Can You Read These Shorthand Sentences?

Standard QWERTY keyboards have up to 107 keys, but a court recording machine only has 22. With fewer keys and the ability to spell words phonetically, a court reporter can create a live transcript with an accuracy rate of 98%!

Much like the way an organist or pianist presses keys to make chords, stenographers practice chording when they type. Because there are only 22 keys on a stenotype machine, different combinations of keys are assigned to certain phonetic combinations, making it faster than traditional shorthand.

Using the combination of chording and the individual letters on a stenotype machine to spell the word "keyboard" is a little tricky. Instead of focusing on the actual letters, focus on the sound and you'll see how it works.

If you are a stenographer, you might be the only one you know. This sentence reads, "There can be only one." When using the stenotype machine, a period is indicated by the letters TPPL.

If you needed the advice of another stenographer about how to write something, you might ask, "How would you?" Although the letters appear to form one word, the magic of stenography is shortening things.

Many stenographers are court reporters, and those who have been around for a while might work in the superior court system. Since the 1800s, the basic job function of court reporters has not changed all that much.

WHEPB HR U HF means the same thing as asking, "When will you?" Letter combinations, or chords, are used to make punctuation marks. In this case, HF is the chord that represents the question mark.

For the most part, words are spelled phonetically when using a stenotype machine; but some words require only a letter to denote them. The word "with" is a good example of this practice. The letter "W" is simply used in the word's place.

The letter combination KWRAG says, " I can't go." You know the period ends in a sentence because it ends with the chording combination of TPPL. With the exception of asterisks and the occasional period, punctuation is rarely used in stenotype.

Even numbers are different in shorthand. The use of numerals depends on the context. In some instances, such as dates and longer numbers, the actual numbers are used.

With only 22 keys on a stenotype machine, court reporters are able to write in a form of shorthand at an incredible speed of 200 words per minute. A standard court reporting machine has four vowels: A, O, U, and E. The other 18 keys are consonants.

TKPWAEUD is a polite greeting. When you meet someone you might say, "Good day." It might look a little odd, but the combination of keys includes every part of the phrase.

When you see a stenography translation ending with HF, you can automatically determine that a question is being asked. Our question asks, "Where were you?" Where were you when you learned about the art of shorthand?

Many stenographer positions are freelance, but others come with benefits such as health insurance. No matter what path you choose, being a stenographer can be a lucrative job.

With the invention of the stenotype machine, written shorthand began to fall by the wayside. Now, the machine also is fading from use. In fact, many courts and closed captioning clients have now switched to USB versions of the machine that make recording and transporting information even easier.

If you can read the sentence we gave you, well done! The sentence reads, "This is an example of machine steno." It is an example of the way a stenotype machine combines letters and sounds to form a more efficient way of typing.

If you were to see A*BD in a crime report, you would know that something might have happened to someone's abdomen. The asterisk is one of the very few punctuation marks used in stenography.

In order to become a court reporter or a stenographer, you must undergo intensive training that includes learning both written shorthand and the use of the stenography machine. Dating back all the way to the 1800s, the stenotype machine has taken much of the hard work out of dictation.

If you were confused about something, you might ask, "Which one is that?" When using a stenotype machine, every effort is taken to shorten a sentence. While there might appear to be more letters here, keystrokes are minimized by pressing more than one letter at once.

The overall art of stenography and shorthand is encompassed by the term tachygraphy. Tachygraphy means swift writing.

Even when writing in shorthand, the first letter of a sentence is always capitalized. In this case, the sentence "It's important to brush two times per day" is the correct way to write this sentence.

By chording the letters E and U and then adding the S on a court recording machine, the word "is" is formed. In shorthand and stenography, the combination of letter sounds are used to form words.

Two technical terms are often used in conjunction with shorthand: tachygraphy and brachygraphy. Tachygraphy means swift writing, and brachygraphy means short writing. Shorthand is both swifter and shorter than traditional handwriting or typing.

Instead of wasting time by skipping a line when writing in shorthand, paragraphs are denoted by a symbol. In this version of shorthand, there are only six basic punctuation marks used.

One of the ways that shorthand can record things so quickly is through the use of phonetics. The sentence you see here says, "London Bridge is falling down." Learning to focus on the sounds of words and not the spelling is a huge part of increasing shorthand speed.

Shorthand is proof that you can have your cake and eat it, too. Not only can you record over 100 words per minute after a lot of practice, but you can also record a conversation with more accuracy than traditional writing or typing.

A stenographer would record the word paper as P-A-EU-P-E-R. The EU portion of the series is one of the ways stenographers combine vowel sounds. Other popular combinations are OU, AU, and OO.

Many people think that modern technology has diminished the need for shorthand and stenography. However, there are many professions that still make good use of the practice. Knowing shorthand is still a very important part of an executive secretary's day-to-day job.

Much of the speed of writing in shorthand or using a stenotype machine is obtained by removing any unnecessary letters. Focusing on the sounds of speech rather than the actual word allows practitioners to move faster.

The first step to becoming a court reporter is learning shorthand. Although court reporters use stenotype machines, they must first have basic knowledge of written shorthand. Knowing shorthand helps the court recorder to hear in a more phonetic manner.

Because the practice of stenography relies on the sounds of words, or phonetics, rather than the actual spelling, words are sometimes denoted by one letter. Here, the word "can" is simply represented in a sentence by the letter K.

Learning to utilize a stenotype machine requires a lot of effort to view language differently. Some might say that users are taking a peripheral view of words. If you sound out the letters here, you will see that they make up the word "peripheral."

The PItman version of shorthand utilizes the equal sign to indicate a hyphen. Sir Isaac PItman was granted knighthood in 1894 for his commitment to language innovation.

To cut down on the time it takes to dictate individual words, the letter R is used to express the words "are," "our," and "hour." The letter utilizes the sound of the words, and when seen in a shorthand sentence, it would make complete sense to the reader.