the main issue with legibility that i’ve noticed is probably from the fact that i never properly learned how to write in cursive, so idk how to make letters like “r” and “n” look more distinct from each other. also let me know if im using shortened versions works incorrectly 🙏

I'm using rodell to take my notes at school. It works well for me. I took these notes while watching a history video.

Estoy usando rodell para tomar apuntes en la escuela. Funciona bien para mí. Tomé este apunte mientras veíq un video de historia

This is for genealogy research. A divorce court case in Idaho in 1951. Thanks!

These marks come from a private letter written around 1800-1810 by an American official abroad. The writer was born in the 1750s and was schooled in the American colonies in the 1770s.

The marks stand in short runs, a few signs each, mixed with other material on the page. I suspect they are the short common words of the text (“and”, “of”, “the”, “that”), but I am not sure.

The sheet shows the commonest signs and some runs as they stand. A few facts that may help:

• The signs stand apart, with almost no joins.
• The commonest are a low wave of one to three cups, a “3”-like sign with a tail below the line, and a rising slash with a dot.
• About a quarter of the waves have a dot above.

Three questions:

1. Is this a known system (Byrom, Weston, Mason/Gurney, Annet, a Taylor variant), or a private one?
2. Can you read any single sign?
3. Or is it not shorthand at all?

I have the manual but I’d much prefer videos. When I look on YouTube everything I find is either simplified or anniversary. I was interested in notehand just because I wanted something for my own personal writing and notes that would not be readable to most people. Speed is not really that important as long as it’s not slower than normal writing. Should I do simplified instead?

Hi!- im looking for advice on which shorthand i should learn as i would like to learn a shorthand, any kind as long as it is in english, im very new at this, and i wanted to know if you had any websites to learn said shorthand while you were at it. I would like one that is both clear to read and one of the faster ones while being simple to memorize. Thanks a lot!-

Can anyone help with translating “A chair sits empty, quiet now.” into Pitman. My grandma died recently and i want to get this as a tattoo. It’s a line from a poem i read at her funeral, in the shorthand language she tried to teach me as a young child. Thanks.

Hi I inherited a recipe and I would like to know it's contents but I Struggle with Spanish Shorthand

It looks like it would help a lot in school with taking notes. Where should I start learning that is free?

Can anyone decipher what this note says? Found it in this record sleeve, we’re guessing it was written by my partners late great aunt

I sent to London for a copy of my great 2x grandfather's inquest report. He killed himself in London in 1849. The 2 pages of testimony appear to be in shorthand. I sent them to Tracey in the UK who could not help me. She said they are not Pitman or Gregg. Hoping that someone can help me here. I've attached. Thank you.

Ive been learning teeline for about a week, and from reading reddit posts and resources, most people struggle to read back their notes, i was wondering if this is still a big issue, once ur more advanced with teeline, if not should i learn another form of shorthand like greeg

This is just one page, there are many more.

This is a Gabelsberger. Not your ordinary, old noodle script, no. It's Gabelsberger on steroids. With a hefty serving of both loopididoop and noodledoodle ;)

"Fællessystemet" means "The Common System", and should have been - inspired by DEK - a happy merger/marriage between Worms' System (Stolze-Shrey) and Gabelsberger.

That did not happen, and Denmark ended up with a modernized Gabelsberger, and it remained to be the official, government shorthand.

Outside of the capital, however, Worms' System dominated.

I am very happy to have chosen Dansk Stenografi (Worms' System)!

This is a small sampler.

I do not intend to scan this. I just wanted a first hand look at the competition!

I'm a Gregg writer, but am fairly well informed about other systems of shorthand. My impression is that Forkner shorthand is experiencing a recent surge in interest. (The few textbooks that show up on Ebay etc. are listed for very high asking prices).

I'm curious what attracts people to Forkner, instead of another alphabetic system like Speedwriting, which was much better known, more widely taught, and has more readily available books and materials. (There were other published alphabetic systems as well, of course, such as Stenoscript and SuperWrite).

After learning Gregg in the 1960s, with its primarily phonetic basis, the logic of most alphabetic systems continues to elude me, although I definitely understand the appeal of a shorthand that looks like longhand cursive writing.

I'm also curious if the fact that many people today don't learn cursive handwriting is an impediment to learning any of the alphabetic systems, which seem to me to presume familiarity with looped cursive letters

Very happy to have found this little reading book! 13 texts in this 32 page booklet from 1958.

It covers Grundskriften, so there's that. I guess you don't need any help once you've mastered the dark arts of Ilskrift! :)

According to Melin in his history book, Worms' System was so well designed from the get go that it didn't undergo extensive changes, so I hope that this is readable from a 1984 (not the book, the Worms' System revision) standpoint. I bet it is!

Ref: https://www.reddit.com/r/shorthand/comments/1wp0wni/worms_system_danish_shorthand_modeled_after/

If any of you nerds want a copy of this little reading book in an obscure Germanic language, send me a message ;)

Hii guys I’m in Seville and bought a used book; on the back cover, I found this inscription that looks like it’s written in shorthand—can anyone help me translate it?

https://youtu.be/YP7ILgJ7D-E?si=r_SWDJhUeCBVeJs1

As can be seen in this video, the heel of the palm appears to be in contact with the paper.

It is to be noted that it is merely in contact, that is it glides, and not anchored while writing.

In much the texts I have consulted and studied in my spare time, I have developed the understanding that authors advice against the wrist touching the paper.

Then, does the 'wrist' not include the heel of the palm?

Until now, I have always assumed any part around the wrist area to be excluded from this.

And I recently tried writing as such, as came to the realisation that using the heel of the palm along with the nail of the pinky finger provides greater control in executing outlines. Coupled with a free play of fingers as mobility of the arm, an ideal situation is set up. And woritng becomes incredible smooth and efficient.

YouTube

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Japanese Writing and Shorthand — Oct. 9, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuqfsPtmVss

Hirano Shorthand (Japanese) written by Akihito Hirano.

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