The Gregg Group was founded 22 May 2004, prompted by the lack of online shorthand resources. As the primary use for shorthand — business and legal recording — has waned in recent decades, we generally acclaim the skill as a hobby or personal tool. The purpose of the group is to promote the use of Gregg systems of shorthand by providing advice to beginners, support for students, and an association of users of this efficient, attractive, and enjoyable method of writing.
Hello,
here’s a little text, not very difficult, just a try after a long time on hiatus… Hope it will be OK…
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OK, here we go.
Mahmoud ne sait commment mener sa vie. Il prend conseil auprès d’un sage soufi — « Va dans la foret, Mahmoud. Prends exemple sur la nature qui te donnera une leçon de vie. »
Mahmoud obéit. Près d’un buisson se prélasse un renard, la panse rebondie. Pourtant il n’a pas de pattes. Mahmoud est intrigué. « Comment ce renard fait-il pour se nourrir ? »
Bien décidé à en avoir le coeur net, il fait le guet. Peu après, un ours abat une gazelle, la dévore bruyamment et abandonne la carcasse.
Alors le renard sort du buisson, rampe jusqu’à la proie pour grignoter les restes.
« Voilà une leçon bien facile à comprendre » se dit Mahmoud.
Sûr de son fait, il quitte la forêt, bien décidé à tirer parti de cette excellente leçon de vie.
Deux ans plus tard, un clochard(?) famélique toque à la porte du sage soufi. Sous ses haillons crasseux, le soufi reconnaît Mahmoud qui pleurniche — « Ton conseil ne m’a pas aidé, la nature m’a donné une mauvaise leçon, gémit-il. Je suis allé dans la forêt, j’ai vu un renard sans pattes, grâce à l’ours il ne manquait de rien. Comme le renard, je me suis assis sans rien faire pour attendre les cadeaux de la vie. Rien de bon ne m’est arrivé, et à présent je suis misérable, malade et sans ressources. »
Le sage hoche la tête — « La leçon était parfaite, c’est l’élève qui était mauvais. Tu as des pattes, pourquoi imiter le renard ? Ton modèle était l’ours. Sers-toi de tes pattes pour te nourrir et pour nourrir les faibles. »
Some little things:
1. It is better to write the a in pattes below the line so that you can keep the p with a full size. Instead, right now the p looks like an s.
2. The second circle in décidé (lines 5 and 9) should be written on the back of the left s, at the same level that the first circle.
3. The nd blend in comprendre in line 8 should extend a little more.
4. The circle in clochard in line 10 should be written contrary to the rule to express the r sound (in this case, to the right side of the ch).
5. Sage in sage soufi in line 10 looks like sache. Make the j larger and higher on the line so that it fits.
6. In line 15, the first s of ressources should be the left s.
This was a very nice story with a moral message. Thanks for this!
Thank you for all your remarks, Carlos… 🙂
Indeed for 1. Mrs David Ramsey started the “P” below the line in the paragraph 218 page 168 of “Études Graduées…”.
And I agree with 2. 3. 4. 5… And I was about to make the changes when I stumbled on the last one which I don’t understand. Well first I never understood the “left” and “right” direction. I prefer “clockwise” and “counter-clockwise”… So in “résultat” the “s” is counter-clockwise and in “Études Gradués (last line of page 163 in the paragraph 215)…” and in the manual (in the middle of paragraph 190 page 98), both “s” are clockwise… It isn’t what I have done?
Otherwise, something extraordinary happened last week, something I thought I would never see: someone posted last week a letter with, mixed with French longhand writing, some French Gregg!!
I was so sure French Gregg never escaped the walls of schools… It’s on a Facebook page here…
🙂
Counterclockwise is the left s, clockwise is the right s (or comma s).
For #6, now I see what you mean … another difference from English Anniversary Gregg … I’m not sure why they have the correct s (counterclockwise, left s) in résultat, but reversed it in ressources to be honest. Strange, so don’t worry about it.
Lastly, that’s an awesome find! I think the writer wrote in Simplified French Gregg.
Thank you for the s-right, s-left, Carlos… It’s clearer now. 🙂
I have made the changes and so kept the weird way French Gregg is making “ressources”…
For the document, yes, it’s really a (good) surprise for me… as an historical item. I gave my idea of the transcription to the author of the post… It’s most difficult than I thought to present the results: what I’m sure, what I’m less sure, I found longhand more difficult to write… Well, it’s not that the case will arise again any time soon…
I thought there were only three adaptations of French Gregg: Farmer’s, Sénécal’s and Diamond Jubilee… Is there really a Simplified manual, too? Didn’t you say once that you worked on one if I’m not mistaken?
There were five French adaptations of Gregg: Original (Farmer), Anniversary (Sénécal), Simplified, DJS (Collection du 75e anniversaire), and Series 90 (Collection 90). Series 90 and DJS are almost identical (including the manuals), save for a few very minor outline changes. DJS had two different manuals published (Sténographie Gregg and La sténographie Gregg en 32 leçons) and Simplified, DJS, and S90 have dictionaries and second semester dictation books (Vitesse progressive en sténographie Gregg).
I studied the Simplified manual — I found DJS and S90 too lengthy to write for my taste, but obviously more legible. The Simplified materials are extremely hard to find.
Thank you, Carlos. There are much more versions than I thought. I will link to this post when people ask me. 🙂
You’re welcome!