I don’t know if this has ever been posted here before, but this is a fascinating article by Chris Aldrich.
The Mnemonic Major System and Gregg Shorthand Have the Same Underlying Structure!
The major (mneumonic) system generally works by converting numbers into consonant
sounds and then from there into words by adding vowels under the
overarching principle that images (of the words) can be remembered more
easily than the numbers themselves….
Gregg Shorthand is using EXACTLY the same consonant-type breakdown of the alphabet as the major system!
I just looked up mnemonic major. Neat!
Much of that order isn't surprising. It matches the mouth and tongue shape and position.
P and B have the same mouth position, the only difference is P is plosive and B is voiced. In Gregg, voiced has a longer line. In Pitman, voiced has a thicker line. (Reading hint: If a line length isn't clear, try a sound mid-way between plosive and voiced, or just try one then the other.)
M and N use the P and T mouth positions, respectively, but are also nasals.
The vowels also use mouth shape and tongue positions. The circles are back vowels, the hooks are front vowels. The small-circle sounds are higher tongue than large-circle. (Roughly.) And yes, I really is ah-ee. In singing, you stay on ah for most of the note, and switch to ee at the very last instant.
(My son took speech therapy, and my mid-life crisis included singing lessons. I find it fascinating how phonetic theory shows up in so many different places.)
That is interesting! I guess it shows there was a method to the madness, that it wasn't just a random bunch of lines and squiggles. All the more fascinating!