Few if any new symbols need to be learned. Most systems consist of rules for abbreviating words together with memorized abbreviations. If the rules are consistently applied, they can be reversed to decode your notes.
Rules usually call for dropping of most vowels, some words, and using semi-phonetic spelling. An example of "briefhand" might be:
"The Sierra Club sued the Forest Service to stop clear-cutting on the National Forests of Texas, and judge Robert Parker decided that clear-cutting "took" red-cockaded woodpeckers within the meaning of the Endangered Species Act."
Which might be abbreviated to:
Srr Clb sued FS to stp cc on NF's in Tx, v jdg R.P. dcd'd cc "took" RCWs undr ESA.
Shorthand systems based on alphabetic characters can always fall back on longhand where clarity is important or when you might forget what an abbreviation stands for, such as "RCWs" standing for "red-cockaded woodpeckers." The example above, unless transcribed soon, would likely become undecipherable.
No comments:
Post a Comment