Pitman shorthand

Pitman shorthand, system of rapid writing based on the sounds of words (i.e., the phonetic principle) rather than on conventional spellings. Invented by Sir Isaac Pitman, an English educator, the Pitman shorthand method was first published in 1837 as Stenographic Sound Hand. Pitman’s system classifies the sounds of a language into basic groups and makes use of simple abbreviations for rapidity. Consonants are drawn from simple geometrical forms, straight lines, and shallow curves. As far...