SHORTHAND WRITING BY MACHINE

Evening Star, Issue 21641, 9 February 1934, Page 11

SHORTHAND WRITING BY MACHINE

“ STEKQTYPING ’* Experiments are being conducted by several British business firms with ail ingenious system of “ shorthand writ, ing ” by machine which, it is claimed,is simpler, quicker, and more accurate in practice than script shorthand. The ordinary letters of the alphabet _ are used, with a few conventional signs, and the notes produced can be read ' by anyone after a little practice. The system is based on principles quite different from those of existing shorthand and typewriting systems. The machine, known as the 4 Steno* writer,” resembles a typewriter in construction, but is smaller, light in weight, and perfectly silent. It has twenty-one characters, set on parallel type-bars in one line and actuated by a double row of keys. Any number of keys up to eight may be’ struck at one time, each stroke printing ai syllable or word on a roll of paper, about H inches wide, which moves on automatically to a fresh line .after each stroke. " The i - esulting strip or, “ stenotypiug ” looks like ordinary, printing with the letters spread out at irregular intervals, each lino containing one syllabic or a complete word.. The operator uses the “ touch ’ method, the keys bearing no labels. At a recent demonstration a stenotypisfc made an accurate verbatim record or, newspaper extracts dictated in several different languages at approximately, 150 words a minute, without any appearancc of hurry. It is claimed that higher speeds, up to 230 words a minute. are attainable, and that notetaking can be continued at these high! speeds for long periods without tigueAn advantage on which special emphasis is laid is .the universal legibility of the notes taken, which enables one expert stenatypist to keep. five or six ordinary typists at work simultaneously. On the other hand, where verbatim notes are taken purely fop record purposes, the stenotyped. strips may be filed without transcription. The “ Stenowriter ” ’ has been widely used on the Continent for some years. At the League of Nations and the International Labour Office in Geneva full reports of conferences have been produced by its use immediately, after the close of the discussions, the strips being handed out for transcription by typists at frequent intervals during the proceedings. _ . ‘ “ Stenotyping,” it is claimed, is much more rapidly and easily learnt than script shorthand. Three months*! study at the training school of Stenotype (Jrandjean, Limited, the producers of the machine, is stated to be sufficient to produce a speed of 100 words a minute, and in about four months complete commercial proficiency is attained. At present the “ Stenowriter ’ < is made in France, but manufacture in Great Brituip is contemplated.