Bible in Gregg Shorthand

Members of the Gregg Shorthand Blog:

I, Shaleto, humbly greet you as you are my de facto senior colleagues in this blog.

It is a joy, indeed, to become a part of such a special group, a community of writers and aspirants to writers, people who are curious, who want to listen and want to remember.  I say so because these are qualities present in anybody who wants to learn or have learned shorthand.

I am sure those who are relatively new, with me perhaps being the newest student, saw Gregg shorthand as a tool to be acquired, a tool which could be used to our own advantage in many positive ways, to be able to express our thoughts and yet still be private, or to advance in our studies or in our job.

But shorthand is more than that.  It is a link to other minds, be them contemporaneous or of those who preceded us by years, decades, or centuries ago.  It’s a window to other realities, and a channel for personal growth.

And the enjoyment of these benefits start by taking a challenge, by confronting the unknown, by finding motivation to persist until a goal is accomplished.  And so, I decided to pursue two symbiotic objectives:

  • Learning Gregg shorthand. Which version?  Anniversary; with eclectic touches.
  • Copy the Bible in Gregg Shorthand with my own hand.

Why are these two, complimentary goals?

As I see it, since Anniversary has a tough learning curve, one better have a plan on how to approach the task.  Because it will take memorizing many brief forms, rules and phrases; and the journey may become too long and tedious… to the point where we may give up our goals and stop learning.

Unless…  Unless one finds something that constantly motivates us to keep going, something  we may enjoy at every step of the way, something in which we find intrinsic value in every sentence we write.

That something for me, my friends, is “The Word”.

It helps me grow, and is a real blessing:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein…

 

During tough times it encourages me, and at all times it reinforces the principles by which I live:

James 2:8  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

Philp 4:8    Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things     are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

 

And so my friends, I have started  a  little website:  https://bibleinshorthand.blogspot.com/  as a vehicle to achieve my goals and to share with others “The Word”.  You are all invited to come and read portions of it in Anniversary Gregg Shorthand.   My time is limited and I am new at blogging and at shorthand, and have lots to learn, but know that any advice you may provide on speeding as well as improving the site will always be welcome.

 

I want to thank Andrew Owen from  http://gregg.angelfishy.net/  ,  Deb from http://greggshorthand.proboards.com   and now Carlos from https://gregg-shorthand.com/   because their efforts in making and maintaining their websites have impacted positively my  interest  in learning Gregg shorthand.


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14 comments Add yours
  1. Fantastic!! Both very noble goals.

    I have wanted to write at least some of the Bible in Anniversary if/when there was any time. I figured that the New King James version would be a good choice, if I could obtain permission from the publishers. (Which I'm sure would be no problem, since so few people could read it anyway.)

    Glad to see someone taking the initiative here!

    You might be interested in this pamphlet entitled Denominational Terms in Gregg Shorthand.

    Also, the advanced volume Gregg Reporting Shortcuts has a section called "Theological Terms and Phrases" starting on page 232.

    Great effort, my dear brother. Please keep on.

    The recent influx of new members here has been a real encouragement. We're definitely getting the crème de la crème.  🙂

  2. There are Internet references you can track down to a transcription of the Bible in Gregg shorthand, but it was never published. 

    There's a Pitman transcription of the Bible that shows up on Ebay occasionally, but it's mostly a historical curiosity.

    I don't think there's any demand for a Bible in shorthand.  It could be a good project for your own learning, but I wouldn't expect any general interest beyond that.  

    In addition, how will you decide which of the hundreds of English Bible translations to use?  And which version of Gregg shorthand?  And is your personal shorthand penmanship good enough for a project like this, if it's something you intend to share?

    There would be much more interest in a transcription of Harry Potter, or some other current literature.

    1. The Gregg Shorthand Bible transcription that you mentioned was done by an individual, who like Shaleto, decided to sit down and write one of the Bible translations in Anniversary Gregg. It's a manuscript, and as far as I know, it wasn't an official project sanctioned by the Gregg Publishing Company. The lady who wrote the manuscript sent it to Louis Leslie.

      I commend anyone that embarks on a project like this. It demands a lot of time and motivation. I wished more people take pen and paper to write and share their shorthand, be it classics like The Bible, more recent authors like Stephen King, or whatever material they choose. Who knows, maybe upon reading this, someone in this blog is motivated enough to transcribe Harry Potter! The effort does not have to be perfect; the only way become better is by actually doing it.

      1. So true, Carlos, about more of us taking up the shorthand pen!  So far as I know, Carlos is the only one providing all of us with a steady stream of monthly modern shorthand material for reading practice.  It would be great if more of us contributed in this way, no matter what the reading material is.  I find the idea exciting!

        I have an interest in writing scripture in Notehand, too.  It's a great way of studying two subjects at once.  Of course, it would be great to do Harry Potter, too!  I was thinking just the other day that Edwin Abbott's Flatland would make a fun shorthand project… all those lines, curves and angles!  What is shorthand but lines, curves and angles!  It'd be well-matched.  It'd be fun to see this blog buzzing with even more of this kind of activity.  I'm hoping to do some contributions this summer.

        1. Oh, by the way… I came across some YouTube videos of people writing out the Bible in longhand.  Some had beautiful penmanship, others not so much.  But those handwritten copies were heirlooms to their families.  Imagine the fun of discovering a shorthand Bible from one of your relatives, even if you couldn't read it.   

          1. It would be nice if acquiring a shorthand Bible would be a motivation to learn shorthand, or on the other hand if acquiring a longhand Bible would be a motivation to study it! Knowing that a person actually sat down and wrote it makes it special.

            Shorthand Bibles have been around for a long time, and they were meant to be read, and not as a mere curiosity to be lying on a shelf. The Pitman Bible specifically says that it has been "appointed to be read in churches"!

        2. Penmanship is a skill that if one doesn't practice, it will go away. Unfortunately, nowadays with keyboards and everything so automated, people don't get to handwrite as much as in the past. Personally, I still write thank you notes and send old-fashioned greeting cards, and look for opportunities to practice both longhand and shorthand to keep the skills fresh. It can be something as mundane as a grocery list — heavens forbid typing it.

  3. Washbear, Carlos, Gregg Student and TheFringthing, Thank s a lot for your encouragement.

    Lee, thanks for your questions: "how will you decide which of the hundreds of English Bible translations to use?  And which version of Gregg shorthand?  And is your personal shorthand penmanship good enough for a project like this, if it's something you intend to share?".

    The first three are choices, which I already made.  For the fourth one, do me a favor, quickly check my website https://bibleinshorthand.blogspot.com/ 

    and tell me whether you can read it and understand it. 

    Would you do just that?

    I trust you are a good sport and would give me feedback.

    Thanks.

     

     

  4. This seems like a fascinating (but L O N G) project. Good luck with it. I've visited the website, and it looks good.

    As for Washbear's suggestion about writing up other stuff in shorthand, Abbott's Flatland appeals to me. I'm a mathematician, and I've had it on my shelves for years and read it a few times. I'd try transcribing it myself, but my shorthand is a very impure Diamond Jubilee,* and my handwriting is not the greatest; I'm no Carlos in that vein. But if others see fit to post stuff, maybe I'll get up the courage to try.

    _____________________________

    * mixed with various elements chosen from Pre-Anni, Anni, Simplified, and even Series 90

  5. I was just watching the British Antique Roadshow the other day, and someone brought in a shorthand Bible.  It was written by Jeremiah Rich circa 1650.  (It was appraised at $1,000-$1,500.) Very interesting. I didn't realize shorthand systems were that old.

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