Hello. My name is Lisa I just joined. I’m glad to find this site, because I learned shorthand in school (Diamond Jubilee) and am just starting to get back into it. I had forgotten a lot, but it’s coming back to me. I was wondering if it is very difficult to learn Anniversary? Will I just confuse myself and not be able to do either one?
The reason I ask is I really want to read Alice in Wonderland, but it is only written in Anniversary.
Thanks for any answers.
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Hi Lisa! I think you're the only who can predict if dabbling in Anniversary would hurt your shorthand more than it would help. You could possibly learn to *read* Anniversary and then re-write Alice in Diamond Jubilee as an exercise.
Wow! What a project! I know Anniversary has much more brief forms, but can anyone tell me what other differences there might be? I don't have any Anniversary textbooks, yet.
Welcome to the blog Lisa!
I don't think that dabbling in Anniversary will hurt you because you already have learned DJS. Once you know any series of Gregg, it is relatively straightforward to learn any of the other series, including the earlier ones, as long as you put some time into it. The transition to earlier series has been made by others, including members of this blog, because they had a lot of motivation. There are differences but nothing that is a show stopper in terms of learning. In your case, since your goal is to be able to read Anniversary material, you don't need to drop your DJS book. Simply pick up a copy of the regular Anniversary manual (Andrew Owen's website has an online copy) so that you are familiar with the extra rules and abbreviations, and stick to DJS for your regular writing. Reading the plates of the Anniversary manual should prepare you well to reading Alice!
If your goal were to completely change your writing to Anniversary, then the two-volume Functional Method Anniversary manual by Louis Leslie would be the way to go, but in your case, I don't think you need to do this.
Lastly, here are some links with older posts that may be interesting to you and that deal with differences between the versions, and some of the experiences of other writers that went through similar situations like yours.
Comparison of Gregg Shorthand Series
First Look at DJS and Centennial Books
A List for Those Who Want to Go Beyond DJS
Thoughts about switching versions…. "downgrading"
New Member Intro/Looking for Suggestions
Learning Strategy
Differences of versions, other than brief forms (word signs)
I hope this information is helpful and motivating in improving your shorthand skills!
Thank you. I appreciate the info. and the links.
I started with Simplified and transitioned to Anniversary. There were several reasons for this but the main one is that Anni has far more diverse reading material. I agree with Carlos that the FM books are the best way to learn. Good luck!