Pitman Shorthand is a system of rapid writing developed by Sir Isaac Pitman (1813-1897). It was first presented in 1837. It is a phonetic system using symbols for various sounds in the language.

One characteristic feature is that voiceless and voiced sounds (such as /p/ and /b/) are represented by the same symbol except for using darker lines for the voiced sound (this is usually accomplished by using light or heavy pressure on the page). Doing this requires a writing instrument which is responsive to the user's drawing pressure: specialist fountain pens (with a fine flexible nib) or pencils are often used.

Another feature is the distinction between symbols drawn on the line, over the line, or under the line. For example, a small circle drawn above the line translates to as/has and the same circle drawn on the line translates to is/his.

Vowels are generally indicated by dots or small dashes drawn close to the stroke of the previous consonant. The type of vowel is dependent on the relative position of the dot or dash to the stroke (beginning, middle, or end).

There are at least three "dialects" of Pitman's shorthand: the original Pitman's, Pitman's New Era , and Pitman's 2000 . The later versions dropped certain symbols and introduced other simplifications to earlier versions. For example, strokes "rer" (heavy curved downstroke) and "kway", (hooked horizontal straight stroke) are present in Pitman's New Era, but not in Pitman's 2000.

Pitman's brother Benn settled in Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States of America, spreading Pitman's system to the U.S., and at one time Pitman was the most commonly used shorthand system all over the English-speaking world. In many regions (especially in the USA), it has been superseded by Gregg Shorthand, developed by John Robert Gregg .

External links

• The Joy of Pitman Shorthand
• What is Pitman shorthand?