rb158,515 Presented to the LIBRARY ofthe UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO by Gopp» Clark Pitman Ltd. PITMAN’S SHORTHAND INSTRUCTOR NEW ERA EDITION PITMAN^S JOURNAL OF COMMERCIAL EDUCATION The oldest and largest weekly journal devoted to Pitman's Shorthand and all Commercial Subjects. Every issue contains shorthand reading practice,withkey,speciallyadaptedfor students at various stages. 2d. Weekly PITMAN^S SHORTHAND WEEKLY An illustrated weekly periodical in beautiful Shorthand, without a key. Provision is made for the beginner, the intermediate student, and the advanced writer. 2d. Weekly PITMAN’S SHORTHAND INSTRUCTOR A COMPLETE EXPOSITION OF SIR ISAAC PITMAN’S SYSTEM OF SHORTHAND NEW ERA EDITION LONDON SIR ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, LTD.,PARKER STREET, W.C.2 BATH PHONETIC INSTITUTE MELBOURNE :THE RIALTO, COLLINS STREET NETWORYOO:NRTKO::270WEBSOTND45tShTRSETERTEET Copyright This edition of Sir Isaac Pitman’s System of Shorthand IS THE EXCLUSIVE COPYRIGHT OF Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., ANDITWILLBE AN INFRINGEMENT OF SUCH COPYRIGHT IF MATTER FROM IT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY PUBLICATION WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION. The Right of Translation is Reserved. PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN ATTHE PITMAN PRESS, BATH PREFACE The system of shorthand writing presented in the following pages was invented by Sir Isaac Pitman, who in 1837 published his first treatise on the art. In 1840 the second edition of his work appeared, under the title “ Phonography, or Writing by Sound, being also a New and Natural System of Shorthand.** In the numerous editions ofPhonography published in succeedingyears, 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 English 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 eighty-six years, with the result that it has been most successfully adapted to the practical requirements of all classes of shorthand writers. The presentedition includesafew alterations that havebeen made in certain rulesofthe system. The effectofthese alterations is to simplify the work of thestudentwithoutinany way interferiog with the wonderful power of the system in the hands of the expert writer. 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 teacher. No effort has been spared to explain and illustrate the rules in the clearestandsimplestmannerpossible. V VI PREFACE Althoughstudents,asarule,experienceno 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 intelligent grasp of all that is conveyed by that term. There- fore, before the mastery of the first chapter is attempted, the Introduction which follows this Preface should be read with care. The advantage of practical ability in the art of shorthand writing is so universally acknowledged inthepresent daythatitisunnecessaryto emphasize it. It is obvious, however, that the value of shorthand,whetheras avehicle for privatecommuni- cation or for use in various ways in business or professional life, w—ould be largely dim—inished 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 demonstrat- ingthat 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 fewerthan twenty foreignlanguages. 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. I]S[TROI)UCTION’ Phonography, the name originally given to Pitman’s Shorthand, has been briefly but accurately deflned as “ the art of representing spoken soundsby character asystemofshorthand.” ; The first question that will occur to the student will be, what is the fimdamental difference between the shorthand characters and the letters in ordinary writing and printing ? To answer this question it isnecessary to considerthe alphabetof the language. It is obvious that the usual or Romanic alphabet of twenty-six letters cannot represent by distinct charactersthethirty-sixtypicalsoundsoftheEnglish language. As a consequence, many of the letters of that alphabet are of necessity used to represent differentsounds. It is manifest, therefore, that any system of shorthand founded on the commonalpha- bet would prove a very imperfect and cumbrous instrument for rec—ording 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 spelling. 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 vii viii INTRODUCTION gaol and gale, in which the sounds of the first con- sonant are different, although represented in long- hand by the same letter. If the common spelling were followed in shorthand, 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. For these dissimilar sounds the Pitman system provides dissimilar shorthand signs. The second illus- tration deals with vowels, as, for example, in the words tub and tiibe. 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. Pitman’sShorthand,how- ever, 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 alphabet, which has been termed the “ alphabet of nature,” spoken language can be recorded with one-sixth of the trouble 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 of ordinary longhand writing. Anexplanation ononepoint,however,is desirable. Inthestudyanduse of Pitman’s Shorthanditshould