About Shorthand

Shorthand is a short script with which, human speech can be recorded at a high speed. 

The art of writing Shorthand is called Stenography. The word stenography is derived from the Greek words steno (narrow) and graphein (the art of writing).  That is why it was also known as tachygraphy (quick writing), brachygraphy (short writing), zeiglographia and semography. Hundreds of shorthand writing systems and scripts have been experimented and used for more than 2000 years.

Why Shorthand

Shorthand is considered as an efficient tool in writing text and speech in short-form, which saves time and energy. Shorthand is similar to 'internet lingo' or texting shorthand, except the fact that the shorthand writing style is different from OMG, TTYL and ASAP. It might be different from 'OMG', but it's a more efficient method of writing text for long periods of time. Imagine a person writing pages and pages of longhand notes during a college lecture or taking notes while  interpretation. Tiring, isn't it?, ... but Shorthand writers can do it quite easily and accurately.

Utilities: Past and Present

In the past, Shorthand has been used for various purposes - Notarii (reporters) wrote the speeches of roman senators; Shorthand was used to write sermons of religious leaders; It was used for notations (marginal notes) in public documents to prevent forgery; Samuel Papys wrote his diary in shorthand; George Bernard Shaw wrote all his literature in shorthand; Famous Novelist Charles Dickens was also a shorthand writer; Shakespeare's plays were preserved by means of shorthand;  Julius Caesar, the King is also known to have written in Shorthand. In Hindu mythology, it is believed that Mahabharata - the great epic was written in shorthand by lord Ganesha.  In Mughal Era, Qatibs (reporters) were appointed to take down Shahi Farmaan (orders of the king). References in Kalidasa's works to Scribes and Oliezuthalers (sound writers) indicates the works of Tamil writers. These evidences indicate the prevalence of shorthand since time immemorial.

Today, Shorthand is widely used by reporters and interviewers. Shorthand can be used in day to day life, especially by college students, professional writers, authors or lawyers. Shorthand is being used to record the proceedings of legislative bodies, testimony of Law Courts, literary work, business and official correspondence etc. It's importance has been recognized by Scholars, Linguists, Phoneticians and Political leaders. Shorthand writers are indispensable even in the present day world of computerization, and no technological or scientific advancement can replace shorthand writing since it requires intelligence, understanding and discretion, which cannot be expected from a machine.

Know More

Stenography is a profession with multiple job opportunities. After doing the Course in Stenography one can become a Stenographer, Personal Assistant, Personal or Private Secretary, Stenography Teacher, Instructor, Lecturer, Training Officer, Assembly and Parliament Reporter through direct recruitment depending on the qualifications and speed in Stenography. Even the highest post of Parliamentary Reporter is available through direct recruitment, if one is able to qualify even a speed of 140 w.p.m. and is a graduate in Arts, Commerce or Science. Practitioners, Scholars, Writers and political leaders have expressed their opinions about Stenography, e,g,

• Charles Dickens :“Learning of Shorthand is equal to learning of 6 new languages.”

• Francis Becon :"Everybody is a debtor of its profession, particularly gaining from it" which truly applies to large majority of Shorthand writers.

• George Bernard Shaw :“It is the greatest mistake for the professional authors to neglect shorthand because he or she has no intention of becoming a reporter.... I am not an expert writer in the reporter’s sense of the word, because I have never worked as a reporter and have had no serious practice in verbatim work. Yet few people can have made more use of shorthand than I, or found it more indispensable. Practically all my literary work is written in shorthand. It makes me independent of typewriters, of Dictaphones and of the immediate presence of a Secretary. Much of my writing is done in trains, where these aids are not available and where I cannot write longhand, nor any cursive Shorthand, legibly, though I can make any geometrical Shorthand like Pitman’s sufficiently plain to ensure a correct transcript from the typist.”

• Mahatma Gandhi : "Shorthand writers-cum-reporters hold the prestige of public men in the hollow of their palms. ….Unless they are fully equipped, they will fail and not mark.”

• Dr. Gopal Datt Bist :"A Teacher of Stenography without the knowledge of Linguistics is like a Doctor without the knowledge of human anatomy."

Experiments in the field of Stenography during the last 40 years has proved that if proper approach for its learning is adopted, one can easily aspire for immediate and attractive employment in all the three wings of any democracy – the executive, the judiciary and the legislature, along with trade, commerce and industry. Accurate learning with proper theory books, work-book, proper help books, writing material with the modern electronic aids, Audio Cassettes, CDs etc. will ensure quick results. Testing of acquired skills according to the Practical Workbook exercises will enthuse learners to give more of their potential to the subject and become confident self-learners. Reading of written script and their transcription play an important role in becoming a perfect shorthand writer. Self-learning series of books and Audio-CDs/aids are of immense use for fast and accurate writing.

Conclusion

Stenography is on the decline in spite of its uses in all wings of democracy - the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature - besides Trade, Commerce and Industry. Unless the subject of Stenography is classified in its proper Faculty of Languages or Linguistics, it can not become a subject of higher studies for scholars and will remain a subject for the left-outs as is the case in Vocational +2 Courses, the I.T.Is. or the Polytechnics. The Author's efforts made in this direction with the CBSE, the UGC and the Ministry of Human Resource Development have started showing good results.