DIFFERENT SHORTHAND SYSTEMS

Pitman shorthand was invented 160 years ago by Sir Isaac Pitman Training Centre.  It started with the traditional Pitman New Era shorthand, then Pitman 2000 was developed (a streamlined version of Pitman 2000). Teeline shorthand was invented by James Hill in 1970. He was previously a Pitman shorthand teacher.  He decided that there must be an easier way, and developed the Teeline shorthand based on the alphabet.

Pitman New Era Shorthand and Pitman 2000

Phonetic based shorthand, i.e. is based the sound and pronunciation of the word

Is written with a pencil and you have heavy and light sounds which are written with thick and thin strokes i.e. p is a light sound and has a thin stroke, b is a heavy sound and is written in the same angle but with a thick stroke.

Have to be very accurate as to whether the letters are above or below the line and also with positioning of vowels – this will change the sound / meaning of the word.

Pitman New Era

Isaac Pitman published the first edition of his shorthand system in 1837.  He spent half a century improving on it, therefore, many editions of the original Pitman Shorthand have followed, Pitman New Era being one version.  It is rarely used to teach shorthand now although many students may request a refresher.  The system uses different outline strokes of thick and thin outlines.  Includes many short forms.

This shorthand can reach extremely high speeds e.g. 180 wpm.  It is the shorthand used for court reporting, but is getting more and more difficult to find people who are able to write it.

Pitman 2000

Introduced in the mid 1970s to revamp the New Era method.  Still used today to teach shorthand.  Has less short forms than New Era.  Designed to enable a student to attain speeds of 120-140 wpm in ⅔ of the time taken to reach comparable speeds in New Era.

Speed Ceiling   150 wpm

Teeline

Most popular shorthand system today.  It is based on the alphabet and the student will learn a skeleton form of the alphabet.  When writing Teeline you omit vowels and unnecessary letters to form shortened versions of words.  Because T is one of the most commonly used letters in the English language and because it blends with other letters to give word endings, this is the letter which gave the system its name – Teeline.

This is the system most commonly taught nowadays and is what is used by journalists.

It is much easier to get to grips with and is just like learning to write again.

Speed Ceiling   150 wpm