Practicing Gregg

 Gregg Shorthand

 Pitman Shorthand

History and development of shorthand. / 속기의 역사와 발전

Modern symbol systems. / 현대의 기호 체계

Modern abbreviated longhand systems. / 현대의 축약형 보통기록

Machine shorthand. / 기계식 속기

Shorthand is a method of writing rapidly by substituting characters, abbreviations, or symbols for letters, words, or phrases. Other names for shorthand are stenography (close, little, or narrow writing), tachygraphy (swift writing), and brachygraphy (short writing). Because shorthand can be written rapidly, the shorthand writer is able to record the proceedings of legislative bodies, the testimony of law courts, or dictation in business correspondence. In addition, shorthand has been used through the centuries as a cultural tool: George Bernard Shaw wrote his plays in shorthand; Samuel Pepys recorded his diary in shorthand; Cicero's orations, Martin Luther's sermons, and Shakespeare's plays were all preserved by means of shorthand.

History and development of shorthand.

Through the centuries shorthand has been written in systems based on orthography (normal spelling), on phonetics (the sounds of words), and on arbitrary symbols, such as a small circle within a larger circle to represent the phrase, "around the world." Most historians date the beginnings of shorthand with the Greek historian Xenophon, who used an ancient Greek system to write the memoirs of Socrates. It was in the Roman Empire, however, that shorthand first became generally used. Marcus Tullius Tiro, a learned freedman who was a member of Cicero's household, invented the notae Tironianae ("Tironian notes"), the first Latin shorthand system. Devised in 63 BC, it lasted over a thousand years. Tiro also compiled a shorthand dictionary. Among the early accomplished shorthand writers were the emperor Titus, Julius Caesar, and a number of bishops. With the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe, however, shorthand became associated with witchcraft and magic, and disappeared.

While he was archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket (c. 1118-70) encouraged research into Tiro's shorthand. By the 15th century, with the discovery in a Benedictine monastery of a lexicon of Ciceronian notes and a Psalter written in Tironian shorthand, a renewed interest in the practice was aroused. Somewhat influenced by Tiro's system, Timothy Bright designed an English system in 1588 that consisted of straight lines, circles, and half circles. (Tiro's method was cursive, based on longhand script.) Bright's system was called Characterie: an Arte of Shorte, Swifte, and Secrete Writing by Character.

The 17th century produced four important inventors of shorthand systems: John Willis, who is considered to be the father of modern shorthand; Thomas Shelton, whose system was used by Samuel Pepys to write his famous diary; Jeremiah Rich, who popularized the art by publishing not only his system but also the Psalms and the New Testament in his method of shorthand; and William Mason, whose method was used to record sermons and to translate the Bible in the years following the Reformation. Mason's system was later adapted and became the official system of the British Parliament.

Several other systems were invented in the next decades, but most of them were short-lived. One of the most successful was that of the British stenographer Samuel Taylor, who invented a system in 1786 that was based on that of one of his predecessors. Taylor's method was adapted into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, and other languages.

The Industrial Revolution brought a demand for stenographers in business. Because the geometric systems then in use required a high level of education and long training, a need existed for a method that would be easier to learn. The German Franz Xaver Gabelsberger (1789-1849) turned away from geometric methods and developed a simple cursive system. Gabelsberger's system, which he called "Speech-sign art," was based on Latin longhand characters and had a neatness and beauty of outline that is unsurpassed. It enjoyed a spontaneous success and spread to Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia, Finland, and Russia. The system's simplicity made it an easy matter to translate it into other languages, and in 1928 it became the Italian national system.

Modern symbol systems.

Sir Isaac Pitman (1813-97), an educator who advocated spelling reform, was knighted by Queen Victoria for his contributions to shorthand. Pitman had learned Taylor's method of shorthand but saw its weakness and designed his own system to incorporate writing by sound, the same principle he advocated in phonetic longhand spelling. He published his system in 1837, calling it Stenographic Sound-Hand. It consisted of 25 single consonants, 24 double consonants, and 16 vowel sounds. Similar, related sounds were represented by similar signs, shading was used to eliminate strokes, the shortest signs were used to represent the shortest sounds, and single strokes were used to represent single consonants. At first, the principle of positioning to express omitted vowels--i.e., writing the word above, on, or below the line of writing--was reserved until later lessons, after the theory had been presented. Later, positioning was introduced with the first lesson.

In 1852 Isaac Pitman's brother, Benn Pitman, brought the system to America, where, with several slight modifications, it became the method most extensively used in the United States and Canada. An investigation in 1889 stated that 97 percent of the shorthand writers in America used the Isaac Pitman system or one of its modifications. Pitman shorthand has been adapted to Afrikaans, Arabic, Armenian, Dutch, French, Gaelic, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Spanish, and other languages.

The Irish-born John Robert Gregg (1867-1948) taught himself at the age of 10 an adaptation of Taylor's shorthand. He then studied Pitman by himself but disliked its angles, shading, and positioning. Later, while in his early teens, he read a history of shorthand by Thomas Anderson, a member of the Shorthand Society of London. Anderson listed the essentials of a good shorthand system, stating that no method then in use possessed them: independent characters for the vowels and consonants, all characters written with the same thickness, all characters written on a single line of writing, and few and consistent abbreviation principles.

Gregg was 18 when he invented his own system and 21 when he published it in the form of a pamphlet, Light-Line Phonography (1888). The Gregg system was predominantly a curve-motion shorthand with circles, hooks, and loops. Based on the ellipse or oval and on the slope of longhand, its motion was curvilinear. Obtuse angles were eliminated by natural blending of lines, vowels were joined, shading was eliminated, and writing was lineal, or in one position.

In 1893 Gregg took his system to the United States, and Light-Line Phonography became Gregg Shorthand. The inventor found that, except for the eastern coastal cities, shorthand was virtually unknown. At that time high schools began teaching shorthand, and Gregg traveled through the Midwest, the West, and the South, selling his system and demonstrating his teaching methods with great success. The Gregg system supplanted Pitman's as the predominant system taught in the United States. It also spread to Canada and to the British Isles. Gregg shorthand has been published in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Russian, Italian, Tagalog, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Scottish Gaelic, Esperanto, Sinhalese, and Polish.

An early German system of importance was the Stolze-Schrey method. Wilhelm Stolze invented his system at about the same time as Gabelsberger and along similar lines. In 1885 Ferdinand Schrey, a Berlin merchant, attempted to simplify the Gabelsberger system. Sometime later the Stolze and Schrey methods were merged and became the leading system in Germany and Switzerland. Stolze-Schrey shorthand was also adapted to other languages, including Danish, Dutch, English, French, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish.

In 1924, after two decades of development, a new system based on the Gabelsberger and Stolze-Schrey methods was completed. As revised in 1936 and 1968, the Deutsche Einheitskurzschrift is the principal system now used in Germany and Austria.

Modern abbreviated longhand systems.

The system of Speedwriting shorthand was created around 1924 by Emma Dearborn, an instructor at Columbia University. Her method was designed to be taken down on the typewriter; but in 1942 it was changed to be written by hand with pen or pencil. Speedwriting shorthand uses the letters of the alphabet and the known punctuation marks to represent sounds. For example, the sound of ch is written with a capital C; the word each is thus written eC. More than 20,000 words in the Speedwriting dictation can be written with a total of 60 rules and a list of approximately 100 brief forms and standard abbreviations. Speedwriting shorthand is taught in several languages--including English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Flemish, and Afrikaans--in many countries.

Forkner Alphabet shorthand was first published in 1952 in the United States. The author, Hamden Forkner, spent 10 years in research before publishing the first edition of the new system, which uses a combination of conventional letters and a few symbols for the hard-to-write letters and sounds. For example, H is expressed by a short dash above the line. This same short dash through the letter C gives the ch sound, through the longhand S it gives sh, and across the T it designates th. Abbreviations are used for a number of common words.

Another American method, Hy-Speed Longhand, was first published under that title in 1932. Based on Andrew J. Graham's Brief Longhand, published in 1857, its principles include the omission of silent letters and most vowels, the substitution of letters, numbers, or signs, and the combination of certain letters.

Stenoscript ABC Shorthand is a phonetic system using only longhand and common punctuation marks. It originated in London in 1607 and was revised by Manuel Claude Avancena, who published a modern edition in 1950. Stenoscript has 24 brief forms that must be memorized; e.g., ak stands for acknowledge, ac for accompany, bz for business, and gvt for government.

Stenospeed originated in 1950 in the United States; the first publication was called Stenospeed High Speed Longhand, but in 1951 the system was revised under the name of Stenospeed ABC Shorthand. It is used by many schools as a standard text.

Other alphabetic or partially alphabetic systems have also been devised. Among these is Teeline, a system used extensively in Great Britain.

Machine shorthand.

A method of recording speech by using machines became commercially feasible around 1906, when the Stenotype machine was invented by Ward Stone Ireland, an American stenographer and court reporter. At present, the Stenograph and Stenotype machines are used in offices to some extent, but they are principally employed for conference and court reporting. Both machines have keyboards of 22 keys. Because the operator uses all fingers and both thumbs, any number of keys can be struck simultaneously. The machines print roman letters on a strip of paper that folds automatically into the back of the machine. The operator controls the keys by touch and is thus able to watch the speaker. The fingers of the left hand control the keys that print consonants occurring before vowels. These keys print on the left side of the tape. The thumbs control the vowels, which are printed in the centre of the tape, and the fingers of the right hand control the consonants that follow the vowels, which are printed on the right side of the tape. There are not separate keys for each letter of the English alphabet; thus, those letters for which there are no keys are represented by combinations of other letters. Abbreviations are used for some of the most frequent words, giving the operator the ability to write two or three words in one stroke. ( A.R.R./Ed.)

A.R.R. Allien R. Russon. Emeritus Professor of Management, College of Business, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Author of Methods of Teaching Shorthand.

역사가인 크세노폰 (BC 5~4세기)이 고대 형태인 그리스 속기를 사용하기는 했지만, 최초의 체계적인 속기법은 BC 63년에 키케로의 친구이자 해방노예였던 마르쿠스 툴리우스 티로가 키케로와 세네카 및 로마 원로원 원로들의 연설을 기록하기 위해 고안한 '노타이'(notae)였다. 티로가 고안한 속기법은 로마의 학교에서 가르쳤고 황제들도 배워 널리 사용되었다. 로마 제국이 멸망한 뒤에도 티로의 속기법은 여러 세기 동안 계속 사용되었다.

현대 속기법이 생겨난 곳은 영국으로, 티모시 브라이트의 〈기호의 사용 : 기호를 사용하여 짧고 빠르게 쓰는 기술 Characterie : an Arte of Shorte, Swifte, and Secrete Writing by Character〉(1588)이 현대 속기법의 효시이다. 그뒤 50년 동안 13종류의 속기법이 발표된 것으로 알려졌는데, 그중 상당수는 여러 차례 개정되었다. 이 초기의 속기법 중 가장 유명한 것은 토머스 셸턴의 〈짧게 쓰기 Short Writing〉(1626)였으며, 새뮤얼 핍스는 그의 유명한 일기를 이 방법으로 썼다. 약 2세기 뒤에 유명한 영국 작가 찰스 디킨스는 속기를 배워 한때 법정과 의회에서 기록인으로 일하기도 했다. 영국 초기의 속기법 중 대부분은 정자법이나 알파벳에 기초한 것이었던 반면, 소리나는 대로 쓰는 방법이 점점 인기를 끌기 시작했다. 필립 기브스 목사는 1736년 처음으로 장모음과 단모음을 구분함으로써 알파벳에 따른 기준을 버리고 발음에 따른 기준을 채택했다. 아이작 피트먼은 1837년 〈속기의 소리와 손의 관계 Stenographic Sound-Hand〉를 발표해 표음속기법(表音速記法)의 발전에 새로운 시대를 열었다. 그는 언어의 발음을 과학적으로 분류하고, 자신이 고안한 기호를 거기에 알맞게 배열했을 뿐만 아니라 빨리 쓰기를 위해 만든 간단한 약자 체계를 도입했다. 피트먼의 속기법은 표음속기법이므로 모든 단어를 그 소리에 따라 쓴다. 따라서 lain, deal, may, knife 등의 단어는 철자가 마치 ln, dl, m, nf인 것처럼 쓰게 된다. 자음은 단순한 기하 형태와 직선 및 얕은 곡선으로 나타낸다. 모든 자음은 될 수 있으면 짝을 이룬다. 예를 들어 가볍게 그은 획은 f 발음을 나타내고 같은 식으로 약간 굵게 그은 획은 그와 짝을 이루는 v 발음을 나타낸다. 피트먼의 속기법은 몇 년 후 미국에 소개되었다. 오스트레일리아•뉴질랜드•인도 등 동반구에서는 피트먼 속기법이 주요한 비중을 차지하고 있다.

1888년 존 로버트 그레그는 영국에서 〈세선 (細線)표음속기법 Light-Line Phonography〉을 발표했으며, 곧 그의 속기법을 미국에 소개했다. 그의 속기법은 미국의 다른 속기법보다 더 많은 학교들에서 교육되고 있으며 더 많은 속기사들이 사용하고 있다. 그것은 세계 대부분의 나라들에서 소개되고 가르치고 있다. 그레그 속기법은 다음과 같은 원칙에 기초를 둔다. ① 이 속기법은 표음속기법이며 모든 단어는 발음에 따라 쓴다. ② 전체적으로 짙거나 굵은 선은 사용하지 않으며 모든 기호는 가는 선으로 쓴다. ③ 자체(字體)는 보통 필기법의 요소들에 기초를 두고 있으며 획은 평범하고 움직임은 고르다. ④ 모음은 원과 갈고리 모양의 기호로 나타내고, 단어는 피트먼 속기법에서처럼 모음이 생략되었음을 암시하기 위해 속기를 하는 선 위나 그 선상에 쓰지 않는다. ⑤ 모음은 펜을 떼지 않고 자연스러운 순서로 단어의 외곽선에 써넣는다. ⑥ 빨리 쓰기를 위한 곡선 동작이 많다. 그레그 속기법은 속기의 속도를 높이기 위해 가장 많이 쓰는 단어의 일부와 혼합자음•접미사•접두사 등을 간결한 형태와 약자 원리로 사용하고 있다.

20세기에 속기법의 경향은 전부는 아니라도 대부분의 알파벳 문자에 대하여 보통의 기호를 사용하는 것이다. 예를 들어 어브리비에이트릭스(Abbreviatrix : 1945)와 베인스 타입트 숏핸드(Baine's Typed Shorthand : 1917), 카터 브리프핸드(1957), 포크너 알파벳(1952), 거스텐 알파벳 숏핸드(1949), 하이스피드 롱핸드(Hy-Speed Longhand : 1932), 퀵핸드(1953), 스피드핸드(1952), 스피드라이팅(1923, 1951), 스테노스크립트(1955), 스테노스피드(1950), 진맨(1950) 등이 모두 그러하다. 사실 빠른 필기에서 보통 기호를 사용한다는 생각은 사이먼 조지 보들리의 〈카드무스 브리타니쿠스 Cadmus Britannicus〉에까지 거슬러 올라가는 것으로, 3가지 체계를 포함한다. 즉 알파벳 문자를 사용한 '슬로어 숏핸드'와 필기체 속기인 '스위프터 숏핸드' 및 '음악용 속기'로 이루어진다. 보들리의 '슬로어 숏핸드'와 이러한 유형의 현대 속기법 사이의 주된 차이점은 보들리의 문자가 보통의 '활자체'로 이루어져 있어 서로 이어 쓸 수 없었다는 것이다.

한국의 속기

역사

한국의 속기는 박여일이 하와이에서 1909년 '조선속기법'을 창안, 〈신한일보〉에 발표한 것이 시초이다. 1925년에는 방익환•이원상이 〈시대일보〉에 '조선어 속기술'을, 1927년에는 김한터가 〈신조선〉에 '우리말 속기법'을, 엄정우가 〈동광〉에 '조선속기법'을, 1935년 강준원이 〈동아일보〉에 '조선어속기술강해'를 각각 발표했으나 일제강점기에는 모두 발표에만 그쳤다. 8•15해방 후에는 1946년 장기태의 '일파식'을 필두로, 같은 해 김천한의 '고려식', 1947년 박인태의 '중앙식', 1948년 이동근의 '동방식'과 박송의 '조선식', 1950년 김세종의 '세종식', 1956년 남상천의 '남천식' 등이 창안되었다. 1968년에는 국회에 속기양성소가 설립되었고, 1969년 의회속기법식 연구위원회가 연구하여 창안•발표한 '의회법식'을 국회속기사양성소에서 교육하기 시작했다. 1990년에는 1970년대 후반경에 국내에 도입된 속기타자기와 컴퓨터를 연결한 컴퓨터 속기(Computer Aided Transcription/CAT : 자동번문장치)가 개발되었다.

종류

한국의 속기종류는 크게 수필속기와 기계속기로 구분된다. 창안자에 따라 수필속기의 경우에는 20~30가지가, 기계속기의 경우에는 1가지 종류가 있다. 수필속기 가운데 현재 널리 활용되고 있는 법식으로는 의회식•고려식•동방식 등이며, 그밖에 신세계식•일파식•남천식•중앙식•서울식•한국식(조선식)•한글식 등이 활용되고 있다. 기계속기의 경우는 1가지 종류밖에 없기 때문에 특별한 법식 이름이 없으며 컴퓨터 속기로 통용되고 있다.

속기사

한국의 속기사는 약 1,000여 명(1992)이고, 주요근무처는 국회•지방의회•기업체•정부기관•개인사무실•학원 등이다. 국가기술자격 한글속기에는 1•2•3급이 있으며, 시험은 1982년에 검정관리공단에 의해 처음으로 시행되었으나 1984년부터는 대한상공회의소에서 1년에 1~2회에 걸쳐 시행하고 있다. 1•2•3급 모두 연설문•논설문으로 나누어 각각 5분씩 낭독되는 내용을 기록한 후, 각각 1시간 동안 원고지에 정리하여 제출해야 한다. 연설문의 경우에는 1분당 1급은 320자, 2급은 300자, 3급은 270자가, 논설문의 경우에는 1분당 1급은 300자, 2급은 270자, 3급은 240자가 낭독되는데, 원고지에 옮겨 적은 글자 중 맞는 글자 수가 90％ 이상이어야 합격된다.