Current Shorthand

Current Shorthand
Type	semi-script abjad stenography
Languages	English
Creator	Henry Sweet
Time period	1892
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols.

Current Shorthand was developed beginning in 1884 and published in 1892 by Dr. Henry Sweet. It shares some similarities with the Gregg system, with which Current is contemporary. It uses more ink than classical systems, and whether or not it is fit like them for sustained verbatim reporting has never been established.^{[citation needed]}

History and Attributes

Sweet wished to produce a shorthand system which could replace longhand in most situations.^[1] For this reason Sweet proceeded to develop a shorthand which is a pure script which is easily written with any slant comfortable yet does not sacrifice legibility; spelling becomes a non-issue because the orthography, like Gregg shorthand, is based on the sounds of the language; unlike Gregg shorthand, the script may be adapted to any language ^[2]; vowels are attached to the consonants and can, therefore, be omitted; the script is linear, like longhand, and can be easily adapted for use in printing.^[3]

Reception

There is little evidence that Current Shorthand was publicly successful. George Bernard Shaw wrote that the system's fatal flaw was Sweet's indifference to business and the well established infrastructure of Pitman shorthand.^[2]

References

1. ^ Sweet, Henry (1897).The student's dictionary of Anglo-Saxon. Clarendon Publishing. p 218. Google book search. Retrieved on January 4, 2010
2. ^ ^{a b} Shaw, George Bernard (1913 republished 2008).Pygmalion. Forgotten Books. p 2-4. Google book search. Retrieved on January 4, 2010.
3. ^ Sweet, Henry (1906).The practical study of languages: a guide for teachers and learners. Henry Holt and Company. p 27. Google book search. Retrieved on January 4, 2010