anniversary’s “left s” in consult vs. Simplified’s “right s”

In a recent thread somebody explained that the “left s” was used in the anniversary BF of “cause, because” in order to indicate the dropped “o”, as well as distinguishing it from “consider.”  Is the principle explained anywhere or just assumed? 
We see this principle again in the word “consult” written with a “left s” whereas GS reverts back to the “right s”.  We know from the Anniversary manual paragraph 49 that the “left s” is used after “n” and several other letters but after a “k” it is to be a “right s.” So the “left s” in consult seems to be a way of indicating the “n.” Is this just one of those rules according to Leslie that was annoying because it wasn’t taught ( as in the omission of the h dot in had, has, him and her) or am i missing it in the AE manual?

(by Ryan for group greggshorthand)

 


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  1. Cause and because are brief forms, so the writing does not follow the standard rules we are used to.

    About the s in consult, the ending -sult in AE is always left s-oo hook, irrespective of the consonant that preceeds the stroke. For that reason, you will see a left s following a k in "consult", as it will make it obvious that is a word with the -sult ending. Since Simplified writes words with the -sult ending by using the oo hook-t ending, the writing of the s needed to be modified to make it consistent.

  2. A little patience goes a long way, yes. These are good questions, and it is this kind of questioning of theory that is natural once you're done with the basic manual, because now you're noticing things that perhaps you didn't before. Also, this is the time to review theory to cement those concepts. (Imagine if one were taking high speed dictation and all of a sudden one starts questioning why "cause" is written with a left s. Half of the speech would be gone if one stops to thinK!)

    Incidentally, think of the Anniversary brief form of "cause" as if they removed the o-hook to make the outline easier to write. You will end up with k-left s (and not k-right s).

  3. The other day I was raising the question with the word "such" and the writing of it with the "left s" instead of a "right s" which would have been according to principle, and why it was finally changed in S90 to a right s to make it consistent with the omission of oo-hook principle. Well, I found out the reason for it: the "left s" makes it easier to phrase. It would be awkward to write "with such", "to such an extent", "and such", etc., with a "right s." But since phrases in S90 are not that common, this was no longer an issue, and the brief form was changed and it was no longer a brief form.

    I seem to read somewhere that Gregg said that there is a reason for everything, even though we don't realize it at first.

  4. One observation Dr. Gregg made about the satisfaction of learning the finer points of theory comes from the Teacher's Handbook for 1943 Speed Building for Colleges, regarding the brief form for all:
    . . . If the teacher will write the word all in full (on a large scale) on the blackboard and then strike off the l, the students will have a good idea of the shape of the hook—why it is so written. It always pleases the students to know the reason for things! I have known many writers who never knew the reason why the hook representing all was on its side—they thought it was a purely arbitrary way of distinguishing it from of.

  5. Knowing the reasons reassures me. Remembering "it's left-s because…" will keep me moving confidently. The journey through "there's a reason" to "I just did that without thinking" to just doing it is faster than marking it "check later", finishing the passage, checking it, drilling it, and forgetting it again.

    If the reason is short and sweet, it works better than a mnemonic.

  6. Not much difference in terms of the sections of the book. The plates may be slightly different, but it's not worth if you have one to get the other one. Even the college and high school versions of this book are very similar, except for the addition of even more congressional material in the college version.

  7. Carlos, i only see the 1941 teacher's handbook for sale online. It is a reasonable price. However, i won't need this for several months since i will be going through the Functional Method Dictation book first. Is it worth it to wait for the 1943 edition? My Speed Building for Colleges book is the 1943 reprinted in 1946. I assume there was no reprint to the teacher's handbook?

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