In the notehand book (what I’m learning rn) they always refer to the different symbols as “sounds.” but I’m starting to see that some words are more alphabetic.
For example (in both simplified and anniversary) the word opera ends with the big “a” loop even though phonetically it sounds like “oper – uh.” It never says in the book that the ‘a’ loop can make that sound, so it obviously comes from its spelling. another example is actually, where the book uses T rather that Sh like its pronounced
These are just a few examples, I’ve found a bunch though. I’ve also heard that later versions become more phonetic (like just how it sounds vs spelling)
So when am I supposed to follow the spelling of the word vs how it sounds when we say it? And does this apply to other versions as well?
I guess whatever makes the most sense to you. If you can still read what you wrote a few years later, I call that success in shorthand communication. Notehand has fewer rules than the other edition. If it helps, several years ago I made a Notehand dictionary (textual only) where I indexed every single Notehand word from the 2 textbooks (1960 edition and 1969 edition). It’s the closest to a dictionary you’ll find for Notehand. I always wanted to go back and put the actual shorthand in and make a proper dictionary for Notehand, but I just haven’t had the time, and it would mean a lot of scanning. But the textual dictionary I created will give you an idea of how the Gregg folks thought it should be written in Notehand. For words that aren’t found in the Notehand text, I use a Diamond Jubilee dictionary.
Correction: the textual dictionary I posted here was for the 1st edition of the Notehand text. A few years later I added the 2nd edition as well, but never posted it here. I think I had hopes to add the actual shorthand to it in time.
Mason, You are correct–Gregg Shorthand/Notehand is not purely phonetic. As Washbear has stated,
write “whatever makes sense to you.” That’s good advice Another example of what you wrote about, Mason, is the shorthand symbol for “x.” There is no sound of “x” as such; yet, Gregg Shorthand does have a symbol for “x.” Thus, “tax” is written t-a-x. If the system were based purely on phonics, it would be written t-a-k-s. This is an example of where Gregg shorthand is written based on the alphabet, rather than sound. There are other examples, too.
Century 21 Shorthand, introduced in the 1970s, was successful in eliminating this problem (but maybe it wasn’t that big of a problem after all).
Gregg Shorthand is not entirely phonetic, as this would mean a different dictionary for each and every accent. However, it is mostly phonetic. So when are you supposed to follow the spelling of the word or how it sounds when you say it to write it? If this is the first time that you encounter the word, you write the outline the way you think and check it later on with a dictionary (for Notehand, I would use a DJS or S90 dictionary). If it’s different, then memorize it and move on.
There’s a great story about a little boy writing down a word dictated by Dr. Gregg that he didn’t know relating to your concern. I told it here. The little boy’s approach was excellent.
Lastly, in the Preface of the Revised Edition of the Gregg Shorthand manual (1902), Dr. Gregg wrote (page viii) that “in a few words where the pronunciation was optional, preference has been given to the vowel which gave the most facile joining”, which explains in part why some outlines are written the way they are: which is easier to write, o – p – r – a or o – p – r – hook? In the UK and Australian dictionaries, some outlines were modified to match the received pronunciation (for example “garage”), but the outlines of the majority of words is the same in all Gregg Shorthand English dictionaries, notwithstanding pronunciation differences between speakers.
thx this helps!
Another thought related to your question is the purpose of Gregg shorthand. It was developed as a practical tool for writing rapidly, in legal, reporting, and business environments. And in general it was assumed that the shorthand writer would produce a transcript afterwards. (That didn’t always happen, of course–people continue to find old shorthand records that don’t have transcripts. And personal notes, diaries, etc. are an exception).
That’s different from the goal of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which is designed to precisely document the exact pronunciation of words in any language. It’s used in a variety of ways, but it’s not written quickly, and using it requires some thought about what particular sound was being made in a particular word. The very fact that it’s precise makes its use relatively slow. (Even though I’m sure there are phoneticians and linguists who can write IPA as fast as regular longhand.)
So Gregg took a different approach, of writing “mostly by sound in the most practical and efficient way”. He clustered “similar” sounds together, even though phonetically they’re distinct (boat, bought, bot, for example), he recognized the value of context, and he aimed for speed rather than theoretical precision.
The outlines presented in the textbooks and dictionaries are in my opinion “best models”, and were written by people with a lot of skill and experience. They’re worth paying attention to. But if you write something differently in a way that makes sense, it’s not a problem. (I write the word “whale” with the h-dot, even though the dot was dropped in Series 90, because I pronounce the h.)
Lee