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(Return to Basic Shorthand Course) The Troab shorthand method © 1946, 1951, 1996, 2018 Troab shorthand is a way of writing the spoken word with pen and paper. It is a simple and versatile method of word abbreviation (basic shorthand) for making quick notes. It is an integrated system of shorthand / speed-writing; which can be written at two levels; the Basic level and the Professional level. The Basic level ( Basic shorthand ) is a simple method of writing designed for general note-taking in the classroom or in the office ( Alpha-Script speed-writing ). The writer’s own familiar longhand (script) letters are used. There are only a few abbreviation rules. The Basic level Keyboard version can be written on a standard QWERTY keyboard. The Professional level uses an alphabet of contracted script letters; it is used for high speed verbatim note-taking writing at more than 100 words a minute. (T-Script shorthand .) The difference between the two levels is that at Basic (Alpha) level you use primarily your own familiar script (longhand) letters and at the Professional level all consonants are written as simplified, or contracted script forms, each letter written as a single pen-stroke. This Tutorial presents Troab Basic level shorthand. The few rules of word abbreviation are largely intuitive and follow common usage. A particular feature which contributes to fast writing is the use of the core consonants, D, T, N and S. These letters are contracted from familiar Roman script letters; they are the forms used at Troab Professional level ( T-Script ). Because they occur in almost every written and spoken sentence they very soon become familiar friends which you will be able to write and read easily and quickly. Troab is an integrated method of speed-writing/shorthand enabling easy progression from the Basic to the Professional level if there is a need later for high-speed verbatim reporting. The abbreviation rules are common throughout. Shorthand is a valuable skill not only as an aid to memory, but the act of writing notes involves the writer, whether at meetings or at classes, in ways which help to clarify and strengthen understanding of what is being said. Taking notes in shorthand, or speed writing, has a potential impact for the writer far beyond “just making a note of things”. “If deliberations are to be remembered, revised or acted upon, they must first be recorded”. The ancient Chinese proverb is also particularly relevant to the shorthand note-taker; “Tell me, I forget; Show me, I remember; Involve me, and I understand” © Troab Basic-level Speed-writing (Alpha-Script) © Troab Shorthand, 1946, 1951, 1996, 2018 Invitation Tutorial This Tutorial of Troab Basic-level speed-writing introduces the essential elements of the Troab shorthand method which uses an intuitive approach to word abbreviation. It is presented for self-study. Troab Basic-level is a method of writing fast notes with pen and paper using primarily the writer’s own familiar script letters. This level is used by the occasional note-taker. CONTENTS Part One 1.1 Principles of word abbreviation; 1.2 The core consonants, D, T, N, S, R, Quick Forms 1.3 Indicating vowels 1.4 The paired consonants, TH, CH, SH, WH 1.5 Quick Forms (most frequent words, alternative H & R) 1.6 Writing ‘s’, Core consonant ‘s’ , Plurals Part Two 2.1 The sound of R 2.2 Prefixes, con- , -en, -in , -un 2.3 Suffixes, ‘shun’ –tion, -sion. –cian; -NG, -ing, -ification, -ment, -tive 2.4 The sound of L 2.5 L-related suffixes, -ly, -less, -lity, -bility, self 2.6 Core consonants Blends, ND, NT, CT 2.7 Diphthongs and Double vowels Part Three 3.1 More about abbreviation 3.2 Writing compound words and phrases 3.3 More prefixes 3.4 More Suffixes 3.5 Consonant forms used at Professional level Scroll down to start the Tutorial Troab Basic-level Speed-writing – Tutorial Introduction Writing fast is an acquired skill building on your familiar hand-writing skill with pen and paper. Writing notes quickly involves both simplification of the way individual letters are formed and the judicious abbreviation of words. The first step is to examine your hand-writing and decide whether it needs modifying – letters should not be too large or too small and without unnecessary curls or flourishes. As far as possible keep to the forms you are used to writing as these will be quicker for you to write, but at the same time aim for simple letter forms, At Basic-level Speed-writing five core consonants are used, D, T, N, S and R; these letter sounds occur particularly frequently and are written in simple forms to increase the speed of writing. Vowels are needed occasionally for easy reading of your notes; a simple system of vowel indicators is used providing simplicity and speed of writing and reading. The basic theory of this method can be mastered in only a few hours. However, speed writing, or shorthand, is a writing skill and the more frequently you write it the more familiar it will become and your note-taking will become easier and faster. Troab is a simple method of word abbreviation (shorthand), writing words as they sound, e.g. the words ‘way’ and ‘weigh’ are both written with the two sounds, w + a. Punctuation Normal punctuation signs are used. (A small cross or a slash may be written instead of a full stop.) Proper nouns Proper nouns may be distinguished by writing two short lines below the word. Jane John (Return to CONTENTS page) 1.1 Principles of word abbreviation Words are abbreviated following common usage; this is intuitive word abbreviation. e.g give = gv , some = sm , was = ws . Rule 1. Write the significant sounded letters of the word. Most vowels can be omitted in the body of a word, e.g. ‘ Give him a medal ’ – ‘ gv hm a mdl ’. When needed, a significant vowel indicator may be included. Use your own familiar script (longhand) letters, but keep these simple and clearly formed. You may like to consider how you write ‘b’, ‘f’, ‘h’, ‘j’, ‘r’, ‘s’, ‘z’ simply and economically. fml ml wf bg bl bm bs female male wife bag, beg, big bill bomb bus cl cf fls fl fx gs gp gv call, coal cough false file fix guess gap gave, give lf lgl lv ls lv mjc miss mb leaf legal live, love less live, love magic miss mob ps psj rsc sm rl rsv sl sv pass passage risk some real, rule receive sail, sale save vsl wl ws wv wsl hl vessel wall, wheel was wave whistle whole, hole, heal Similar word outlines may represent more than one word but this is not a problem when they occur in the context of a sentence where the meaning can be clearly read. Familiar words Many words that you meet everyday can be abbreviated simply and intuitively using this fundamental principle; you will find that the following abbreviations will be ‘natural’, the sort of short forms that you use already when writing quick notes. All these ‘natural’ abbreviations follow the principles outlined above. You would have no difficulty reading these short forms when they occur in the context of a sentence. e.g. ‘Go bc to the beginning’. ‘You have made a bg mistake’. ‘Can you fl the heat’? ‘This hs nothing to do with hs mother’. ‘Do you really lv him’? ‘Why do you always pc on her’? ‘It can be done wl you wait’. ‘The car was a complete rc ’. Note the following consonant sounds, Use ‘ c ’ for the hard K sound, as in cat, kill Write ‘ f ’ however it is spelled, Write ‘ g’ for the hard sound, as in go, Use ‘ j ’ for the soft sound of ‘ g’, as in engine, cc cl cs lc sc pc rc rf lf sf kick kill kiss luck sick pick wreck rough laugh safe bc bg cf fs gs gg lg bj hj back big cough fuss gas gig log badge hedge jb jm bgj cbj msj psj wg job gem baggage cabbage message passage wig Quick Forms Research has shown that a small number of words make up some 50% of all spoken and written matter; these are the Quick Forms and they are given special attention. Quick forms are represented by, usually, a single letter using either the first letter of the word or its dominant sound; this may be a familiar script letter, a contracted letter or a vowel indicator. The first letter of the word, c f g m p q w v can, come for go, good me, my page quick we, with very or The dominant sound of the word, b x v z l y be, by except have she all, will why The contracted letter forms are also used as Quick Forms , are he, him is quick which (Return to CONTENTS page) 1.2 The core consonants, D, T, N, S, R and H These frequently occurring letters are always written in their contracted forms as used at the Professional level. They are a special feature of this method and greatly increase writing speed. You will find that at least one of these letters occurs in almost every sentence. They are also used to represent very frequently occurring words, D T N S H R do to, it no, not is he, him are D and T are not symmetrical curves; they may be deepened at either end as appropriate for fluid writing and to make distinctive joins with adjacent letters. Follow your normal handwriting style. to-do do-not The contracted form, S-circle is written inside the curve of a core consonant.
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