
magnet If the prefix were used, this would involve a penlift, resulting in a
slower outline for this short word.
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*Suggested outlines, not in dictionary. Writing in full as shown is preferable to using the
contraction, in order to avoid ambiguities about the endings, see asterisked note on
"magnetics" above.
If the magn- ends with any vowel other than the short ones shown above, it
is written using full strokes, and these are not prefixes anyway:
The prefixes magna- etc are derived from Latin magnus = great. The
"magnet" words are derived from Magnesia, a region in Greece where
magnetic rocks were first discovered in ancient history.
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4. IN- UN-
*Using contraction **Using short form "equal" therefore that part is on the line
untrue undo* undecided unclean unguarded unhook *Does not use short form
"do"
*Short form is not used for this word, as it would be too similar to "unimportant"
*This is shown incorrectly in the 1974 dictionary written on the line, but correct, as here, in
the 1950's dictionary.
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(b) Use small initial hook before the strokes STR SKR and upward Hay,
where the in- is not a negative:
inscrutable inhospitable
enscroll* enhance enhearten *All these are suggested outlines, not in dictionary
Most such words come in pairs with related or opposite meanings, and the
initial vowel is the only difference between their shapes, although they may
occupy different positions in relation to the line. As the outlines need to
remain unvocalised for speed purposes and their position may not always be
clearly written, repeating or changing the stroke is the most reliable way to
ensure the difference is always obvious. This is not done to reflect the
longhand spelling or to suggest that the consonant is sounded twice, but
merely to produce a distinctive pair:
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Not paired: words that are not part of a pair do not need the stroke
repeated or changed:
Exceptions: although not paired, repeating the stroke is clearer for these:
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(c) irr- Change Ray to Ar, as you would normally do when a vowel precedes
the R sound:
relevant irrelevant
If that is not possible or convenient, add an Ar before the Ray. Note that the
first vowel is written before the Ar, and the following vowel is written after
the Ray:
radiate irradiate
If the outline already uses Ar, then add another Ar to the beginning. Again,
the vowel signs sit outside the two Ar strokes:
remediable irremediable
See R Forms page/Prefix Irr for fuller explanation and many more examples.
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6. INTER- INTRO-
(a) Inter always uses doubled Em and can be vocalised, as per normal
doubling rules:
intermural intermezzo
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intercession introcession
Using doubling for both inter and intro relies on the fact that, apart from the
two pairs above, they are mutually exclusive, thus avoiding clashes. As new
words arise with these prefixes, consistently using N + TR for "intro-" would
be the most reliable way of ensuring that clashes never occur – this is not
quite so fast as a doubled stroke, but reliability is more important.
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7. SELF- SELF-CON-
(a) Self used as a prefix is shown by a circle in 2nd place against the stroke:
Write the circle first, then the strokes of the outline, so that you are
writing in the same order as the syllables are spoken, and to avoid any
backward movement of the pen.
With normal words, the outline is written in 2nd position, to accord
with the vowel in "self", but short forms and contractions retain their
original position.
The self circle is never omitted.
Not used medially or finally for the word "self".
Do not be tempted write the outline in 1st or 3rd position just because of the
vowel in the main part of the outline:
If you have already completed the outline, and then decide you need to go
back and insert the 2nd place vowel, placing it outside the self circle will still
be readable, even though it is not the perfect textbook version.
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(b) Self-con Write circle at the head of the stroke, to replace the con dot.
The outline remains in 2nd position, as "self" still provides the first vowel of
the word:
(c) When the "self" is not a prefix, or is alone or in the middle or end
of a continuous outline, it should be written in full; some are short forms:
*Contractions
*Met with in vernacular or lax speech only but grammatically incorrect in academic terms –
a desire to make them match the possessive in my/her/yourself etc, coupled with easier
pronunciation. See http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hisself for a discussion of this usage.
Correction of the speaker's word-formation may not be appropriate in some circumstances.
The Circle S at the end of some of the short forms above is only expressing
the S sound, and is not being used as a joined "self circle".
An outline using the self circle prefix should not be phrased with the word
before it. Going back to insert a circle would cause more delay and
interruption to smooth flow of writing than is gained by phrasing.
The circle is not used to represent the lone word "self" in phrases.
The self circle cannot clash with intervening dot vowels against hooked
strokes, as all of these are in first position. The rules are that a second place
intervening dot vowel is never shown:
self-praise person perspex parallel paragraph palpable
If you need to emphasise just the word "self" then write it in full so that you
can put a wavy line under it:
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8. TRANS-
*Optional contraction
*Optional contraction
(b) The N is omitted before certain strokes to achieve briefer outlines. As the
N is lightly sounded, it can be omitted and the outlines remain readable:
Before P and M:
Before Ell:
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9. ANTI- ANTE-
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The older pronunciation is the diphthong "syoo", but the plain vowel "soo"
seems to be more prevalent. I am keeping to the latter in these pages as
being the more up-to-date and quicker to write, although you are unlikely to
need to insert that vowel sign:
super super
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11. DIS-
Stroke as normal:
Contractions:
The following 3 outlines (and their derivatives) use the Ses circle for the two
S's purely to provide distinguishing outlines (see Distinguishing Outlines List
2/disseize & disserve):
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12. MIS-
For "miss-" (i.e. prefix mis + s) the Circle Ses is used to improve readability,
and does not suggest that the two S's are pronounced separately. In such
words the S sound is immediately followed by a consonant, and without the
double S (both longhand and shorthand), one would tend to read the second
part as beginning with that consonant e.g. mis+pend instead of mis+spend.
This is the same reason why the longhand hyphen is there, to make it easier
to read:
The above does not apply to other miss- words that are not prefixes, such as
"missing, mission."
Note that diss- words do not need to use the large circle as above, because
the prefix is always followed by a vowel.
Top of page
For- means away, off, out, extremely, wrongly, and gives a negative
or prohibitive meaning.
Fore- means before, in front of, preceding, and refers to position in
place, time or rank.
The outlines use different vowels for these two prefixes, with the
advantage of providing additional distinction for these sets of outlines.
Modern dictionaries seem not to differentiate the pronunciations of
these 2 prefixes.
Knowing the meanings of the prefixes is a great help in getting the
spellings correct, although some of the words below may be
encountered with variant spellings e.g. forfend is sometimes met with
as "forefend". If you know what the words mean, keeping to the
correct prefix for each meaning should keep your spelling of them on
track and avoid the confusing variants that sometimes find their way
into print.
(a) For- always uses a hooked FR, which may be reversed to make a
good join. The vowel is a first place light dash:
forward* forswear forspent forgive forget *Unlike the others, this one does mean
"fore/in front"
forlorn* forfeit**
*More flowing outline than if the hooked FR were used **Possibly avoiding similarity to
forfend
(b) Fore- mostly uses full strokes Eff plus Ar or Ray; occasionally the
hooked stroke FR to gain a good join. Never uses the reversed FR. The vowel
is a 2nd place heavy dash:
fore foremost foreman forewoman
Top of page
forjudge forejudge
"forjudge" = deprive by a judgement, expel from court, a legal term;
"forejudge" = prejudge, judge beforehand. If you need to differentiate, then
it is worthwhile learning both outlines. The version "forejudge" is probably
the one most likely to be met in normal non-legal speech.
Most of the "for-" words have the accent on the second syllable, so the
hooked form is more appropriate. With "fore-" most are accented on the first
syllable, making full strokes more appropriate. This helps to show where the
accent lies, and so improves legibility, as well as providing additional
distinction between the above pairs.
Top of page
14. NON-
*Note how the first vowel of "appearance" is written to the N stroke, similarly with other
outlines below
In compound words where the outlines are joined together, dot Ing is never
used medially and is replaced by stroke Ing:
Dash Ings is used for the plural of those outlines that already use Dot Ing:
lose/loose* losing/loosing, lease leasing, ail ailing but oil oiling to retain the
joined diphthong
*lose (Z sound) = to suffer loss or defeat; loose (S zound) = untighten, slack
The following use proximity, under the "con/com" rules, as a quick way of
representing the word "come" and produces a more distinctive outline than if
Dot Ing were used:
With the outlines for "pleasuring" and "influencing", the consonants written
are those immediately before the ing, therefore adding stroke Ing presents
no problems. The opposite is the case with "giving" where the V is not shown
in the outline, and if you just added a stroke Ing, you might read it as some
other word or think that you have written "going" out of position.
These short forms already represent the "ing" syllable:
-ingly
This is always represented by strokes Ing + Ell, as Dot Ing is never used
medially:
longingly strikingly fleetingly knowing showingly
2. -ly
Up or downward Ell, as per normal Ell rules (see Theory 14 L forms page):
Disjoin if necessary, using upward Ell. When disjoined, the Ell represents the
whole suffix including the vowel, so no dot vowel is necessary:
These exceptions keep the Ar: curable incurable securable procurable. This
may possibly be to prevent a clash e.g. carriable.
Full strokes Bee + Ell, if the hooked BL cannot be joined. Add the dot vowel
for "-ably":
4. -est -ist
(a) Stee Loop wherever possible:
Add to short forms: largest greatest* nearest but very veriest *Alternative
short form
high highest compare heist, newest to distinguish from next* *Short form
5. -ess
This suffix denotes the female version of a noun.
In the following, stroke Ess is used (rather than Circle S) so that it does not
look like a plural of the root word, and also makes it clear that there is an
extra syllable:
6. -ism
Circle S + Em wherever it can join:
Compare the above with ransom lonesome* where the S is written inside the
N Hook, there being no vowel after the N. This formation is not used for "-
nism".
*More examples on Theory N F V Hooks page
Top of page
7. -less
Ell + Circle S, as per normal rules:
8. -ness
En + Circle S, as per normal theory:
There is no special suffix for -liness, just add "-ness" to the existing outline:
9. -lessness -lousness
Disjoined Ell + Circle S, never vocalised:
friendless friendlessness
Neither textbooks nor dictionary has any mention of the plural "-lessnesses"
but it would be logical to change the Circle S of the suffix to a Ses Circle.
Top of page
10. -fulness
Disjoined Eff + Circle S, never vocalised.
The suffix is tucked under the main outline, but the placement may vary
slightly so that the pen does not travel too far or awkwardly before
beginning the Eff stroke:
Where the "-ment" cannot join, the outline or the suffix may change to
enable a join. A disjoin is not possible for "-ment" because that it used for "-
mental" etc:
amending amendment assorting assortment bereave bereavement
A preceding N Hook may be omitted to allow the suffix to join, and such
outlines are then generally classed as Contractions:
Where a final "-ment" cannot join satisfactorily, the M sound is omitted and
only "-ent" is written. This is necessary because a disjoined "mnt" is
allocated to "mental/ly/ity". This counts as a contracted suffix and is
therefore is not vocalised; any third place vowel coming before the suffix
must be written against the previous stroke.
There is never any need to disjoin the -nt:
12. -ship
(a) Generally a joined or disjoined Ish, unvocalised. Circle S can be added as
normal:
airmanship chairmanship championship draughtsmanship craftsmanship
Hayward Edward using the contracted suffix, and Heywood/Haywood with all
full strokes for extra differentiation; Rosewood for extra legibility after the
circle S.
In phrases, halved Way and Yay can replace short forms "word" "would"
"yard" if the short forms do not join easily :
these words, every word, they would, we would, 500 yards, several yards
Apart from these contracted suffixes, the only other instances of longhand
letter R being omitted in outlines are in worsted (woollen material) and
Worcester. All other words spelled with letter R must show it in the outline,
even though its pronunciation is often slurred or absent in many English
accents.
Top of page
logical logically
-logy -logist and -loger are written in full, as per normal rules:
profitable compressible
The unwritable vowel is underlined throughout this page:
The disjoined stroke takes no vowel sign, except the U diphthong. The vowel
after the U is deemed to be part of the suffix and so is not shown by the
usual tick on the diphthong:
Tee Dee
ductility gentility hostility hospitality mentality* *see above for when used as a
suffix
Jay
sensuality casualty
Top of page
Em En
Ell
polarity bipolarity popularity similarity insularity* *Choice of contraction or full
outline
Written in full:
The suffix is written in full if that produces a better outline, or if the above
contracted suffix cannot be written:
(a) in short words where there is only one stroke before the suffix, i.e. the
stroke has nothing that it can be disjoined from:
ability agility jollity cruelty reality celerity
senility sonority
(b) where the consonant that would be disjoined is represented by
something other than a stroke, i.e. there is no stroke to disjoin:
SHORT FORMS
Strokes: P B T D
put
putting (present participle of put), putt, putting (present participle of
putt)
special
specially
specialise specialist
speak
principle
principal
principally
principled principality
people
peopling peopled
surprise
surprised
particular
opportunity
opportunist opportunism inopportune
spirit
spiriting spirited spiritual spirit-level
"spiritual" and its derivatives sit on the line rather than placing the Ell
stroke through the line, in order to keep the short form part in its correct
position
be
to be
to become, Toby
subject
subjected
subjecting subject-matter (=noun; if used as separate words in a phrase,
the main short form would be used)
subjective
subjectively subjectivity* subjectivism* subjectiveness
subjection
liberty
member
remember
remembere
d membership remembering remembrance dismember
number
numbered
numbering numberless
belief
believe
believed
believing believer believable believingly
behalf
balance
build
building
buildable build-up
it
its it's
itself
truth
truthful truthfulness
tried
toward
trade
trading trader tradesman trade-union trades-union
towards
tell
till
until till (=cash register or work the soil)
(It is incorrect to put an apostrophe before the logogram till, it is a word in
its own right and not a contraction of until)
told
toll tolled
circumstanc
e
circumstances circumstantial not to be confused with the contraction:
substantial-ly
satisfaction
instructive
instructively instructiveness
instruction
instruct instructor instructional
had
hadn't
do
diferent
diference
Dr
doctor
doctoring doctorate doctrine
dear
during
deliver
delivered
delivery
delivering deliverer deliverable
deliverance
advantage
difficult
difficulty
much
which
chair
chaired
cheer
cheered
child
childhood childish childlike children
(Childlike is the dictionary outline, but is difficult to write well, and you
may prefer to write it disjoined)
large
larger
largely
general
generally
generalship generality generalissimo
generalisatio
n
generalise
justification
gentleman
gentlemanly gentlewoman
gentlemen
gentlewomen
can
can (=vessel)
cannot
can't cant (=hypocritical talk)
come
coming come-back newcomer
because
cause 'cos (the wavy line alerts you to an unusual word or usage)
care
caring carefree careful carefully careless
cared
accord -ing
accordingly accordance accordant
call
called
so-called
equal
cold
equalled
coldly colder coldest cold-frame
school
schooling schoolmaster schoolboy
schooled
quite
quiet
could
could not couldn't
inscribe
inscribed
inscribing inscriber
inscription
inscriptive
Vocalise in phrases
go
give
given
giving giver forgive
signify
signified
significant signifying significantly
significance
significancy
signification
guard
gold
for
forasmuch four/fore
from
therefrom wherefrom (the Em is included so that the hooked Eff does not
look like "ever"
have
over
overcome overeat
however
howsoever
valuation
very
very well, verily veriest
thank
thanked
thanking thankful thankfully thankfulness thankless thanklessness
thoughtless thoughtlessness
think
third
thirding thirdly third-rate third-class
though
although
them
themselve
s Same as the phrase "this is"
those
thyself
this
thus
thusly these
there
their
theirs/there is, their own
within
southern
that
without
therefore therefor
as
has
Use large circle for: as is, as his, as has
first
was
that was
whose
whosesoever (In actual speech, "whosesoever" would sound no
different from "whosoever" and you need to make a grammatical
decision on which one was meant)
shall shalt
shall not, shan't
wish
selfish
-ness
selfishly selfless selflessness
sure
surely sureness surest surety shore shaw
(Note: shore/shaw – R is always shown in shorthand regardless of
local pronunciation)
short
pleasure
pleasured pleasurable
me
methinks methought
myself
my own self
Vocalise in phrases
him
most
mostly
more
remark
remarked
Moorish moreish remarking remarkable re-mark (=mark again)
Use this for both meanings of mere i.e. only and a lake
Mr
mere
merely, merest, mister, Messrs (Use Mr short form when a name
follows, use mister when it is a free standing word)
important
importance
importantly import imported
improve
improved
improveme
nt improving improver improvise
impossible
impossibly impossibility
in
any
anybody anyhow anyone anything inn
Vocalise in phrases; can use N hook in phrases where convenient
own
influence
influencing influential influentially
influenced
next
nor
gnaw (R is always shown in shorthand regardless of local
pronunciation)
near
nearing neared nearest nearly nearby nearness nearer
opinion
northern
north northward northerly northerner northernmost
information
under
sent
language
owing
languish languid
thing
young
younger youngest youngster youngish youngling
Upstroke for the short form and L generally, but there are
exceptions for other uses of L
lord
year
yardstick yardage
Use Way halved in phrases where convenient
word
are
they are
our
hour
ours/hours
ourselves
ourself
This is stroke Ray using the doubling principle outside of the
normal rules. Using Hook N for "rather than" is also an exception to
the normal order of reading attachments.
rather
writer
we
wee
whether
weather/wether (=sheep)
wonderful
wonderfully
wonder wondering wondrous wondrously wander
a
In older books, the dots are shown light, with a heavy dot for "ah!"
an
ah!
In older books, the dots are shown light, with a heavy dot for "eh?
aye"
the
eh?
Aye rhymes with pay and is an archaic word for "always", such as
aye
in the phrase "for ever and aye." It can be spelt ay.
aye Aye rhymes with eye and is a dialectal or archaic word for "yes". It
is commonly used in spoken voting (ayes and noes), and as an
affirmative by seamen "Aye aye, Captain". It can be spelt ay. This is
generally given as a short form, but it does seem to be a complete
outline in itself, just like "I" or "eye", as nothing is missing
of
to
too
two
too much, two-fold two-seater
on
but
butt butte
O
oh!
owe
owed owes
Not free-standing, use only in phrases, medially and finally,
he otherwise use downward stroke Hay
thee
Upstroke
and
rock-n-roll
should Upstroke
shouldn't should've shoed/shooed
Downstroke
awe
ought
aught
awed awing awful awfully awesome awe-struck
Downstroke
who
how
howsoever, Howe/how (=low hill), howitzer, Howard
("howsoever" is a contraction in 2nd position)
with
when
whenever whensoever whence whencesoever
(In actual speech, "whensoever" would sound no different from
"whencesoever" and you need to make a grammatical decision on
which one was meant.)
what
would
beyond
yon yonder
you
why
advertise/advertised/advertisement
certificate
certify certified certification
certificated
character
characterful
characterise characterising
characterisation Choice of 2
contractions
characteristic
characteristically
commercial/commercially
commerce commercialise
commercialism
substantial/substantially
cross-examining
examination examiner
(i.e. "crossegsamine")
description
descriptions* describe
unsubscribe/unsubscribed
discharger
discharge/discharged
discharging
dischargeable
undischarged
electrically
electricity
electrification electrocute*
electrocution*
enthusiasm/enthusiastic
special/specially
especial/especially
esquire
squire
establish/established/establishment
establisher
establishing
establishmentarian
disestablish/disestablished/
disestablishment
re-establish/re-established/
re-establishment*
exchange/exchanged
exchanging
exchangeable
exchangeability
expedient expediently
See expeditiously on
Top of page Contractions Optional page
expenditure
expend expendable expended
expensive
expense* expenses
expensively expensiveness
inexpensive *consider inserting the 2nd
vowel, to give greater
distinction from "expenditure"
familiar/familiarity
unfamiliar/unfamiliarity
familiarise
familiarising
familiarisation
January
Jan
February
Feb
financial/financially
finance finance* financing
financed financier
govern/governed
governance governorate
governing governess
governable
governability
misgovern/misgoverned
ungovernable
immediate
immediacy mediate medium
immediately
imperturbable
imperturbably imperturbability
imperturbation perturb
incorporation reincorporate
Top of page
Inc./ink
independent/independently/indepe
ndence independable (= not to be
depended upon)
indispensable/indispensably
dispense dispensation
dispensable
individual/individually
individualise individualistic
individuality individualism
indivisible
inform/informed
informing
informant informative informal
informer
misinform/misinformed
information misinformation
(short forms)
inspect/inspected/inspection
inspector inspectorate
inspecting
See inspector-general on
reinspect/reinspected/reinspection Contractions Optional page
respect/respected respecter
respecting
respective
respectively
respectable
respectability
respectful
respectfully
respectfulness
disrespect/disrespected
irrespective
irrespectively
expect/expected
expectorant*
imperfect/imperfectly/imperfection imperfectness
objector objectless
object/objected
objecting
objection
objectionable
objective
objectively*
objectivity
objectivism
prospectively
prospectus
retro
retrospect
retrospection
retrospective
retrospectively
suspect*/suspected
suspect* suspecter suspectable
suspecting suspicion
unsuspected See suspicious on Contractions
unsuspecting Optional page
*verb only, accent on 2nd syllable *Noun only, accent on first
susPECT syllable SUSpect
project/projected
projector projecture projectile*
projecting
projectile*
unprojected
*Pronunciations vary
neglect/neglected neglecter
neglecting
neglectful
neglectfully
prejudice/prejudiced/prejudicial/pre
judicially
prejudication prejudge
prejudicing
prejudged
unprejudiced
insurance
insure insured insurer
reinsurance
*Pronunciation is identical to
"insurance", but here the short
T sound is a meaningful part of
the word
reinvestment
reinvest investiture
irresponsible/irresponsibility
irresponsibly irresponsibilities
Note plural "irresponsibilities" has
full outline
magnetically
manufacture/manufactured manufactory
manufacturing
manufacturer
maximum
max/macs/Mac's maximal
maximise maximisation
mechanical/mechanically
mechanic mechanism
mechanisation mechanician
Top of page
metropolitan metropolis
mortgage/mortgaged
mortgager mortgagor
mortgaging
remortgage/remortgaged* mortgagee
November
Nov
Same outline as "never"
organise/organised
organises organism organisable
organising
organisation
organic organist
organisational
organiser
reorganise/reorganised
inorganisation*
unorganised*
disorganise/disorganised
peculiar/peculiarity
peculiarise
peculiarly
perform/performed
performing
preform
performance
performer
performable
unperformed
non-performance
reform/reformed
reforming reformist re-form
reformer See reformation on
reformism Contractions Optional page
perpendicular
perpendicularly perpendicularity
practice/practise/practised
practical practically practicality
practising
unpractised
impractical practiser* practician
impracticable
probable/probably/probability
prob probs
improbable/improbably/improbabilit
Colloquial for "probably"
y
"probabilities" "problems"
proportion/proportioned proportional proportionally
proportioning
misproportion/misproportioned
proportionable proportionment
Top of page
proportionate/proportionately
disproportionate/disproportionately
publicly
publicist public-house public-
relations
publisher
unpublished
unpublishable
republican
republicanise
republicanism Choice of 2
contractions
recoverable
irrecoverable/irrecoverably
recover recoverer recovery
unrecoverable/unrecoverably re-cover
non-recoverable/non-recoverably*
regularly
irregular
irregularity
irregularly
represent/represented
representing rep re-present re-presentation
representative
representation
representational
misrepresent/misrepresented
unrepresented
unrepresentative
responsible/responsibility
responsibly responsibilities
Note plural "responsibilities" has full
outline. Where "responsibility" might
be misread as "response", it is safer
to use a full outline instead of the
contraction.
response* respond responded
*Consider vocalising, to
distinguish from the contraction
"responsibility".
responsive responsively
Top of page
unanimous/unanimously/unanimity
uniform/uniformly/uniformity
uniformed
whithersoever
whither so ever
yesterday
yester yesternight yesteryear
deficient/deficiently/deficiency
deficit
efficient/efficiently/efficiency
efficaceous efficacy
inefficient/inefficiently/inefficiency
non-efficient/non-efficiently/non-
efficiency*
sufficient/sufficiently/sufficiency
suffice sufficed sufficit*
insufficient/insufficiently/insufficienc
*Suggested outline, not in
y
dictionary. Latin for "it is
enough, it suffices", but
sometimes the English is used
instead, which is pronounced
the same e.g. "suffice it to
say ... ".
proficient/proficiently/proficiency
distinguish/distinguished distinguisher distinct indistinct
distinction
distinguishing
The hard G and K sounds are
distinguishable
omitted from these outlines
indistinguishable
undistinguished
inextinguishable
unextinguishable
Top of page
destructively
destructiveness
introduction
introduce introductory
reintroduction introductive
jurisdiction jurisdictive
jurisdictional See jurisprudence on
Contractions Optional page
obstructive
obstructively
productive
productively
produce product
productivity
Above two words both have
accent on first syllable
productiveness See Distinguishing Outlines List
3 for
unproductive
producer/purchaser/predecess
non-productive or
reproduction
reproduce repro
reproductive
reproductively
perspective
perspex perspicuous
perspicaceous
abandonment
abandon abandoned
abandoning abandoner
reappointment
assignment
assign assigned assigning
reassignment reassign
Atonement is also on
Contractions Optional page
contentment
content/contend contented
contents/contends
See discontentment on
Top of page Contractions Optional page
contingent contingence
contingency
stringent astringent
stringency
See astringency on Contractions
Optional page
danger
dangers
dangerous*
dangerously
dangerousness
endanger
endangered
identical
ironmonger iron
messenger
message Messager*
Messenger*
passenger passage
stranger
strange strangely strangest
estrange
henceforward
hence forward*
See thenceforth on
Contractions Optional page
manuscript
script scripted
ministration
ministered* ministrant*
monster monsters
monstrous
monstrously
monstrosity
demonstrate
demonstrating
demonstration demonstrator
demonstrated demonstrative demonstratively
remonstrated
remonstration
remonstrative
remonstrator
remonstrance
administrator administer administering
administratorship administerial
administratrix
administered administrate*
administration admin
administrable administrative
administratively
Top of page
See Distinguishing Outlines List
2 for enjoyable/knowledgeable
knowledge
knowledgeable
knowledgeably
knowledgeability*
acknowledge
acknowledged
acknowledging
acknowledger
acknowledgement
amalgamate amalgam
amalgamating
amalgamated
amalgamation
amalgamator
arbitrary
arbiter arbitrable arbitral
arbitrarily
See arbitrament on
arbitrate
Contractions Optional page
arbitrating
arbitrated
arbitration
arbitrator
arbitratrix
bankruptcy
bankrupt bankrupting
bankrupted
defective
Englander
English
un-English
Englishism
Englishman
Englishwoman*
Englishwomen*
executory executorial
investigation
investigate investigator
investigative
inconsiderate
inconsideration inconsiderable
inconsiderately
unconsidered
considerate consideration
considering reconsider
Top of page
falsification
falsify false falsely falsehood
influential/influentially influence* Compare with initial
initially
*Short form
intelligent/intelligently
unintelligent/unintelligently
intelligentsia
intelligible/intelligibly
unintelligible/unintelligibly
legislative
minimum
min minima minimise
minimal minimalist
negligence
negligent negligible negligibility
parliamentary parliament
removable
removably remove removal
unremovable
remover
See irremovable/irremovably below
satisfactory
satisfy satisfied satisfying
satisfactorily dissatisfied satisfaction*
*Short form
unsatisfactory
dissatisfactory
sympathetic
sympathy sympathise
unsympathetic sympathiser
sympathetical sympathetically
pathetic pathetically
Top of page
telegram
telegraphic
telegraph telegraphy
telegraphically telex
(=Teleprinter Exchange)
university
universal/universally
universality
nothingness
everything
something
remarkable/remarkably
remark/remarked* re-mark
unremarkable/unremarkably *Short form
unthankful/unthankfully
*Short forms
4. Intersected
denomination/denominational
non-denominational*
enlarged
enlarging
enlargement
enlarger
incandescence incandesce incandescing
incandescent
inconvenient/inconveniently/inconve
inconveniencing
nience
inconvenienced
irremovable/irremovably
misfortune
fortune
notwithstanding
withstand withstanding
Only thus when one word withstood
ratepayers
ratepayer
unprincipled
principled
principle/principal/principally*
Top of page
*Short form
circumstantial
circumstantially circumstantiate
circumstantiality circumstance*
*Short form
interest
interested
interesting
interestingly
uninterested
disinterest* disinterested
disinterestedness
abnormality
ad valorem
affidavit
agriculture/agricultural
agriculturist
agriculturalist agricultor
antagonism/antagonist/antagonistic
antitrinitarian
applicable
arbitrament*
archbishop
archbishopric
archiepiscopacy
architective*
aristocratic/aristocracy
astonish/astonished/astonishment
astonishing
astonishingly
astringency*
atonement*
aurora borealis
auspicious
auspiciously
inauspicious
inauspiciously
bandstand
banknote
baptise/baptised/
Baptist/baptism
rebaptise/rebaptised/rebaptism
beforehand
benevolence/benevolent
benevolently
benignant/benignity
benignantly
bondsman
burdensome
burdensomeness
overburdensome
businessman
Top of page Write the contraction clearly through the line, so that it does not look
like "busman" or "postman".
cabinet
Calvinism
captain
captainship
In the full outline, the Ish is disjoined so that it does not look like the
suffix "-cy":
captaincy
careful/carefully
casual
Catholic
Roman Catholic
charter-party
Chiltern Hundreds
chloroform
Christian/Christianity
clearing house
Cobdenism
controversy/controversial
The full outline for "ConTROversy" with the accent on the second
syllable would be above the line with a first place dash vowel
"Controversialist" is a full outline
co-religionist
cosmopolitanism
counterclaim
counter
covenant*
Care needed with the Kay, keeping it thin, as these outlines are
similar to govern and government
defendant
delinquency
delinquent
democracy/democratic
undemocratic
depreciate/depreciated
depreciatory
descriptive*
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descriptively
dessertspoonful
Keep the Ray short, otherwise the contraction will look like
"disrespectful"
development
The dictionary outline for the verb "develop" is in full only, but
using the above contraction for that word presents no problem
dignify/dignified/dignity
indignity
undignified
dilapidate/dilapidated/
dilapidation
discontentment*
dissimilar
divergency
doctrine
doctrinaire
doctrinal
drunkenness
dyspepsia/dyspeptic
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The full version of dyspepsia should always have the final diphone
written in, to differentiate from "dyspepsy"
Full outline required for:
dyspepsy
ecclesiastic/ecclesiastical/
ecclesiastically
electron*
electronic*
embankment
enthronement/enthronement
episcopal/episcopalian/episcopalianism
Esperanto
evangelical
exchanger*
expectation*
expeditiously*
extemporaneous
extemporaneously
extraordinary
extraordinarily
extravagance/extravagant
/extravagantly
favourable/favorable
verbal verbally
favourably/favorably
finality
foundation-stone
fugitive
fulgency
generation
degeneration
regeneration
ginger
governor*
vice-governor
governor-general*
*Using short form
governorship
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grand-juror
Ensure the two Rays are long and clear, to prevent confusion with
"grand-jury"
grand-jury
greatest
haphazard
harbinger
henceforth*
thenceforth*
high-pressure
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Some older dictionaries retain the I diphthong after the Hay on the
contraction
horticulture/horticultural
Full outline required for:
horticultor
horticulturist
hypothecate/hypothecated
The full outline for "hypothecate" does not use a halved Kay because
the angle with the Ith would be insufficient for it to be clear
imperialism
impregnable/impregnably
indefatigable/indefatigably
indescribable/indescribably
indignant/indignation
indignantly
indiscriminate
indiscriminately
indoctrinate
indoctrinated
indoctrination
inflationary
disinflationary
infinitesimal
inspector-general
insularity
intelligencer*
intelligential*
intelligibility*
intemperance
ironmaster*
journalism
journalist
journalistic
jurisprudence*
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Full outline required for "jurisprudent"
juxtaposition
lance-corporal
life assurance
locomotive
longest
longitude
lordship
machinery
malignant/malignancy
man-of-war
melancholy
melancholia
merchantman
sergeant-major
Methodism
millionth
mineralogy
misdemeanour
motherhood
mother-of-pearl
mythology
neighbourhood/neighborhood
Keep the halved BR stroke short, so it does not look like
"neighbour/neighbor"
nitrogen
non-commissioned officer
nonconformist
nonconformity
obnoxious
(i.e. = ob+shus)
obnoxiously
(i.e. = ob+shusly)
obscurity
observation
orthodox/orthodoxy
parallelogram
parliamentarian*
particularise
particularised
particularising
particularism
The "particular" part matches the short form which is also written
above the line
percent
Top of page The contraction is written close to the preceding outline or numeral
philanthropic/philanthropy
philanthropist
phonographer
phonographic
phonic
phonography
plenipotentiary
possibility
practitioner*
preferential/preferentially
Presbyterian/Presbyterianism
preservation
priesthood
Privy Council
projection*
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Protestantism
Note the vowel sign for the "e" cannot be shown in the vocalised
outline, as there is nowhere to place it
publican*
pungency
qualification
cultivation
quarter
quartering
See also Vocabulary Numbers/quarter for a brief method when used
with numbers
question*
question-mark
quotation-marks
recognizance
referring
reformation
registrar
religion
religious
religiously
repugnant/repugnance
repugnantly
requesting*
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resignation
resurrection
reverend
The contraction is for "reverend" but the full outline also represents
"reverent"
revivalism
Saviour/saviour
Compare:
saver
scornful
scornfully
scripture
scriptural
unscriptural
antiscriptural
search-party
ship-builder
significancy
The contraction is shown incorrectly on the line in the 1974
dictionary
solicitor-general
stag-party
stenographer
stenography
stepping-stone
stock-in-trade
strongest
subjectivism
subjectivity
superscribe/superscribed
superscription
surreptitious
surreptitiously
suspicious*
suspiciously
unsuspicious
unsuspiciously
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tabernacle
testatrix
third-party
thumb-mark
tinsmith
In the full outline, note the Circle S is inside the Em, as it belongs
with that syllable.
town-council
townsman
In the full outline, note the Circle S is inside the En, as it belongs
with that syllable.
trademark
transatlantic
transform/transformed
transformation
transfer transferrer
transformer
transubstantiate/transubstantiation
tribunal
unconstitutional/unconstitutionally
under-secretary
unfortunate
unfortunately
phenomena
phenomenon
Union Jack
unionism
unionist
trades-unionism
Compare:
trade-union trades-union
trade-unionism union
unrealizable
urgency*
utilitarianism
vegetarian
vegetarianism
vice-chairman
vice versa
watermark
way-mark
worthwhile
youngest
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Placenames:
Antarctic
Birmingham
Great Britain
Johannesburg
San Francisco
The abbreviation " 'Cisco " would be just the last part of the full
outline
Liverpool
Middlesex
New York
United Kingdom
United States
The first outline goes in its correct position, and the others follow on:
it is, it is not, it was, it may be, it can have, it should be, it would not
and they, and this, and we, and I, and is/his/as/has, and there is/has,
and be seen, and have done
should have, should be, should not be, should now, should
there/their, should this, should we
I have this, I had them, I do that, I shall be, I thank you, I think that
you are, I know that we
you are, you would, you would be, you can/come, you go, you may,
you should
*If necessary, you can indicate that it is "had" by inserting Dot Hay
and the A vowel, see Phrasing 7/had not
he is/has, he is/has not, he was, he cannot be, he may have, he may
be pleased, he is unable
she is, she was, she may have, any more, any time, in any case
they may be, they can be, they must, they thought we, they have, they
do not, they just
this can have, this can be, this could not, this may*, this time, this
does
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that it, that they, that this, that may, that has been, that is/has not,
that is/has never
there are, there cannot, there can be, there was, there would have,
there is, there is no-one
have his/as/us, have that, have they/them, have not, have never, have
you been, have we seen
which is/has, which has been, which has not been, which we now,
which cannot, which should have, which may have
had you, do you, had they/them, do they/them, had that, do that, had
we been, do we know
how can they, how may we, how many, how long, how are
why it, why does, why they, why have we, whether it is/has, whether
they, whether there are
who can, who gives, who was, who is/has, who would be, who must,
who should have
with it, with which, with us/his, with them, with these, with thanks,
with that, with whom
when it, when do/had you*, when they, when this, when that is/has,
when have we, when we, when is/his/has
*If necessary, you can indicate that it is "had" by inserting Dot Hay
and the A vowel, see Phrasing 7/had not
what it, what is/has, what does, what was, what have we, what may,
what can they, what would be
would have, would never, would not be, would say, would respond,
would go, would the, would his
please take, please have, please do not, take place, taking place,
taking away
If the first outline of the phrase is normally written above the line, it is
sometimes possible to raise or lower the entire phrase to enable the
next word to also be in position, saving you having to insert extra
vowel signs. However, the first outline should still be clearly in its
correct position:
of those, of this, of these, in much, in which, in each, I talk, I take, I
took
You can do this even if there are more outlines in the phrase than
shown above:
of those that have been, of this type of, of these who can, in much the
same, in which you may, in each of them
2. Change of Form
I hope that you will be able to, in reply to your recent letter, you will
have received
and I have been there, we have only just, take into consideration the
fact
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(a) Hooks
General
Final hooks can represent whole words e.g. N for "on, own, been", F/V
for "of, off, have", Shun for "association".
R and L hooks can replace the full stroke to achieve a more compact
outline or to enable a good join.
Omit hook: it has been required, in this direction, vice chairman There
are only a small number of phrases that omit the hook
Hook represents word: our own, carried on, have been, take off, which
have/of
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In a single word outline, the normal order of reading is the hook first,
and then the halving or doubling sound, but in a few phrases this is
sometimes be overridden. The convenience gained outweighs this
incursion into the main theory rule:
part of, report of, in support of, sort of, some sort of
in spite of, instead of, state of the, present state of, high state of
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The following are acceptable, and of course you can also add a Circle S
to the hook for "us, his" etc:
people of, member of, number of, tell of/off, much of, which of/have,
chair of
call of/off, equal of, school of, care of, ought to have, who have, you
have
had been, larger than, our own, rather than, more than, have been,
very own, your own, their own, therefore been
speak of, principle of, liberty of, truth of, doctor of, delivery of, usually
been
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R Hook
part = in/any part of, in all parts of, small part of, for my part, on your
part
large part of the, on our part, various parts of, taking part of Note
taking apart, set apart need the vowel sign to distinguish them
far = so far, so far as, insofar as, too far, how far
medical corps needs the vowel (or write in full) to distinguish it from
medical care. Note corps/cores – the plural is spelled the same and
pronounced "corz".
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*If you have already written the doubled version of "in order", you
would then proceed to write the next outline "be" separately, rather
than attempting to replace with the textbook phrase.
"in order to" is easier to remember if you think of the halving as
representing the "to" part
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L Hook
all = at all, at all costs, by all means, by all accounts but by all counts
Keep the L Hook on the En large so that it doesn't look like R Hook "in
our":
in all ways, in all their ways, in all other ways, on* all sides, on* all
occasions
*Here the short form for "on" is not used, and the word is represented
phonetically by stroke En. If you adopt these two phrases, you cannot
then use them for "in all sides" or "in all occasions", both of which
would be much less likely.
only = if only, it is/has only, we have only, I have only just, I am only
speaking
it may only, can only be, I can only assume, will only be, my only
objection
unless = unless we have, unless and until, until and unless, unless
there is
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N Hook
on, own*, than, been: *adjective only, do not use for the verb
take on, taking on, carry on, carrying on, carried on, going on
your own, our own, their own, her own compare his own, my own,
mine
more than, any/in more than, no more than, little more than, higher
than, wider than, better than
bigger than, greater than, larger than, fewer than, lower than, smaller
than
longer than, stronger than, sooner than, sharper than, poorer than,
clearer than
further than, farther than, later than, no later than, quicker than
have been expecting, have been known, have been received, may
have been, it has never been, has it ever been
we had been, already been, only been, recently been, definitely been,
certainly been
it has been, it has not been, he has been, she has been, there has
been, you have been
– Omit the N Hook on the short form "been" to enable the next
outline to join:
been received, been required, it has been said*, it has been delivered,
it has been suggested
she has been able to, he has been able to, which has been made,
which have been made, you have been made
– For "have been" where the Bee joins better than the Vee, omit the
"have":
seems to have, seems to have been, must have, must have been
would have, would have been, note also they would have been where
there is no advantage in omitting the "have" See also Phrasing
3/would happen
– If you omit the "have", don't omit the N hook on "been" as well in
the same phrase, because that would represent "be":
it must have been, it must have been said compare it must be said
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will not, I will not, you will not, it will not be, he will not be, which will
not, they will not
they will not be, this will not, definitely not*, certainly not*, almost
certainly not*
*Keep the halved Ell short, so that these do not look like "definitely
been" etc above
Note definitely not been, certainly not been where you cannot use the
N Hook for "been" as it is already used for the "not".
I am not, I am not quite sure, may not, you may not be, it may not be,
they may not be, which may not See also Phrasing 6/Distinguishing
Pairs/may might
you will not, you are not is possible but you are not in full is
preferable, as it is less likely to be misread as "you will not". Are not
on its own, or starting a phrase, should always be in full.
were not, you were not, or not, whether it is or not Note: whether or
not
has it not, has it not been, is it not, would it not, would it not be
they are = they are not, and they are not, but they are not, for they
are not, I think they are not
The following are clearer in full, and this also enables them join better,
making many other phrases possible:
we shall not, I shall not, shall not be, shall not have, shall not find
we have not, they have not, you may have not, he may have not
hand = on either hand compare on the other hand which also omits
the R
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F/V Hook
of = out of, photo of, plenty of, quality of the, side of the, inside of the,
member of the
rid of the, right of/off, route of, rate of interest, rate of exchange
state of affairs, state of things, top of the, group of the, pack of the,
take care of
much of the, which of the, each of the, which of them, each of these,
each of those
off = slip/sleep off, set off/stay off, get off, better off, paid off, take off,
check off, log off
have = you have, you have not, you have been, for you have, do you
have, which you have but when you have "You" when tilted does not
take this hook
that you have, who have, those who have not, those who have never
been
ought to have, ought to have been, ought to have done, ought to have
seen, which have but we have is clearer in full and needs to be able to
join to many other outlines.
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Afternoon evening: keep the final hook clear, as these two are similar:
effect = into effect, take effect, right effect "Kt" can also stand for
"fact"/Phrasing 4 Omission
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Part of, number of When "part" is written with a halved Per stroke, it
does not use the F/V Hook for "of" because that would look too much
like "number of". Instead, the "of" is omitted:
part, part of, part of the but great part of, great part of the
small part of the, take part of the, latter part of the, major part of the
The "of" can be omitted after "number" to achieve a join, but only if it
cannot be mistaken for "part":
Where the word ends in S or Dot Ing, you can't use a final hook to
represent a word in a phrase:
take on/taken, taken on, takes on, set off, sets off, setting off
parts of speech, numbers of people, numbering of people
Circle S for "as has is his us" can be added to the hook, because the
normal order is to read the S last of all:
you have us/his, who have us/his, ought to have us/his, which have
us/his, take of/off his, number of us/his, member of his
Advanced phrase head office also sounds the S last. In normal outlines
you would never use a hook with Circle S if there was a vowel
sounded between them e.g. Dave's Davis
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ocean = Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean See also Phrasing
4/Atlantic Coast
information = for your information, further information
When used with a simple word like "your" or "their", which provides
no context, extra care is needed. It is often helpful to write the first
occurrence in full and use an abbreviation for subsequent occurrences
within the same piece, so that you have the full form to refer back to:
your association/decision/conversation/position
their association/decision/ conversation/position
financial position/decision
Out of context you have no way of knowing which is meant
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Circle S
= us, as, has, is, his. For simplicity, only one of these is shown in the
text with each example, but you should vary these when you are
practising them:
of us, to us, and is, should his, on his, but his, with us, when is, what
is, would his
for us, take us, to give us, let us see, before us, above us
tell us, they want us, please inform us, please let us have, please let us
know
to say a few words, I am sorry to say that, very sorry to have to say
that, to say the least
Do not use the circle for "should" where it could be read for "is":
After "this, these, those" the original direction is kept, as being more
legible that reversing the circle:
this man, this may have, these matters However, in single-word
outlines the circle is written outside, see Theory 19 Suffixes
General/change of curve direction.
aside = set aside but not in take aside compare take sides
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Circle Ses
this is, this is the, this is it, this is no doubt, this is where, this has
been, this has to be/this is to be/this subject
*Same outline as "this is it" above, insert final vowel if felt necessary
sometimes seems, for his suggestion, for his sake compare for the
sake of
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Ses initially
Alone: In longhand terms, the following are phrases because they are
two words, but in shorthand they are counted as short forms because
they do not consist of outlines joined together:
as is the/as has the --- his is the/is as the --- as has been --- as is being
--- as is known
Circle Sway
As we:
As well, as will:
as well/as will, as well as, as well as can be, as well as our, as well as
most
*The Ses could possibly join, like "as we need" above, but there is not
enough room for it to be clear.
Sway is not used if the outline already starts with Circle S – the large
circle signifies SW, and cannot also include S that follows:
Sway is not used within phrases, just as it is not used in the middle of
a normal outline:
as we can but as soon as we can, as soon as we are able, you may as
well
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Stee Loop
Stee Loop can remain in the phrase only if it makes a good join (but
see also Phrasing 4/Omitting consonant for examples of where the T is
left out) :
last year, last few years, in the last few days, just now, just in case,
best wishes*, first time *Note upward Ish for convenience
at first, at first appearance, very first, February first, at first hand but
first hand, first thing
*It is prudent to write "stayed" with full strokes in the phrase, as the
meaning is similar to "stood" and a vowel would not distinguish it,
because that would look like "state".
present state, in all states, also state, his own statement, recent
statement, in that statement
stock, stick = in stock, walking stick
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(c) Halving
it = if it, if it is, as if it were, from it, from its, till it, till it can
*This is more distinctive than halving the Wel for "it" and adding the
normal outline "not", but if you have already written the phrase "will
it" you should then continue with the normal outline for "not"
to = able to, I am able to, you are able to, we are able to, you were
able to, unable to, he is unable to See also Phrasing 6/Distinguishing
Pairs/unable
out = set out, get out, brought out, carried out, ride out, inside out
fade out, hide out, hold/held out, help out, drop out, wipe out, cop
out but throughout
It is clear from the above that this will not work for past tenses that
already end in "ded" or "ted", but for "point out" and "pointed out" it
is worth having special phrases, as they are very common expressions:
point out, pointed out* in full it would be pointed out compare tout
trout
*this in effect says "pointed ow" (i.e. omitting the last T) with the
diphthong being treated as a separate item, like the F/V Hook in "part
of"
at all times, my time, more time, lunch time, at which time, at such
times
modern times, proper time, reasonable time, spare time, extra time
for some considerable time, for some considerable time, for some
considerable time
These are clearer in full: little time, several times, in due time compare
in day time
The T of "time" is omitted in these: short time ago, second time, hard
times and the halving is considered as doing duty for both D and T
sounds.
fit it, fitted it, watched it, doubt it, doubted it, edit it
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(d) Doubling
= other, there, their, dear (For convenience the text captions show
only one of the pair there/their) See also Phrasing 6/Distinguishing
Pairs/N+ther
The rules for doubling are the same as for single words i.e. do not
double a single straight stroke that has no attachments:
be there but been there, we can be there; out there but take out their,
out of their, take out of their
hope there, hope there is, hopes there is, hoping there is
Other:
one or other, one or another compare one or the other which omits
the R
somehow or other, somehow or another, for some reason or other
"any other, no other" omit the R Hook, so that they do not clash with
any of the above. Vocalise the "no" when it is out of position within a
phrase:
any other, no other, for any other, for no other, every other way
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There/their:
upon there, help their, wipe their, above their, cannot be there
into there, out of their, get there, carried on their, get rid of their
take their, make their way, practise their, how can there be
in which there, in which there are, which have their, enjoy their,
engage their, acknowledge their
join their, imagine their, if there was, I do not know if there is but for
there was, for there is to distinguish them.
I have there, will have their, over there, from their last letter
more than their, whenever there is, whatever there is, wherever there
is
wherefore there is (Note wherefore), I think there is, I think there was
we think there may, then their, then there is, through their, through
their own
although there has been, though there have been, though there was,
though there were
I was there, he was there, when he was there, I am sure there is, be
sure there is, shall there, shall there be
I know there is, taking their, making their way, including their
as a rule there is, until there has been, will there, will there be, while
there is
follow their instructions, or there/order, or there is/orders, hear/here
their compare here and there
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Dear:
Therefore:
If the original does not join well, use doubling for the "there" part:
You cannot use doubling to create a phrase, if the outline for the word
is already doubled or halved:
(e) Suffixes
Many suffixes are words in their own right and these can be usefully
combined in phrases. They are written in proximity, the same as when
they are used as suffixes, and not joined or intersected:
ship, shipment = many ships, abandoned the ship, with this shipment,
received the shipment
R can be represented by Ray, Ar or R Hook, and may change from the form
used in the basic outline:
(g) L forms
L can be represented by upward Ell, downward Ell or L Hook. In a phrase, an
outline with upward Ell may change to downward to achieve a better join:
else less = anything else, nothing is less*, less than, any less than, not**
less than
*See also Phrasing 6/Essential Vowels/else less **Insert the vowel in "not" or write it
separately
let = let us, let us say, let us see, let us know, please let us know, let us
have, let you have
last, letter = your letter, your last letter, this letter, in our last letter
(h) H forms
H can often be safely omitted from common words in a phrase:
hope = I hope, we hope that, we hoped that, let us hope that, would hope,
we would hope
house = of the house, by the house, in the house, for the house, lower
house*
*Dot Hay and vowel shown for reference
in this house*, upper house, custom house "housing" is clearer in full: in the
housing market
*Large Circle used to represent two small circles, compare "Theory 12 Hay/clotheshorse"
*Dot Hay and vowel shown for reference. **See also Phrasing 2/have been
Tick omitted:
whom = from whom (insert vowel) compare from me, from him
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(i) W forms
W can be represented by Way, Wel or W Semicircle or omitted:
was = this was, that was, never was, if it was, another was
were = nor were they, when were/when we are, if that were
W Semicircle omitted:
such were, such as were, you were, if he were, if he were not, who were
as it were, which were, there were, those which were, how were, I wish
there were
"what were" needs both outlines in full, because if you left out the second
semicircle sign, the phrase would be identical to "were":
those will, this will, these will, this will not, as long as will
But the hook joins well in: we will, where will, and will, anything will,
something will be
Do not use the plain Ell for the noun "will" (both meanings: force of mind,
and legal document) or the verb (meaning to bequeath):
Their will to succeed is very strong. If you will him the house, he will be
glad.
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you may well, you may as well, it is well known, so well Always insert the
vowel if it helps
war = of thewar, throughout the war, during the war, before the war, civil
war
word = any word, no word, many words, in his own words, few words
following words, in those words, in these words, Holy Word, God's Word
all the world, in the world/any world, all over the world
work = of the work*, for the work, with the works, this work *Vowel shown
for reference
with the, with us/his, with you, with me, with it, with which, with them, with
their
when the, when is/has the, when do/had*, when they, when that, when you,
when he, when we, when would
*If necessary, you can indicate that it is "had" by inserting Dot Hay and the A vowel, see
Phrasing 7/had not
what the, what is/his/has, what is/has the, what is/has your, what you/what
would, what can, what had, what do, what have/whatever
would the, would you, would he, would be, would it, would she, would have
it would, which would, you would, he would, she would, I would, we would,
they would
Kway is usually used for K+W spoken together, but is useful to extend the
short form "can":
can we, can we have, can we follow, can we say, can we please, can we
permit
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(j) Imp
In the following, Imp is used for M+P and M+B even though the sounds are
in different syllables:
for some time past, for some considerable time past compare tempest,
lamp-post
first = first rate, at first sight, at first, at first hand compare first hand, first
class, first quality
hand either other = on the other hand, on either hand compare on their
own, they are not
much = so much, how much, to/too much, was as much, there is much,
very much
more = much more, much more than, very much more than, so much more
than
These are safer with the W vowel shown, to distinguish from "them", but still quicker than
separate outlines.
what = I know what, have what we can, that is what, somewhat*
*Vowels shown but not essential. This is semicircle W for "wo-" vowel, rather than the short
form "what", note also the Dot Hay against it.
would = we would, I would, this would, some would, many would, if it would
was = this was, if it was, I think it was the, why was the
word = this word/would, these words, several words, in other/in their words,
many words
Use the short form if it joins well: two yards/words, three yards/words,
hundred yards/words
a) Omitting a consonant
P
ship builder
B
on behalf of
to being, to behold, to beware compare to be aware which needs the vowel sign
K
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of the fact, because of the fact, to the fact that, due to the fact that, in view of the fact,
lose sight of the fact
owing to the fact, significant fact, significance of the fact, in spite of the fact, in the
light of the fact
in point of fact OR in point of fact, is that a fact also that is a fact, fact of the matter,
from the fact that
telegraph wire
N
has been received, has been said compare has to be said, is to be said
Keep the hook where helpful: one point, one of my, one of our, one of us/his, one and
all
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first place*, feel sure, long life *See also Phrasing 5/Omission/first place
R
much more, any other, no other, many other, than the other
from the other, and other conclusions, on the other, on the other side of the, on the
other hand
Compare:
square root is clearer full and square meals in full so it does not look like "school
meals"
break cover but take cover to distinguish it from take over*, over
*Vr is flipped so that it joins well
Atlantic Coast, Pacific Coast, Baltic Coast See also Phrasing 2/Shun Hook/Atlantic
Ocean
acceptable results, reliable results, get results, will result, it will result
Bigger and bigger, etc:
bigger and bigger, better and better, deeper and deeper, higher and higher,
later and later
more and more, larger and larger, lower and lower, faster and faster, nearer
and nearer
quicker and quicker, worse and worse, years and years, such and such,
round and round, but around and around
Word + or + negative:
bishop
Rev Bishop See also Phrasing 8 Intersections/Bishop
British
British Isles, British people, British Museum
business
con- com-
concern
concerned
conclude
concluded
conclusion
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satisfactory conclusion, other conclusions, necessary conclusion
consequence
consequences
convenient
as soon as convenient See also Phrasing 8 Intersections/convenient
counsel counsel for the defence, counsel for the defendant, counsel for the plaintif
"ex-" words = Although the X has been underlined, only the Kay is omitted, the
Circle S remains:
personal expense, necessary expense, heavy expenses, medical expenses
expense
expenses
experience
extent
inspector
railway inspector
instruct instruction*
*Short Form
I am instructing*, I have been instructed, you will instruct
*Through the line because of the first vowel of "instructing" even though the "in" part
has been omitted from the shorthand.
Inserting the dash vowel helps to distinguish "instruction" from considerations above,
which looks similar.
instrument
Majesty
Your Majesty, Her Majesty, His Majesty, Their Majesties
manner
all manner, all manner of ways, such a manner, in such a manner as to*
*Using the short form "to" at the end of a phrase is generally avoided,
but here the meaning is clear
most encouraging manner, in the same manner compare for the same
honour See also Phrasing 6/Distinguishing Pairs/manner
month
this month, next month, during the month, end of the month
end of this month, six months, six months' time, six months ago*
three months, two month but many months to keep it different from the
plain outline months
objection
I have no objection, there are no objections, we have another objection
possible
possibly
it is possible, it is not possible, it was not possible, it is just possible
as soon as possible, as long as possible, all we possibly can
If the speaker says the abbreviated word "poss" then write it as a separate
vocalised outline:
property
reason
for this reason, there is no reason why, very good reason, every reason to
believe
Don't use this for plural "reasons" as that would look like "sense":
good sense, good reasons, good reason, what were the reasons
If you write "reason" in full, you can still omit "the" where convenient:
what is the reason, what is the reason, what was the reason, what was the
reason
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receipt
receive
received I shall be glad to receive, expect/expected to receive, we have received, has
been received, not yet received
reference with reference to, with reference to the, with reference to your enquiry, with
reference to this application
in reference to, in reference to the but in the face of the should be written
in full to distinguish it.
regard
as regards the, with regard to the, in regard to the, in regard to these matters
but in full for as far as as regards
relation
reply in reply to, in reply to your letter, your reply, we will reply, I have replied
replied
report
in my report, in our report, annual report, school report, medical report
requested
I am requested to send you, I am requested to send you, I have been requested
to send you
*Better not to omit the "re-" in this one, so that the first Ray is properly read as "are".
Do not omit the L in "successful" if standing alone, as that would look too
much like "successive". Keep to very common phrases where "successive"
would not make sense.
under review
for the year under review, during the year under review, at the end of the year
under review, period under review
movement
-ing
Any new phrase that omit "-ing" needs careful consideration before
adoption:
one-ofs
Although there is only one instance of most of the following, you can use
the principles to form new similar phrases:
social security, social security system, husband and wife, last but not least
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party*
political party, birthday party, Christmas party,
office party
policy
Proximity
only: council policy, insurance policy
per cent
5 per cent, 10 per cent per annum
Pr
Pl
Pn
apparatus
PPs
purpose
sPr
period of time
bank*
bishop
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Bishop of York, Bishop of London
Bs
business*
daily business, business contact, any business,
any other business
See Phrasing
4/Omission/bus
iness for other
joined versions
attention*
for your attention, paying attention,
immediate attention, careful attention,
undivided attention
Tr
alternative
there is no alternative, do we have any
alternative, we have no alternative
telephone
television
Trf
traffic
department*
sales department, training department,
Department of the Environment
Dr
director
company director, director's report
Dv
dividend
division
Ch
charge*
electrical charge, free of charge, in charge,
take charge
Chancery*
*This was
included when
intersections extra charges, surcharge, Chancery report
were first
introduced, as it
was assumed
reporters would
very often be
reporting
government
business.
J
journal
daily journal, medical journal, financial
journal, copy of the journal
Jnr
engineer
electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, civil
engineer
council*
capital
captain*
*Choice of full
outline or
optional capital city*, capital expenditure, capital
contraction gains
Kr
corporation
The
pronounced R
of "colonel" is
shown in the
shorthand
instead of the
first L of the Colonel James, Lieutenant Colonel
spelling
See also Phrasing 2/corps where the Kr is joined,
not intersected
K+L
government*
local government, government policy
Gn
faithfully*
federal
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valuation
Vn
*Contraction
Ith
month*
railway authority
Australia
scientific research, scientific papers,
scientific experiments
Sn
Australian
Australian English, Australian customs,
Australian government
Ish+
s
mark*
trade mark, water mark, dirty marks, mark of
respect
market
manager*
this morning, yesterday morning,
tomorrow morning, Monday morning See
minister also Phrasing 2/afternoon evening
Major
mentioned
Minister for Defence, Education Minister,
minister of religion
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s+M
similar*
similar reasons, similar reaction, very similar,
or similar
enquire
enquired
enquiry
(also spelled national newspapers, national affairs,
inquiry, with national production
third place dot)
Ns
insurance*
N+S
hun
communicatio
n
in/any communication, regular
communication, communication system,
communication difficulties
Ing
angle
limited*
limited company, And Sons Limited, Dance
Company Limited
liberal
Ar
arrange*
arranged*
arrangement*
require*
required* I know the requirements, their
requirement* requirements, they are required, they are
requiring
railway
railway station, railway carriage, railway
lines, railway authority* *See also authority
above
royal
Rf
s+R
ay
Conservative Party
Hay Hay, Way and Wel, like all strokes, can be used
for any term that you are dealing with on a
Wa regular basis within a particular field of
y work/interest. These few suggestions are
given to illustrate the general method, but
you would not use them in a shorthand exam
We as there would be insufficient context and
l reading back would be approaching
guesswork:
Yay
yield
unanimous
unanimously United Nations, United Dairy Company
Limited
One
-
offs
leader of the opposition, speaking from
memory, vote of thanks
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House of Commons, House of Lords, in
the House of Commons, in the House of
Lords