' ^. .V* V ',• .'.-V ^ *7^ Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive in 2009 witli funding from Ontario Council of University Libraries http://www.arGhive.org/details/isaacpitmansshorOOpitm ISAAC PITMAN'S SHORTHAND INSTRUCTOR A COMPLETE EXPOSITION OF ISAAC PITMAN'S SYSTEM OF PHONOGRAPHY /^. NEW YORK ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, 2 WEST 45th STREET Toronto. Canada The Commercial Text-Book Co. The Copp, Clark Co.. Limited J9W Copyright, 1916, by Isaac Pitman & SoNa Copyright, 1913, by Isaac Pitman & Sons Copyright, 1910, by Isaac Pitman & Sons Copyright, 1905, by Isaac Pitman & Sons Copyright, 1901, by Isaac Pitman & Sons Copyright, 1899, by Isaac Pitman & Sons Copyright, 1893, by Isaac Pitman This new and revised edition op Isaac Pitman's System of Shorthand is the exclusive copyright of Isaac Pitman & Sons, in the United States of America and the British Empire, as well as in all coun- tries INCLUDED IN THE BeRNE CONVENTION, AND IT WILL BE AN INFRINGEMENT OP SUCH COPYRIGHT IF MATTER FROM IT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY PUBLICATION WITHOUT WRITTEN PER- MISSION. The DEVICE which appears on the cover and THE facsimile SIGNATURE ARE THE SUBJECT OP PROTECTION UNDER THE TrADE MaRK Laws of the United States of America ANr THE British Empire. Printed by J. J. Little Sc Ives Co. New York City PREFACE. THE system of shorthand writing presented in the following pages was invented by Sir Isaac Pitman, who in 1837 pubUshed his first treatise on the art. In 1840 the second edition of his work appeared, under the title " Phonogi-aphy, or Writing by Sound, being also a New and Natural System of Shorthand." In the numerous editions of Phonography pubhshed in succeeding years, many improvements were introduced. These were the fruit of long and varied stenographic experiments, and of the valuable criticism and experience of large numbers of expert writers of the system who had applied it to work of every description. No other system of shorthand designed for the EngUsh language has been subjected to tests so prolonged, so diverse, and so severe as those which Pitman's Shorthand—as the system is now generally styled—has undergone during the last seventy-six years, with the result that it has been most successfully adapted to the practical requirements of all classes of shorthand writers. One hundred years have now elapsed since the birth of Sir Isaac Pitman; and in issuing what is thus appro- priately designated a Centenary Edition of his system, advantage has been taken of the opportunity to introduce certain improvements in the rules and arrangement, and in the method of presenting the system to the student, which wiil greatly assist the learner in acquiring the art. The object specially borne in mind in preparing the work has been to render it equally suitable for self- tuition and for individual or class instruction under a VI PREFACE. teacher. No effort has been spared to explain and illustrate the rules in the clearest and simplest manner possible. Although students, as a rule, experience no difficulty in understanding the method here set forth of "writing by sound," it is desirable that they should have, at the beginning of their study, an intelUgent grasp of all that is conveyed by that term. Therefore, before the mastery of the first chapter is attempted, the Introduction which follows this Preface should be thoroughly understood. The advantage of practical ability in the art of short- hand writing is so universally acknowledged in the present day that it is unnecessary to emphasize it. It is obvious, however, that the value of shorthand, whether as a vehicle for private communication or for use in various ways in business or professional Life, would be largely diminished if the same system—and that the best—were not employed. This important fact is now generally recognized; and statistics, the testimony of public men, and general observation, concur in demonstrating that the system which Sir Isaac Pitman invented is taught and used as the shorthand par excellence for all who speak the English language. Further and very significant evidence to the merits of his system is the fact that it has been adapted to no fewer than twenty foreign languages. The Publishers take this opportunity of tendering their sincere thanks to the large number of expert writers and teachers of Phonography who have offered valuable suggestions for the improvement of the present edition. INTRODUCTION. PHONOGRAPHY, the name originally given to Isaac Pitman's Shorthand, has been briefly but accurately defined as "the art of representing spoken sounds by character; a system of shorthand." The first question that will occur to the student will be, what is the funda- mental difference between the shorthand characters and the letters in ordinary writing and printing? To answer this question it is necessary to consider the alphabet of the language. It is obvious that the usual or Romanic alphabet of twenty-six letters cannot represent by distinct characters the thirty-six typical sounds of the English language. As a consequence, many of the letters of that alphabet are of necessity used to represent different sounds. It is manifest, therefore, that any system of shorthand founded on the common alphabet would prove a very imperfect and cumbrous instrument for recording spoken utterances with certainty and speed—the chief object of shorthand. With such an alphabet either a single sign standing for one of the letters would be required to do duty for several sounds, or more than one character would have to be used to represent a single sound, as is done in ordinary spelhng. On the other hand, the three consonants C, Q and X are unnecessary, inasmuch as they represent sounds provided for by other consonants. Two simple illustrations will demonstrate the difference between the ordinary spelling and the phonetic method, which is the distinctive feature of Pitman's Shorthand. The first illustration deals with consonants, and is concerned with the ordinary spelling of the words gaol VIU INTRODUCTION. and gale, in which the sounds of the first consonant are different, although represented in longhand by the same letter. If the common spelling were followed in short- hand, we should have the same shorthand symbols for both words. But the initial sounds in these words are different ; in the first the sound is jay, in the second gay; and for these dissimilar sounds Phonography provides dissimilar shorthand signs. The second illustration deals with vowels, as, for example, in the words tub and tube. If the shorthand symbols were the equivalents of the letters of the common alphabet (the final e of tube being omitted because it is not sounded), the stenographer would be obliged to write both words by precisely the same characters, namely, t-u-b. Phonography, however, provides for the representation of the different sounds u and u heard in the respective words, and these are indicated by different symbols. The phonetic notation of the system of shorthand developed in the present work has been found, after widely extended use, to possess important practical advantages. By the employment of the phonetic alpha- bet, which has been termed the "alphabet of nature," spoken language can be recorded with one-sixth of the trcJuble and time that longhand requires, by those who use Pitman's Shorthand simply as a substitute for the ordinary longhand writing. With the adoption of the systematized methods of abbreviation developed in the more advanced stages, this method of shorthand can be written legibly with the speed of the most rapid distinct articulation, and it may be read with the certainty and ease ot ordinary longhand writing. An explanation on one point, however, is desirable. In the study and use of Phonography, it should be distinctly borne in mind that although the system is phonetic it is not designed to represent or record minute shades of pronunciation. The Pitmanic alphabet, in the INTRODUCTION. IX words of Max-Miiller, "comprehends the thirty-six broad typical sounds of the EngUsh language and assigns to each a definite sign." It does not seek to mark, for example, the thirty or more variations of sound which have been found to exist in the utterance of the twelve simple vowels. The pronunciation of the vowels, as Max- Miiller has shown, varies gi-eatly in different localities and in the various countries of the world in which the English language is spoken, and in which Phonography is taught and used. The standard of pronunciation, as exhibited in printed shorthand, cannot, therefore, be expected to coincide minutely with the pronunciation of English in all parts. Experience has abundantly proved that the representation of the broad tyjaical sounds of English as provided for in Pitman's Shorthand is ample for all stenographic purposes. The pronunciation adopted in Pitman's Shorthand Text-books is based on that given in A New EngUsh Dictionary, edited by Sir James A. H. Murray, LL.D. The presence of r has a modifying effect upon a preceding vowel. The student's attention is, therefore, directed to the following observations with regard to the consonant r, to certain vowels when preceding r, and to a class of vowels which may be described as more or less obscure. (a) With the exception of a few proper names, as Worcester, wherever the consonant r occurs in a word, in Pitman's Shorthand it must be represented as a consonant. (b) In such words as bar, far, mar, tar, jar, the vowel- sign for ah is to be used; but in such words as barrow, Farrow, marry, tarry and Jarroiv, the first vowel-sound is to be represented by the vowel-sign for &. (c) In such words as four, fore, roar, lore, ivore, shore, door, pour, core, gore, tore, sore, the vowel-sign for o is to be used.