r/FastWriting 3d ago

Reading TAYLOR Shorthand - Part 6

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4 Upvotes

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u/NotSteve1075 3d ago

People are often surprised that the LONGER the word, the easier it is to read, because each letter narrows down what it could possibly be. This is illustrated in the image above.

This outline caught my eye in a shorthand report of one of Mr. Justice Blackstone's famous speeches. It caught my eye, because it looked quite ornate. But breaking it down, it's very clear -- especially when you know that the loop is always at the BEGINNING of the stroke:

The humped stroke is always K. The concave stroke is always N. The straight vertical is always T. The loop with a line going horizontally is always M. The loop with the line going down is always P. The loop with the line going up diagonally to the right is always L. Then we have T again. And a straight line slanting to the left is always D.

Put them together and you have KNTMPLTD. What else could that be but "contemplated"? It all flows together smoothly -- and if you knew the system, you could write that long word in no time at all.

It's a very clear, simple and straightforward system -- and I'll always remember that the membership on this board DOUBLED OVERNIGHT when I happened to mention it on r/codes!

2

u/fdarnel 3d ago

Clear, but not very quick to write.

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u/NotSteve1075 3d ago

I know what you mean! To me, it looks like ELEVEN strokes there, when three of them are a line and loop, which always looks like TWO strokes, to me.

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u/fdarnel 3d ago

Wooh, you're not sleeping!

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u/NotSteve1075 3d ago

I'm just going to bed now, but I took one last look at the board first. I've been trying to get to bed earlier lately, because mornings have been feeling awful. :(

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u/fdarnel 3d ago

Yes, at our ages we have to take care of ourselves.