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Introduction

Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and

brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The

process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos (narrow)

and graph or graphie (writing). It has also been called brachygraphy, from Greek

brachys (short) and tachygraphy, from Greek tachys (swift, speedy), depending on

whether compression or speed of writing is the goal.

Shorthand is a business education subject in the area of office education. It is

defined by Pitman (1974) as the art of representing spoken sounds with written signs.

Shorthand can be used in various in the business world, Secretaries in both public

and private organizations use it to records minute of meetings, telephone messages

and spell checking which leads to the increase of their vocabularies. The twenty four

(24) consonants are equally known as strokes which students must first learn before

proceeding to any aspect of shorthand. These consonants are written in two ways,

heavy strokes and light strokes. These strokes sound differently when they are to be

written down in the paper. The heavy sounds are known through the way a teacher

pronounces a word(s) such as D and T. The letter D sound heavy while the

letter T sounds light. The vowels sounds are what will make students to know

where dots or dashes should be placed. Whether above, middle and through the line.

These dots and dashes go along with the corresponding heavy and light strokes for

easy identification.

Shorthand was used more widely in the past, before the invention of recording

and dictation machines. Shorthand was considered an essential part of secretarial

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training as well as being useful for journalists. Although the primary use of shorthand

has been to record oral dictation or discourse, some systems are used for compact

expression. For example, health-care professionals may use shorthand notes in

medical charts and correspondence. Shorthand notes are typically temporary,

intended either for immediate use or for later transcription to longhand, although

longer term uses do exist, diaries (like that of the famous Samuel Pepys) being a

common example (Pepys, Latham, and Matthews, 1970)

Shorthand is taught right from junior secondary schools in Nigeria under

business studies to tertiary institutions such as Polytechnics, Colleges of Education

and some universities. The acquisition of shorthand skills by a trained secretary

makes him/her relevant in the Business world. There is no doubt that he is an

indispensable figure in every aspect of an organization which perform secretarial

duties most effectively (Arukwe, 1999). A successful shorthand student has brighter

future ahead because shorthand is useful in almost all profession. For example,

shorthand notes are legal documents that can be used in a court case. Shorthand is a

vital skill for court reporters because in most jurisdiction cameras and recorders are

not allowed in court during proceedings. Further transcripts are hard to get from

court officials and they take time to be released to the media.

In developed world, like U.S, Britain etc., reporters are paid a bonus if they

keep their shorthand up above a minimum speed requirement. Secretaries are needed

in every organization; a competent secretary cannot do without shorthand, he/she

masters shorthand and embrace it very well because it serves as a relief in facilitating

most of the office activities. For example, a confidential secretary takes down
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dictation of most of proceedings of a meeting in shorthand and transcribes it on the

typewriter or computer into longhand for easier understanding.

However, as valuable as the usage of shorthand and the need for a trained

secretary is, there has been calls for the removal of shorthand in the curriculum of

Business Education. The reasons adduced for this include that the subject is archaic,

there are more sophisticated ICT (Information and communication Technology)

equipment which is capable of translating spoken words to writing, camera wrist

watches which can be used to record minutes of the meeting among others. Based

on this, curriculum planners suggest that this should be removed while most adherent

still supports the inclusion of this subject. It is based on this that the paper argues for

the retention on this subject in business education curriculum in Nigeria.

Classification of Shorthand

Geometric and Script-Like Systems: Shorthands that use simplified letterforms

are sometimes termed stenographic Shorthands, contrasting with alphabetic

shorthands, below. Stenographic Shorthands can be further differentiated by the

target letter forms as geometric, script, and semi-script or elliptical.

Geometric shorthands are based on circles, parts of circles, and straight lines placed

strictly horizontally, vertically or diagonally. The first modern shorthand systems

were geometric. Examples include Pitman Shorthand, Boyd's Syllabic Shorthand,

Samuel Taylor's Universal Stenography, the French Prvost-Delaunay, and the

Duploy system, adapted to write the Kamloops Wawa (used for Chinook Jargon)

writing system.
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Script Shorthands are based on the motions of ordinary handwriting. The first

system of this type was published under the title Cadmus Britanicus by Simon

Bordley, in 1787. However, the first practical system was the German Gabelsberger

shorthand of 1834. This class of system is now common in all more recent German

shorthand systems, as well as in Austria, Italy, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Russia,

other Eastern European countries, and elsewhere.

Script-Geometric, or semi-script Shorthands are based on the ellipse. Semi-script

can be considered a compromise between the geometric systems and the script

systems. The first such system was that of George Carl Mres in 1885. However, the

most successful system of this type was the one introduced by John Robert Gregg in

1888, who had studied not only the geometric English systems, but also the German

Stolze stenography, a script shorthand. The semi-script philosophy gained popularity

in Italy in the first half of the 20th century with three different systems created by

Cima, Meschini, and Mosciaro. Other examples include Teeline Shorthand and

Thomas Natural Shorthand.

Systems resembling standard writing

Some shorthand systems attempted to ease learning by using characters from

the Latin alphabet. Such non-stenographic systems have often been described as

alphabetic, and purists might claim that such systems are not 'true' shorthand.

However, these alphabetic systems do have value for students who cannot dedicate

the years necessary to master a stenographic shorthand. Alphabetic shorthands

cannot be written at the speeds theoretically possible with symbol systems200

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words per minute or morebut require only a fraction of the time to acquire a useful

speed of between 60 and 100 words per minute.

Varieties of vowel representation

Shorthand systems can also be classified according to the way that vowels are

represented.

Alphabetic Expression by "normal" vowel signs that are not fundamentally

different from consonant signs (e.g., Gregg, Duployan).

Mixed Alphabetic Expression of vowels and consonants by different kinds of

strokes (e.g., Arends' system for German or Melin's Swedish Shorthand where

vowels are expressed by upward or sideway strokes and consonants and

consonant clusters by downward strokes).

Abjad No expression of the individual vowels at all except for indications of

an initial or final vowel (e.g., Taylor).

Marked Abjad Expression of vowels by the use of detached signs (such as

dots, ticks, and other marks) written around the consonant signs.

Positional Abjad Expression of an initial vowel by the height of the word in

relation to the line, no necessary expression of subsequent vowels (e.g., Pitman,

which can optionally express other vowels by detached diacritics).

Abugida Expression of a vowel by the shape of a stroke, with the consonant

indicated by orientation (e.g., Boyd).

Mixed Abugida = Expression of the vowels by the width of the joining stroke

that leads to the following consonant sign, the height of the following consonant
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sign in relation to the preceding one, and the line pressure of the following

consonant sign (e.g., most German shorthand systems).

Machine shorthand systems

Traditional shorthand systems are written on paper with a stenographic pencil

or a stenographic pen. Some consider that strictly speaking only handwritten systems

can be called shorthand.

Machine shorthand is also a common term for writing produced by a

stenotype, a specialized keyboard. These are often used for court room transcripts

and in live subtitling. However, there are other shorthand machines used worldwide,

including: Velotype; Palantype in the UK; Grandjean Stenotype, used extensively in

France and French-speaking countries; Michela Stenotype, used extensively in Italy;

and Stenokey, used in Bulgaria and elsewhere. See also Speech-to-Text Reporter a

person using a form of realtime shorthand originally designed to assist deaf people.

Common modern English shorthand systems

One of the most widely used forms of shorthand is still the Pitman shorthand

method described above, which has been adapted for 15 languages. Although

Pitman's method was extremely popular at first and is still commonly used,

especially in the UK, its popularity has been superseded especially in the U.S. by

Gregg shorthand, a method developed by John Robert Gregg in 1888.

In the UK, Teeline shorthand is now more commonly taught and used than

Pitman, being a spelling-based system as opposed to one based on phonetics. Teeline

is also the most common method of shorthand taught to New Zealand journalists,
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who typically require 80 words per minute to obtain certification. Teeline is the

recommended system of the National Council for the Training of Journalists. Other

less commonly used systems in the UK are Pitman 2000, PitmanScript, Speedwriting

and Gregg.

Advantages of shorthand in the Business Education curriculum

Shorthand skill is very important to secretaries and journalists in regard to

their profession. Some say its outdated and irrelevant, and with our increasing

usage of sophisticated technology it might seem hard to argue otherwise. But it is

still relevant Aside from being an essential addition to any aspiring journalists CV,

it is convenient. Transcribing notes from shorthand is quicker than doing so from a

recording.

Furthermore, theres always that dreaded chance of a technical fault with

voice recorders, words appearing muffled or undecipherable, jeopardising the

quality and accuracy of the story. After all, precision is vital for any respectable

reporter. It can also be used to delineate sensitive issue. When conducting an

interview with someone involved in a distressing case, shorthand is again, the

preferred method. Of course, no one would want recording equipment placed in front

of them when they are in a sensitive situation, and here the benefit of shorthand is

clear again; its unobtrusive, discreet, and only those trained in shorthand will be

able to decipher it. In addition, with recording equipment being banned from

courtrooms, journalists will always use shorthand in the courts to report on events.
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If a reporters shorthand isnt up to scratch, they could end up in court. No,

not for crimes against shorthand journalists are required to keep their notes for

three years by law, so they can refer to them if their quotes are ever called into

question. Imagine how one journalist felt when Real Madrid footballer Cristiano

Ronaldo won damages from the Telegraph, after quotes published about him were

deemed to be inaccurate. It turns out that the journalist in questions shorthand was

regarded to be so sloppy that his reporting could not be accurate. Indeed, said

journalist would definitely benefit from a Pitman Teeline refresher course.

THE ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES OF SHORTHAND

Shorthand Recording Devices

Emergency The shorthand writer can
Transcription easily transcribe the fifth
letter first, then the second
one, etc.
What did you The shorthand writer can
say? stop the dictation if
something isn't heard.
Did that The shorthand writer can
make sense? supply synonyms or say
when something doesn't
make sense.
Editing It was not uncommon for
the dictator, upon read
back, to make changes,
sometimes extensive.
Oops (no equivalent)
Out of the The shorthand writer can't
Office take dictation while away
from the office.
Time Factor The shorthand writer must
be present to take the
dictation and can't be
It frequently took me longer to find the fifth letter
than it would have to take all the dictation AND
transcribe it.
I had one dictator who ate cookies when he
dictated to the machine. No, I could not
understand him half the time.
The machine simply records. If something
doesn't make sense, it will be found during
transcription--frequently when the dictator isn't
readily available.
Changes can be dictated but must then be found
in the transcript and adjusted. This process is
extremely time consuming.
Tapes can be accidentally erased or recorded over
before they are transcribed.
The brilliant idea or perfect wording for the
correspondence can be captured at 4 a.m., in the
car on the trip home, and other times when a
shorthand writer isn't readily available.
While the dictator talks into the machine, the
shorthand writer can be doing other tasks.
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doing other things at the

same time.
Speed Some dictation may be The machine keeps up, no matter how fast. Some
too fast for the shorthand transcription units permit the slowing down of the
writer, requiring a request tape so it can be better heard for transcription
to slow down (which may purposes.
break the train of thought
of the dictator).
Lost Skill If not used, shorthand Just remember to put in fresh batteries and the
speed deteriorates. machine is ready to roll.
Out Sick If the shorthand writer is Someone else can take the tape and easily
out sick, chances are no transcribe if required.
one else can transcribe the
notes from yesterday's
emergency.
What's that Every shorthand writer There are always words which can't be clearly
word? has written an outline or heard on the tape.
two (or more) which can't
be read.

Removal of shorthand in the Business Education curriculum

There has been many calls from both students and other stakeholders on the

removal of shorthand in the Business Education curriculum especially with the

introduction of the new modern technologies such as tape recorders and other

devices that can be used in typing verbatim all discussed in the meeting and retrieval

of all the discussions in the meeting. According to Orie (2015) there is need to

remove shorthand and be replaced with the teaching of various ways of recording

meeting discussions.

Also has been claimed that use of short hand can lead to the inaccuracy in

documentations since the spelling of words may be mistaken. According to Eze

(2015), just in the writing of ordinary language, the mistake in spelling may truncate
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other write-ups in the passage and in discussing the munities of the meeting. Based

on this antis of shorthand called for its removal.

CONCLUSION

Shorthand was originally developed as a method for capturing the spoken

word. It was authentic in terms of representing and accurately preserving orality. It

allowed for spontaneity on the part of the orator and allowed thoughts to flow freely.

Before the introduction of digital voice recorders, shorthand served to preserve the

magic of an oral performance, incorporating knowledge, understanding, creative

thought and insight into the material. The transcription provided written access to

that performance, and along with it the ability to revisit and tap into both the wisdom

delivered and wisdom gained.

Invented by men and later employed primarily by women, shorthand is

considered a mechanical skill and its a difficult argument to defend its academic

relevance. While it was never developed as a tool for literacy and education, it was

used by those who were both literate and educated. Shorthand set the stage for the

later development of more sophisticated recording technologies. Modernization and

the advancement of voice recording technologies have diminished the value of

shorthand as a writing technology. Although rarely used today, many people who

know how to use it maintain that it provides the benefits of improved memory,

multitasking of the brain, increased power of retention, improved organization and

increased productivity.
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use and to verbatim reporting, Chicago, S.C. Griggs and Co. [1878]
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Gabelsberger's principles): as already introduced in Germany, Denmark,
Sweden, Norway, Russia, Greece, Italy &c, Dresden,
Czerny, Karl (1925), Umlernbuch auf die deutsche Einheitskurzschrift : Fr
Gabelsbergersche Stenographen (in German), Eigenverl,
Munson, James Eugene (1880), Munson's system of phonography. The phrase-book
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phraseography ... etc, New York, J.E. Munson,
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