Reversing principle in Anniversary; Awkward phrases

I am converting to Anniversary from Simplified because my hand rather than my head often slows me down.  I write longhand very slowly and laboriously, and a number of the longer Simplified outlines take me a long time to write, even though I recall them very clearly. Writing E-S-R for instead of E-Left S-E-R-S-I-S “exercise” and E-S-L instead of E-Left S-E-L-E-NT for “excellent” is a joy.
Sometimes the reversing principle makes Anniversary outlines easy to write.  I find its use at the END of words to be a nuisance, however.  Writing R after a straight stroke at the end of a word takes no longer than writing Reverse-E, and writing the Reverse loop is considerably harder than writing RS.  I think I’m going to follow Simplified in the way I represent R and RS at the ends of words.
I am also puzzled by the WAY the circles are reversed after K and G.   Normally a reversed circle is written as it would be written if an R were to follow.  When we write “garden” in Simplified (G-A-RD-N), we place the circle ABOVE the G.  Why is the reversed circle not placed this way in Anniversary (G-Reversed A-Den)?  Instead, it is written where an ordinary circle would be written but simply traced in the opposite direction so that the upstroke will appear to its right.  I find it easy to write a circle above a K of G but awkward to remember to trace in the opposite direction a circle placed in the normal position.  Doing so requires thinking that under the pressure of dictation would waste a lot of time.
I find a few Simplified outlines preferable to their Anniversary counterparts. R-P-R-V for “representative” is much easier to write than R-P-Tive.  Using R-P-R for “report” strikes me as stupid.  Simplified’s R-P-O-T makes more sense.  The use of R-P-R for “report” precludes use of the facile R-P-R-V for “representative.”
Some of the phrases shown in the Anniversary books are extremely hard to write. “In other words” and “on the other hand” are truly a handful.  I would lose a lot of time executing either one and definitely will not use them.
Certain simple phrases used in both Simplified and Anniversary are very hard to write. “So that” is nigh unto impossible.  I can write something that vaguely resembles the correct outline and transcribe it easily enough; but anyone looking at what I write in isolation would be hard-pressed to decipher it.  The O hook turns into an angle when I write the combination with any speed at all.

(by Bruce
E.
for group greggshorthand) 


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3 comments Add yours
  1. Probably not much of an answer; but think about this. If there were such a word as "arden", imagine how that would be written. So, perhaps the answer is to think of the word "garden" as "g–arden".

  2. If you're finding that the reversing principle and the anniversary phrasing are difficult to write, don't use them. Stick with Simplified, and just add those elements from Anniversary that you will use. It is a matter of personal preference and taste. I recognize that the reversing principle can be tricky, but it is in part because you have been introduced to the "rd" stroke, and old habits are difficult to get rid of. If you know the principle, and if you have practiced it many times over, it doesn't add a single second in the pressure of dictation because its application will become second nature, and writing it some other way would look awkward and funny.

    About the word "garden", my sense is that they wanted to make it similar to the joining of straight lines in the reversed principle in words such as "merit", "martini", "murder." In fast writing, angles are softened and straight lines tend to curve. Hence I believe the circle is placed in that position for two reasons: (1) to avoid confusing the straight stroke after the circle with a curve, and (2) to avoid splitting the circle and changing the vowel, keeping the vowel distinct: writing the circle outside the curve would have required to have a sharp angle between the end of the circle and the straight stroke and the stroke would have been degraded, whereas writing it as they suggest won't cause confusion as to what the word reads. I write "garden" with the reversing principle much faster than with the 'rd"-n ending.

    "Representative" is written that way in Anniversary because it comes from "represent" which is a brief form written as r-p. I agree with you about "report", but the "port" ending is not a standard suffix in Anniversary. "Report" is a brief form and is not written according to the "omission of r" rule.

    Phrases that you can't write are not worth learning. I personally write faster with phrases because I think in phrases. But if you write "on the other hand" with 4 outlines faster than the single phrase, go for it. "So that" resembles a longhand V with an added loop.

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