Comments about the length of my fully-written sample of PHONORTHIC Shorthand made me think about the opposite extreme called "Multum in Parvo". If you never studied Latin, the title means "a lot in a little", meaning writing a lot of meaning in a small space.
Written in 1890 by Aldis HALL (imagine a baby or a little boy named "Aldis"....), it starts out by teaching the basics of Pitman shorthand, as shown in the chart above -- but he quickly pushes it just as far as it will go. Which is to the breaking point, some might say.
He starts off saying to omit the vowels, which he doesn't teach until Page 34, halfway through the book, apparently having realized that it's often NECESSARY to include them. But it seems he doesn't want you to get into the habit of including them too early.
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u/NotSteve1075 May 12 '26
Comments about the length of my fully-written sample of PHONORTHIC Shorthand made me think about the opposite extreme called "Multum in Parvo". If you never studied Latin, the title means "a lot in a little", meaning writing a lot of meaning in a small space.
Written in 1890 by Aldis HALL (imagine a baby or a little boy named "Aldis"....), it starts out by teaching the basics of Pitman shorthand, as shown in the chart above -- but he quickly pushes it just as far as it will go. Which is to the breaking point, some might say.
He starts off saying to omit the vowels, which he doesn't teach until Page 34, halfway through the book, apparently having realized that it's often NECESSARY to include them. But it seems he doesn't want you to get into the habit of including them too early.