SHORTHAND. A common English word used for all kinds of abbreviated writing other than abbreviated longhand. It is not generally applied to the ancient hieroglyphics. though these are a kind of short writing, in which a single character is often made to represent a whole idea. The name 'stenography' is also given to short hand. and this is commonly used as synonymous with it. It was so used by John Willis in his treatise entitled The Art of pub lished in 1602. The word 'phonography' should be applied only to those systems of shorthand that are based strictly upon the phonetic principle, such as the Pitmanic system. Various other titles such as `tachygraphy."cryptography,' `radiography,' etc., have been used. The name `Eclectic' has been used for two systems: first by Elias Longley, because his system was a selection from various modifications of the Pitman sys tem; and later by J. G. Cross, whose system is original rather than selected. The name 'Light line,' which is appropriated by Air. Gregg, has also been used before by Eames and by Thornton, and is equally descriptive of nearly all systems in use before the birth of phonography in 1S37, as well as of the Perrin and others since.
The origin of shorthand writing is mostly a matter of supposition.
History traces the use of the art with definite ness back to the time of Cicero, about 70 n.c. The invention is sometimes credited to Cicero himself, and sometimes to his secretary, Tullius Tiro; but had it not been the latter, his name would never have been mentioned in connection with it, and the property of the slave at that time was always reckoned as belonging to the master. This system of Tiro was largely em ployed when letters flourished at }tome, and the philosopher Seneca is said to have added much to its efficiency. Centuries later it was used by the Christian Fathers, and Cyprian adapted it spe cially to the theological terms in use in his day. We have traces of its being employed in the tenth century after Christ, and even at a later date in a very limited way.
Judging from the few specimens of the system of Tiro that have been preserved, it seems impos sible that the pen could be made by it to keep pace with the tongue of even a very slow speaker. The alphabetic signs were much longer than those of modern systems, most of them being only a trifle shorter than the usual Roman character, which it often imitated. Thus: 3 os.4 y 'known) 1 abcdefghmkl m no p q r s tuvwxyz Besides the clumsy form of these letters, the difficulty was increased both to learner and writer by a very long list of arbitrary forms that must he committed to memory; and to have all these at the finger ends just when wanted. without
having to lose time in the effort to call them up, would be no easy task. Success with such ma terials would he due more to the writers than to the system. Yet we find Gregory of Nazianzus expressing his gratitude in his last days that so many of his public utterances had been preserved by this shorthand. Pliny also kept a stenographer at his side to record his observations. Awkward as Tiro's system may appear in comparison with those of more modern times, we recognize in it some of the basic principles on which these are founded, such as the shortening of alphabetic signs, the use of single letters to represent short and common words, the omission of letters that are lightly sounded or not sounded at all, the adopting of a cursive or running hand. etc.
Nothing seems to he known of the existence of any other system of shorthand during the Greek or Roman ascendency, nor for fifteen centuries afterwards. But at the end of the Dark Ages the invention of printing startled the world from its long slumber: and, soon after. what may be called the second era of shorthand history came into being, and continued without very much im provement until phonography proper gave it an entirely new impetus. During this second period of some three centuries, about 215 systems were submitted to the public, of which only about eight or nine show any real improvement. It is instructive to compare the alphabets of these leading inventors, and note the gradual improve ment in the alphabetic signs. The following table is arranged for comparison of the prominent sys tems of this era, and such as manifest the growth of the shorthand idea: The two qualities essential to good shorthand are (1) brevity, in order to secure rapidity in writing, and (2) fullness sufficient to maize the writing legible. By examining the above systems a gain in the direction of brevity, so far as the alphabets are concerned, is evident ; and at the same time, the characters being quite as varied and significant as are the Roman characters, the writing retains its legibility. When other gains are also taken into account, such as better join ings of letters, omitting silent or semi-silent let ters, the gradual adoption of a phonetic principle, pairing of letters according to sound, using dis tinct signs for combinations of consonants and for syllables, substituting written words for arbitrary signs—taking all these into account, the improve ment is very marked.