Forkner Alphabet shorthand

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Last updated

June 26, 2026

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Forkner Alphabet shorthand, published in 1952, is a system that combines conventional letters with a few symbols to represent difficult sounds. For instance, a short dash above the line signifies "H." This dash, when placed through other letters, creates different sounds: through "C" for "ch," through "S" for "sh," and across "T" for "th." The system also uses abbreviations for common words.1

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shorthand
Modern abbreviated longhand systems
Forkner Alphabet shorthand was first published in 1952 in the United States. The author, Hamden Forkner, spent 10 years in research before publishing the first edition of the new system, which uses a combination of conventional letters and a few symbols for the hard-to-write letters…
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Forkner Alphabet shorthand was first published in 1952 in the United States. The author, Hamden Forkner, spent 10 years in research before publishing the first edition of the new system, which uses a combination of conventional letters and a few symbols for the hard-to-write letters…
Read More