Hi All,
I’m very interested in learning shorthand but dont know how to go about doing it. I’d prefer going to a class but there seem to be only web tutorials. I live in Thousand Oaks, CA. Can someone please give me suggestions on how to go about this? I’d be really very grateful. I’m a student and I want to learn it to take notes in class and also because I think its so cool to know a code language! Would really appreciate a reply. email: shrutirmohan@hotmail.com
Thanks,
Shruti
(by shrukom for everyone)
It's great that you want to learn shorthand. Shorthand is extremely handy and very cool. Nowadays, offerings of shorthand courses in high schools and universities or community colleges are few and far between. But you still have some choices: 1. Check whether in the Administrative Assistant's curriculum in the colleges near you offer shorthand. You may be lucky. 2. Learn with one of the online courses. 3. Bite the bullet and learn it on your own. Used book bookstores, your local library, or e-bay are sources of books in Gregg Shorthand. 4. Put a wanted ad on your local paper requesting for shorthand instruction. I hope this helps. If you want more information, let us know.
Fast typing: I should've said, books ON Gregg Shorthand, since there are also books written in Gregg as well.
You need to decide how much time and effort you want to spend learning shorthand and what you will be using it for. Books published after 1963 are simplified, which makes Gregg slightly easier to learn but also requires more writing because there are fewer abbreviating prinicples. This would typically be a year-old course in high school or business school, If you want to learn legal or medical shorthand, bear in mind that only the Simplified versions (1949-63) have comprehensive books written on legal shorthand or medical shorthand. This would typically be an extra college semester. It is unlikely that you will end up wanting to investing the time and energy required for Expert level work, such as a court reporter or congressional reporter; but that would be another college semester. Again, nothing was published after 1963 for kind of application. I started out with the 1963 version, but I went back and learned the 1949 Simplified version before I started medical school. This was necessary because there was no comprehensive medical shorthand published in the the 1963+ version. Based on personal interest, I have gone back and learned court reporting and congressional reporting: I don't use all of these in daily writing, but a surprising number are very handy even for routine use. The short answer to your question is that the 1949-63 Simplified version will leave you more options on the other end. If you have the interested in learning Gregg in the first place, I would undertake the Simplified verision. Books should be readily available on used sites like Bookfinder.com. (The pre-1949 versions ofter a few additional principles, but I would be hard pressed to recommend anything that far back.)
By the way Brian, the Simplified manual can still be purchased new at Walmart, Barnes & Nobles, Books-a-Million, and Borders. I don't know how they still have new copies, but its true. If your local store doesn't have it in stock (mine did), you can buy it from all of the above's websites.
Yes, McGraw-Hill still prints the Simplified Manual. Simplified seems to be the best shorthand option, I would think McGraw-Hill thinks, due to its historical medium in difficulty. Simplified can still get very fast. Of course, the Anniversary Manual says "When in doubt, write it out." (Page 109)