Simplified Questions

Sorry, lots of questions:
1. Simplified Manual (First Edition)
I have acquired the 1950 UK Edition.

From what I have already read on the Blog, the UK editions are shorter than the US
ones, and the reading material is different.
The Manual omits all the ‘chatty’ sections (e.g. ‘What’s
Ahead’) and the lessons are briefer. 
The dot and dash system for distiguishing
vowel sounds is also included at the point where the vowels are introduced in
the Manual, and the dashes for ‘z’ and voiced ‘th’ are also present; none of these is used in the Reading
and Writing sections, however. Are these the same differences as between the First
and Second US
editions?
2. Gregg Speed Practice, Simplified (Second Edition)
I also have the UK edition of this book
(1961/1966). I notice that the dot and dash system is made available to the
learner in the latter part of the book.

Is this also in the Second US edition, or was it just a
peculiarity of the UK
version?
3. Is there something in Simplified that equates to the DJS
Dictionary (Second Edition, US) Part Three, ‘Frequently Used Gregg Shorthand
Phrases’; I know this material is in the ‘Most-Used’ book, but I like the fact
they are in alphabetical order in the DJS dictionary.
4. Which book follows on from the basic Simplified Manual
(US or UK)?
Is that the Speed Practice book? I have seen posts on this question before but
can’t find them.
By the way, I like William Blackwell’s shorthand writing in
the UK
editions, but still prefer Charles Rader’s as I suppose that’s what I’ve got
used to. Also, it is nice (for me) to see British place names, terms and
phrases etc. in Gregg Shorthand; even little things like ‘write to me’ as
opposed to ‘write me’ make me feel somehow more included.  The pounds, shillings and pence is strange
though!
Thanks!
Jon

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20 comments Add yours
    1. Good catch. That old thread was if someone wanted to jump ship from DJS, but it lists some of the books in each series. There is a recommended order that the post doesn't address though.

  1. 1. Yes, vowel markings were only included in the first edition.
    2. Yes. the second edition of the Gregg Speed Practice book is a UK only edition (and it seems very good).
    3. Yes, the book "Phrases of Gregg Shorthand Simplified" by Leslie and Zoubek.
    4. Gregg Dictation or Gregg Shorthand for Colleges Volume 2 for the US version and Gregg Speed Practice for the UK version. There is not UK version of the Gregg Dictation book. I particularly recommend Shorthand Dictation Studies Simplified by Wallace Bowman — an excellent book that builds from the Simplified principles and adds more vocabulary.

    The currency is interesting in the UK books, :-).

    I hope this information helps.

    1. South-Western seems to have been a Gregg-like company that published books about accounting, management, typing, shorthand and other commercial subjects. Their books about Gregg Shorthand began with this disclaimer:

      “The Gregg Shorthand outlines in this book are printed with the permission of and by special arrangement with The Gregg Publishing Company, proprietor of Gregg Shorthand.”

      Recently the South-Western publishing imprint has apparently become the property of a company called Cengage.

    2. Thanks Rich.

      In reply to 2a, Southwestern published some Gregg books though they were not part of McGraw-Hill. The dictation book is very good.

  2. As an aside, if you're looking for the UK version of the Anniversary manual (with plates written by Blackwell), eBay has a copy right now up for bids.

    If you're interested in older UK Gregg manuals, the 1916 Pre-Anniversary is called the Victory Edition in the UK. It was published in 1922.

    1. The text is exactly the same as the regular 1929 Anniversary manual, but the shorthand plates and the reading/writing material are different. Also, the geographical names section is slightly different, being more UK-Euro-centric. So if you don't have the a copy of the regular 1929 manual, then, yes, it is different from those that you already have.

  3. Regarding "Shorthand Dictation Studies Simplified" by Wallace Bowman, I have seen different editions for sale, including a 1947 version and "Third (Simplified) Edition". Which is the one you are recommending, please?

    I have a copy of the (US) Anniversary Manual, which has been very heavily annotated in ink by a previous owner; it is possible that this person might have been a pre-Anni writer as they have added the 'patri-' prefix to paragraph 209.

    1. I have "Shorthand Dictation Studies" by Bowman in editions from 1939, 1950 (Simplified), 1961 (still Simplified), and 1966 (DJS). You should look for the edition that matches the Gregg version you write.

  4. I'm on the fence about whether to buy the Simplified Manual. I own the FM manual, and have been using a library copy of the regular manual. I find the regular manual useful to carry with me to work (for reading on ththe commute or odd lunchtime practice), because it's smaller than the FM book.

    The main thing I like in the regular manual is the index to all of the principles. I can look up letters, joinings, phrases and brief forms; all of which have been useful at some point for review or questions about theory. If I only owned the FM I'd have to browse the table of contents, which isn't as detailed.

    So basically I don't want to buy the regular manual just so I have an index. But I think I just talked myself into it. 🙂 Also, it will be nice to have just one book that is brand new.

    And for anyone who wondered, I'm still chugging along. A bit slower now, partly due to being under the weather. I'm up to assignment 33, and did well on the scoreboard in lesson 33 (regular manual) — at least 29 wpm.

    1. Totally understand what you mean about having a book that's brand new. I was lucky to be able to buy my Series 90 books off the shelf in my university bookstore back in the . . . well, a while ago. And my copy of Gregg Notehand was purchased new when I took the class in high school, a while longer ago.

      On the other hand, the simplified manual is readily available on Ebay and at abe.com . . . It costs $12.54 from Amazon new, but there are used copies there starting at $0.01 (+ $3.99 shipping, of course). Copies at abe.com start at $3.49 with free shipping . . . but then you miss out on the "new book" fun.

      If your budget can afford it, I'd go with a new copy.

    2. You can also go to your neighborhood's Barnes and Noble and ask them to order a copy for you of they don't have it on the shelf. In this way, it shows both B&N and McGraw-Hill that the manual has a demand and hopefully MGH will keep printing it.

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