#Shorthand

[thefandomlifechoseme]

Dracula, 3rd May; Shorthand

[comradeprozac]

I know now the span of my life. God help me!

-Johnathan Harker

[a0stack0of0bread]

This part of Faulkner fratricide monologue from the silt verses in Gregg shorthand

[general-sleepy]

Just plain babbling about shorthand

Since reading Dracula might be the first time or one of the first times that people have heard about shorthand, I thought I'd take this thin excuse to infodump. Because I find it fascinating and want to share. (Warning ahead of time, watch out for how many darn times I say "for example" in this post).

For some background, shorthand systems of writing have existed for millennia, but in the English-speaking world, the two most common and well-established systems of shorthand are Pitman and Gregg. Odds are that the Harkers are writing in Pitman. It's the older system (created in 1837) and is to this day more common in England and the Commonwealth. Gregg is more common in America and was introduced in 1888, either only a few years after or a few years before Dracula takes place. There were also numerous other less popular systems floating around at the time.

Pitman and Gregg and most other shorthand systems are phonetic. (Teeline is a more modern shorthand system based on a simplified alphabet, which is also quite popular). Simply put, each sound is reduced to one stroke of the pen. In Gregg, for example, the sound "k" (which includes the letter "c) is a medium-sized forward arch, "a" is a large circle, and "ch" is a short, downward diagonal line. So, instead of writing "catch" you just combine the symbols for "k-a-ch." Instead of "become" you just write "b-k-m." (These "words" are known as outlines).

Some shapes represent multiple sounds. For example, a small circle stands for the vowels in "bit," "bet," and "beet." A large circle stands for the vowels in "cap" and "cape." This might sound like it would be confusing rather than simplifying, but it's generally clear from the context.

There are a bunch of other means which allow you to write more quickly. Common words are further shorted into "brief forms." For example, "the" is represented by "th," "after" by "a-f," and "were" by "e-r." Some common endings or beginnings are also abbreviated, so that "sh" at the end of a word can stand in for "-tion" and "f" can mean "for-" or "fore-" at the beginning of a word. Thus, "Permission" is "p-r-m-sh" and "forgive" is "f-g-v." Common phrases can be combined into a single outlines. For example, for "to be" you can write "t-b" instead of "t-u[space]b." "I have not been able" can be "a-v-n-b-a." (The large circle "a" is the brief form for the word "I" in one of the rare quirks of Gregg that isn't basically intuitive).

Pitman Shorthand is very similar to Gregg (or, more accurately, Gregg is similar to Pitman). Other than using different symbols (for example, in Pitman "k" is a short forward line) Pitman differs from Gregg mostly by its use of the thickness of strokes to differentiate sounds. For example, "g" is also a short forward line, with the only difference being that the line for "g" is drawn thicker than "k."

I learned shorthand absolutely because of Dracula, though for convenience I learned Gregg. As of right now, I'm pretty out-of-practice, and honestly I was never particularly fast. (At my best, I probably was on average as fast writing shorthand as cursive longhand; I think faster than printing, though).

If you're at all interested, I really recommend learning some form of shorthand. It's useful in note-taking or when you don't want people to be able to read your writing (if, you know, you're kidnapped by a vampire or trying to write fanfic at work). It's also just a fun hobby and a nifty skill to be able to say you have.

In my opinion, if you want to learn shorthand, Gregg Simplified is a solid option, because the materials are accessible and the system is a good middle-ground between easiness to learn and quickness to write. I taught myself just following along with the Gregg Shorthand Manual Simplified. The book is broken up into 67 short "lessons." I did one or two lessons a week, maybe a few hours of work, and I was "fluent" in less than a year. I also bought a Gregg Simplified Dictionary, but all you need is the Manual.

(Note that the manual is written both assuming you're probably some kind a secretary and in the fifties. So, you'll learn brief forms for super-useful phrases like "dear sir" or "remit." For practice, they have you read and copy these sample letters in shorthand, and it's almost hilarious how almost all the letters to men are about business matters and the letters to women are advertising sales. There is one spectacular letter that's a man writing to a newspaper to cancel his subscription, because he's moved into a house in the suburbs with another man who gets the same paper. I'm legit tempted to go through the manual again just to find that letter.)

Fun fact! The fastest shorthand stenographer ever recorded wrote faster than the fastest typist.

Also fun fact! It's not uncommon for individual people to invent their own brief forms based on words that they use commonly. So, Jonathan might have been writing "c-a-r-p" (or the Pitman equivalent) for "Carpathian" or Mina writing "t-b" for "Whitby" or both of them writing "v-a-m" for vampire. And I'll bet credits to navy beans they had specific brief forms for their favorite trains.

[drabdoodler]

ggghhgghh hi siff thanks for studying with me 🥺🥺

PLS DONT USE MY NOTES ON GREGG SHORTHAND LMAO IM A NEW LEARNER HAHAH

and an extra doodle… ACT 4 SPOILERS KIND OF FOR IMAGE 2??

[flickyclicky]

sketchbook

[ravenclawlibrary]

I gotta go learn shorthand in case I need to hunt vampires someday

[categorised-art-tutorials-tips]

Perspective Masterpost Tutorial Part 1

Credit: Bridget Underwood (bridgitiri)

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Does anybody read shorthand? Or know what kind of shorthand this is?

[addicted2coke-theothercoke]

Shorthand practice does not go well but considering I started yesterday I like the progress I'm making

[astrit-e]

Some shorthand’s I did of Leo and Aries for my Storyboarding class :3c

I’m doing a storyboard sequence with them fighting.

[see-arcane]

Hi!! I have a question about dracula and im not sure who to ask but i thought you would be a good person to start with...

What kind of shorthand do you think the Harkers would use? I think Pitman's system was the most common one when Dracula was published, but i also totally see them using a super obscure system no one else knows lol, so which system do you think they would use?

Alas, I am not the best person to start with, being a big old oblivious fool when it comes to shorthand nuance!

In a general sense, I do think the Harkers would stick with a more readily used form of shorthand due to them both picking it up for the sake of workplace needs. This would likely be the version they scribble in most often.

But, because these two are the Biggest Nerdiest Saps, I also see them putting together their own form of shorthand just for funsies (and secret love notes to each other that any other prying eyes wouldn't have access to, xoxo).

That being said, I think Jonathan writes most things in the general shorthand. The better to have others (victims or friends) able to have a better chance at translating.

The parts he writes regarding Mina while in Vampire Hell, and about his secret vow to join her in (un)death, I imagine he writes in their secret cipher.

[spacejax]

Does anyone have experience with learning/using shorthand? I’m thinking about learning it but I’m not sure how lol

[evasartblog]

a silent voice - reverse storyboarding pt 2

[postcard-from-the-past]

Shorthand writing advertisement

French vintage postcard

[caflec-answering-blog]

So today I learned that Shorthand has an actual written script, and isn't just an excuse for doctors with bad handwriting.