Is there a rule for the words beginning with 'can'?

Candy — kde ;
candle — kdl ;
but then why
cancel — kan/s ; and
canister — kan/e/st/e      ?

(by mike for everyone)


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  1. because the k is followed by an upward stroke … never thought about it, just do what the manual says … LOL

    I refer you to Paragraphs 80 and 81, pages 42-43 of the Anniversary Manual: since all the "com" sounding and "con" sounding attached prefixes enjoy similar joinings and "K" for "can" is a brief form, KDL and CDE seem a reasonable extension of the rules..

    Check out Page 26 of the Anniversary Dictionary for more "K for CAN" words.

    As one who's been writing Gregg for five decades and still (for fun) reviews and practices the theory, I believe that Dr. Gregg and his staff were very aware of the type of shortcuts they imparted to students … you'll note that anyone who is versed in Anniversary can easily read Pre-Anniversary material provided they are aware of the subject matter as essentially there truly were not a great many changes in the system base between 1902 and 1929 except for the dropping of a few bits of theory and several changes in word-signs based upon input from teachers of the system. There does come a time when the student should stop asking WHY? and just DO IT. Again, LOL!

    If you have the 1916 Manual, check Paragraph 101, Page 88.
    Com, Con, Coun, Cog — expressed by K
    Note (a) Before "t" or "d" the prefix form may express "can" (cantaloupe, candidate, candor, candle)
    Note (b) When Con or Com is followed by a vowel or by R or L, write KM for Com and KN for Con

    The rule was retained in Anniversary but the editors failed to include Note (a)

    Also note Paragraph 107, Page 93 of the 1916 Manual. In the examples given for Compound Joined Prefixes note "incandescent".

    I did check the 1902 Manual and in the appropriate section (presentation is slightly different) there is no mention of using "K" as the "can" but I suspect users did it anyway as the 1902 edition really throws you in a sink or swim position with phrasing and the abbreviating principle quite early on.

  2. It seems that if the next letter after the "can" is either a "d" or a "t" you can use the abbreviation for "can." That's what I glean from my trusty 1901 Gregg dictionary… I thought first it would be the more common words that would have the abbreviation, but then saw that "canter" also follows the abbreviation rule. And the word "canter" doesn't even warrant being in the "5,000 Most-Used Shorthand Forms." Think "d" and "t" on the "can" rule. This is my guess. Does someone out there want to just check the Manual? That's probably what I should have done. Thank you for the question. It all helps … me in particular, a person in the process of learning Shorthand for the first time, and I'm … well, I don't really want to say how old I am. Peas, Pamela …

  3. From the 5000 outlines book, page 25, paragraph 80: "The prefixes con, com, count, cog, followed by a consonant, and can when followed by t or d, are expressed by k".

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