Shorthand - what is it? The meaning of the word "shorthand". Who is the stenographer?

Shorthand is a record of text with special short characters. They have such an abbreviated form that they can reproduce even live speech on paper. The speed with which this letter is made is 4-7 times faster than usual.

The definition of shorthand can also be given somewhat differently. This concept is compared with the art of writing. Moreover, it is so fast that it is not inferior in terms of speech speed. How do you achieve this result? In order to increase the speed of writing, they write with the simplest signs specially designed for this purpose. In this case, syllables and words are subject to significant reductions. Shorthand marks save seventy-five percent of the time compared to regular writing.

Story

For over 2 thousand years, shorthand has existed. The meaning of the word, which denotes this concept, translated from Greek is “narrow script”. In other words, Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary also clarifies the term “shorthand”. The meaning of the word is presented as follows: "abbreviated letter, cursive writing, keeping up with the speech." But the famous writer Charles Dickens called this method of reproducing words a mysterious and noble art.

Writing appeared a few thousand years before our era. Her invention was the result of a stubborn desire for communication. At the initial stage, writing was substantive. People conveyed their thoughts with the help of certain material objects. Later, writing became descriptive. At this stage, pictures, hieroglyphs, and, in the end, the alphabet, which exists to this day, have become a means of transmitting thoughts.

A shorthand record appeared from generally accepted writing. This happened at the very early stage of the development of human culture, when various peoples had a need for accurate transmission of oral speech using quick and short recordings.

In ancient Egypt, shorthand was also used. What did fast writing mean to ancient people? With it, the speeches of great speakers were recorded.

The stenography reached its peak in Rome and Ancient Greece. A special contribution to the improvement of high-speed writing was made by the secretary and slave of the great orator Cicero - Tyrone. He became the author of Latin shorthand. This writing is still called tyrone notes.

The advent of letter shorthand

At the initial stage, cursive was verbal. What does it mean? For each word has been developed its own sign. This greatly complicated the work. To reproduce the shorthand record, it became necessary to memorize a huge number of characters. Their number reached 13,000. That was the shorthand. What is the number of characters to remember is very difficult, it was clear to everyone. The solution was found in the 17th century. It was then that the Englishman Willis developed the letter cursive system. Such shorthand soon became very popular in many countries of the world.

Speed ​​writing in Russia

Shorthand records were used in Pskov and Novgorod in the 15-16 centuries. In Moscow, high-speed writing was already used during the first Romanovs. It was in the 16th century. Here is a long history of shorthand in our country. The Russian alphabet was used in the new original system developed by Ivanin in 1858. The first recording of this method was made in Russia on March 19, 1860. It reproduced the dispute between Professor Kostomarov and academician Pogodin. His theme was the question of the origin of Russia.

Shorthand signs in the Russian language began to be actively used in the second half of the 19th century. They were in demand by some journalists, writers, scientists, as well as students.

Shorthand was particularly developed in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, when the State Duma was formed. With the creation of this authority, it became necessary to record ongoing meetings. To solve this issue, a shorthand office was created, the staff of which included several dozen people.

Attention to simplified writing increased with the coming to power of the Bolsheviks. In 1925, the All-Union Conference on Shorthand took place. In the USSR, a special magazine was published - "Issues of Shorthand". It was produced in the 20s of the last century. In the same period, State Higher Courses of Shorthand were formed. Subsequently, high-speed writing was taught in some Soviet schools and universities. The profession of a stenographer in the country was owned by tens of thousands of people.

Thus, in Russia, high-speed writing has been actively used for one and a half hundred years. During this period, many textbooks and books on this discipline saw the light.

Types of Quick Recording Systems

At all times, shorthand was in demand. What was the letter like? Over the course of more than one century, this type of recording has been improved and developed. As a result, all sorts of ways came down to two systems. One of them is geometric, and the second is italic. The first is based on a straight line, as well as a circle with its parts and a point. The second system contains an oval and parts of the letters used in regular writing.

In France and England, the most common is geometric shorthand. The meaning of a word in this system can be established by a certain combination of straight lines, circles (their parts) and points.

Italic shorthand is used primarily in Germany. This system is more beautiful in writing and convenient for writing.

The shorthand alphabet contains characters that differ in slope and height, in thickening and occupied place, etc. Moreover, this diversity can be observed in both systems.

As for modern shorthand, it seeks to unite all of the above varieties. The main task of accelerated writing at the present stage is to bring existing systems into one. Moreover, shorthand seeks to rationally combine brevity and sequence.

Who needs the ability to quickly write

Shorthand - what is it? This is a very complex discipline. And some people are surprised that it is now included in the list of compulsory subjects in those educational institutions where, for example, they teach the profession of secretary. Of course, modern technical means allow you to record a conversation or speech on the recorder. However, a lot of time will be required to process information. Moreover, not all of it can be heard due to various interference. Another thing is shorthand. The meaning of a word, phrase and all speech can be read with ease using this method, as well as when writing plain text. Shorthand signs are perceived much easier than manuscripts.

Today, high-speed writing is in demand in various fields of activity. Shorthand is especially needed for those who are engaged in mental work. Therefore, it is not surprising that future secretaries are trained to write speech using special characters. After all, representatives of this profession daily encounter a large amount of information, and mastery of the shorthand allows them to greatly facilitate the work not only of themselves, but also of the leader.

Cursive Value

Shorthand is in demand not only due to the high speed of writing. It allows you to capture information with maximum accuracy. Anyone who knows this technique can stenograph an important conversation to the smallest detail. An energetic leader who is used to working at a high pace will be pleased with his secretary, who is able to record all the information during negotiations or meetings.

Acquiring a useful skill

How is the shorthand course taught? Cursive lessons are built in a certain sequence. First of all, the alphabet is subject to study.

The first of the studied shorthand signs are written in a notebook with a narrow ruler. This is necessary because in quick recording the importance is the height of the sign, and the hand should gradually get used to it. A little later, you can go to the sheets with the usual ruler. Having mastered the shorthand technique completely, the recording is carried out on ordinary non-lined paper. Moreover, each of the stenographic signs is prescribed several times in a line. It is much more effective if when writing its meaning will be spoken out. In this case, the cursive skill will be developed faster. When reading the transcript, marks should be repeated around the pencil.

Basic principles of quick writing

The shorthand system uses a method in which vowels are skipped. Combinations of letters that occur most frequently, and especially common syllables, are combined into one icon. For example, such word endings as -tsiya, -tsa, -tsiya and -tsiya, in shorthand, will have the same designations. This is related, say, to such words as “fraction”, “border”, “station” and “grace”.

Frequently used phraseological units and expressions are recorded with certain icons. When teaching shorthand, they are advised to prescribe several times in a row, repeating mentally the meaning. For easier memorization, phraseological units and expressions are recorded in a separate notebook. In this case, the alphabetical order must be observed. This dictionary should be regularly written, repeated and read. The purpose of this lesson is to bring the process of writing transcripts to automatism and develop the ability to read your own and someone else’s record at the same speed as regular text.

After a certain time spent on training, the acquired knowledge should begin to be gradually applied in practice. To do this, first shorthand characters are inserted into a regular letter. Gradually mixed text is changed to cursive.

And at present, shorthand remains in demand and popular. You can study it at special courses. As a rule, they last forty academic hours.

Characteristics of speed writing

A shorthand record based on the letter principle has a number of features. First of all, as mentioned above, it is notable for its brevity. Moreover, the spelling of shorthand signs cannot be arbitrarily changed. They are standard. We all know that in a regular letter the same letter can be written in one of several existing options. Such liberty is prohibited in shorthand. All signs should have only a strictly defined style system.

Features of the shorthand alphabet

In cursive, signs corresponding to consonants should be written at an angle of sixty degrees to the line of writing. This tilts to the right. All characters must be written on the line of writing. The basic rule that is followed by verbatim writing: compliance with the slope, shape and exact size of each designation. If it is broken, the record cannot be read.

The size of the stenographic signs is determined by their height. All images of consonants are divided into small, large and one-dimensional. Moreover, their heights are in a certain ratio. So, the accepted size for one-dimensional characters is 3 mm. Small designations make up one third of the height of one-dimensional.

Stenographic signs are divided into oval, sharp-pointed and sublinear. In cursive, the notation corresponding to the whole word should be combined. They are written without tearing the pen from the paper. Between the two characters the gap should be half the measure. Designations of the letters "p", "l", "b", which are at the beginning of the word, are written with a left turn.

Signs corresponding to the spelling of a whole word are interconnected using the same trait as is done in a regular letter. If any image was incorrectly recorded during the preparation of the verbatim record, then it is not corrected, but simply crossed out with a slash.

Not all punctuation marks that exist in the language are used in cursive writing. Shorthand records contain only dashes and periods. Exclamation and question marks are also used. As for the comma and quotation marks, they are used only in cases of emergency.

Cursive Masters

Not only a woman can be a shorthand specialist. Often, this technique is also owned by representatives of the stronger sex. But, despite this, from the last century the opinion that cursive writing is a purely female profession has been strengthened. What are the basic requirements for these specialists?

A stenographer is a professional who is responsible for recording spoken language using a specially designed character system. The duties of these specialists include abbreviated recording of everything that is pronounced in real time, that is, reflection on paper of the ongoing conversation or speech. The stenographer should be able to decipher what will be reflected on paper, providing the record in a convenient form for reading.

In this regard, it becomes clear that cursive writing is not just any abbreviations that a person can think of only for himself. This is a specific system of special characters. In this regard, shorthand should be preliminarily trained.

Where and when are such specialists in demand? Stenographers are needed at meetings, meetings and conferences where speeches should be drawn up. At first glance, this work seems uncreative and monotonous. However, representatives of the considered specialty are obliged to have outstanding personal and professional qualities. First of all, the stenographer should be able to concentrate her attention, besides this, she needs a good memory, perfect knowledge of the language, accuracy and sociability.

It is worth mentioning that cursive writing can not only facilitate work, but also bring great benefits, as well as saving time. The study of this discipline contributes to the overall development of man, significantly enriching his vocabulary, which is replenished when writing a variety of texts.