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In addition to using the full strokes Tee and Dee,
the sounds of T and D can be indicated by halving the preceding
stroke. This gives the two advantages of a briefer outline and an
indication of presence or absence of vowels by the choice of method.
-
In
most words of one syllable, thin strokes are halved to add T and
thick strokes are halved to add D.
-
If
there is a final hook, an attached diphthong, or 2 or more
syllables in the word, the halving can generally signify either
T or D and context is required to determine which is meant.
-
The
above rules are not mutually exclusive, and which is used
depends on how legible the resultant outline is.
-
The
third position for a halved stroke is on the line (same as
second position) and not through the line.
-
Em
En Ell Ar Ing Imp/Imb behave slightly differently.
-
Ler
and Rer cannot be halved.
-
Halving is not used when there is a final vowel after the T or
D.
-
The
T or D is pronounced after a stroke's final hook (N F V Shun)
but before a final Circle S, Stee Loop and "dot -ing".
-
Longhand spelling must be ignored, as many words ending in -ed
are pronounced with a T sound e.g. "tripped"
Words of one syllable
(monosyllables)
– Thin strokes
– Thick strokes
– Final hook
– Attached diphthong
Words of more than one
syllable
– General rule
– Single stroke outlines
Ray
Hay
Way Yay
Extra care with straight
strokes
Em En Ell Ar
Ing
Ler Rer
Compound words
Vowel placement
Order of reading final
attachments
When not to use
For halving of Imp/Imb, see
Theory 16 Imp/Imb page
Words of one syllable
(monosyllables)
(a)
Thin stroke is halved to add T sound:
pat apt tapped wrapped spot sapped
supped sipped prate plate sprint stopped swept
taut tight teat treat straight strut street chat chit itched stitched switched
cat act sacked stacked staked stickered stroked skate
scoot ached crate cleat
pricked backed blocked tacked/tact
tract/tracked racked docked mocked knocked
fat fight fought fraught fright
flight float flit aft soft sift swift staffed fluffed
thought threat throat east iced shot shoot
brushed crashed fished light slight let lit
wilt welt wet wit yet yacht hat hot heat height quote
quit squat
Use stroke Dee to add D sound to a thin stroke:
pad paid prod pride/pried prayed sprayed played
splayed plead plied
tad Ted toad tread trod stride
strode strayed strewed/Strood chide chewed
code kid keyed clad cried skid skied
cowed crowd screwed
fad fade feed fried frayed freed Fred
thud thread shade showed shred
led lead sled willed wild wide wade/weighed head yawed quad squad
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(b)
Thick stroke is halved to add D sound:
bad bed bid bride bread/bred braid/brayed breed blade sobbed stubbed swabbed
dad dead did died dried
jawed jade edged pledged staged caged
good God guide egged sagged tagged
dogged nagged mugged swigged glowed
grade/greyed/grayed void sieved staved bathed* breathed clothed *past tense of bathe
seethed soothed smoothed swathed zed eased
oozed
Use stroke Tee to add T sound to a thick stroke:
bat bought boat boot bright brought
blight bloat bleat
dot debt date jet jut get goat gloat greet grate*
vet vote
*great is a short form, halved
Essentially, halving these short words keeps the light/unvoiced
sounds together and the heavy/voiced sounds together. This occurs
naturally in English when there is no vowel between e.g. "apt" and
"ebbed". There are a great number of such short words in English and
as these outlines contain minimal information when unvocalised, this
rule provides a degree of differentiation. It might be easier to
remember thus: halve for two thins or two thicks.
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(c)
Final hook If there is a final hook, halving can signify either
T or D, for both thin and thick strokes. This allows many past
tenses to be formed without changing the form. The T or D is spoken after
the hook sound:
pint/pined, puffed paved, bent/bend,
briefed braved, brand brunt, stand stint, zoned
tint/tinned, dint/dinned, dived daft, chant
chained, joint/joined, cant/canned can't
scanned/scant, cleaned Clint, gaunt gained, grant
ground, graft grooved, fent/fend
font fond, fount found, vent/vend,
shunt/shunned shined, learnt/learned Note: learnèd
(d) Final attached diphthong Halving can
signify either T or D, for both thin and thick strokes:
proud ploughed/plowed pout bowed*
browed
tout trout doubt drought
*rhyming with "loud"
cute/cued/queued skewed
spewed spout viewed vowed stout Stroud*
*Dictionary outline, but stroke D would be clearer if
the place name is unfamiliar
In
plurals, the vowel is no longer joined and so the outline reverts to
rule (a) and (b) above, i.e. write both strokes if one is thick and
one is thin:
bout bouts doubt doubts drought
droughts feud feuds
Outlines that represent "two thins or two thicks" can retain their
halving in the plural, they are not relying on an attached diphthong
to be allowed to halve:
pout pouts
sprout sprouts
tout touts trouts mute mutes newt newts nude nudes
Exception:
swerve swerved because it would not be clear
to write Circle Sway and a hook on the same side of a halved stroke.
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Words of more than one
syllable
(a)
General rule is that halving can represent either T or D,
regardless of whether the halved stroke is thick or thin. The more
strokes or attachments that an outline has, the easier it is to
read, and so there is less need for the restrictive rule that covers
monosyllables:
inept tepid insipid reptile rapid abrupt
morbid rabbit rabid abide debit
seated seeded studied studded stated added wedded wetted
expedite credit budget budged
offered suffered severed cravat
method epithet complied complete supplied displayed
uttered ordered settled
criticised ostracised measured treasured leisured
complaint/complained,
restraint/restrained, content/contend, system issued
Past tenses in "-ed" generally halve the last
stroke, and therefore the outline will sometimes change slightly.
You cannot just add stroke Dee to the end of the existing outline.
As a rule outlines with similar sounds have similar outlines and do
not show differences based on what part of speech it is (although
some clashes do need to be dealt with by having distinguishing
outlines):
note noted intend intended respond
responded waft wafted
(b) Some two-syllable words obey the monosyllable
rule:
Some to provide distinguishing pairs:
sacred secret, applaud applied, asset
assayed aside acid Note
also:
acidic
acetic
Some because, despite their 2 syllables, halving
would produce an outline as short as the monosyllables, and so there
is the
same need for differentiation between T and D:
afraid echoed stupid abate abut/abbot edit audit
sedate
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(c) An initial stroke halved generally follows
the thin/T thick/D rule:
protection protagonist pretext potable bedlam badminton
The opposite combination uses full stroke:
product prediction podium bottom bitumen detail deter
deteriorate glutinous
academic schedule
credulous
Exceptions:
between contradict detect detached
determine
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Ray
Ray
halved for T is never used standing alone, or alone with only a
final Circle S, to avoid similarity with short forms "and" and
"should", and a halved Chay (see also the
Extra Care section
below):
rat rate rot rut right/rite/write/Wright rote/wrote
writ writs/Ritz irate
rights/rites/writes/Wright's rates roots, and
is/and his, should his
It may
be halved if it has an initial circle or loop, a final hook or when
joined to another stroke.
sort concert round rant/Rand surround
rift raved
certain ascertain certify part
parrot carrot curate accurate temperate
artist article artifice artificial rationed apportioned
If
there is no final hook, use stroke Dee for a following D:
ride road reed hurried horrid torrid
lurid parade charade
Exceptions:
writing written compare
righting rotten
Halved Ray is used finally for -art, also for -ard
where stroke Ard cannot be joined:
starred start paired part
gear geared,
gore gored,
colour coloured, tailor tailored
hazard mansard Hansard
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Hay:
if
there is only one stroke in the outline, use upward Hay halved for T.
If hooked, halve for either T or D:
hat hats hot height heat hint hunt honed hound haft heaved
If
there is no hook, use stroke Dee:
hide head heed haddock hewed/hued*
Note: hew/hue
*Despite the final joined diphthong
in hew/hue, if halved the Hay would then be alone and unhooked, and
therefore could only signify T, not D.
Retain
the form in derivatives wherever possible:
heat heating heated, hide hiding
hidden, head heading headed
hunt hunting hunted, hot
hottest
hatbox hat-trick hotbed hotness hateful
When
there are other strokes in the outline, up or downward Hay halved
may be used for either T or D as convenient:
behind behaved heterodox heterogeneous cowhide go-ahead
Overall, on an unhooked upward Hay, it is safe to halve for T and use
stroke Dee for D. The two outlines "cowhide" and "go-ahead" seem to be the
only examples of Hay being halved for D.
overheat overhead dead-heat dead-head
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Way Yay
Halve for T; if hooked, halve for either T or D:
white wait want/wand went/wend
wind wind waft waved/waived yet yacht yawned
If
there is no hook, use stroke Dee:
wide wade weed wood you'd yawed
The endings "-ward- wart -wort -yard" are described
on Theory 20 Contracted Suffixes page.
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Extra care
with straight strokes:
If written perfectly, at the correct angle and
length, there is no clash between the following pairs, but at speed
this small distinction may suffer and it is important to be aware of
the necessity to maintain accurate outlines:
rinds
similar to as the/has the
– rounds
similar to
is the/his the –
hat similar to
chats
spot similar
to as to/as of
– pots
similar to
of us/of his –
pits similar to
to us/to his
tights
similar to on us/on his
Rising strokes such as "and" "should" Ray and Hay
must keep their shallow angle. As the examples above are different
parts of speech, that helps greatly in reading back, but similar
pairs that are the same parts of speech present the greatest danger
of misreading. If you write extremely small outlines, the
distinctions will be more difficult to maintain.
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Em En Ell Ar
These
strokes in their plain unhooked form are halved as normal for T:
mat meet moat omit emit summit smote
remit remote permit promote
not/knot note neat ant scent* present
pleasant descent intellect internal
*"sent" is a short form, above the
line, to distinguish it from "send"
pelt bolt tilt dealt jolt kilt gilt/guilt fault felt volt
melt moult smelt knelt insult little lilt
ultimate halt hilt
art artful heart/hart hurt
hurts/Hertz desert/dessert
When halved for D in their plain unhooked form, these strokes are thickened, in
order to provide a more distinctive outline:
(a) Em and En
M-D and
N-D strokes are not compound consonants, as they can have a vowel
inbetween:
mad mode mood amid middle timid seemed
steamed hemmed gummed
slimmed armed rhymed roamed roomed
assumed presumed framed
need nod end owned annoyed sand send sound
stoned stained swooned
renewed defend/deafened designed
thousand recommend command commend
ST-N-T/D: for root words, use the formation as
in "stand"; for past tenses, keep the original form:
stand, stunt stunted, stone stoned,
stain stained
When a halved M or N is also hooked, this can signify
either T or D, as do all hooked thin strokes, and no thickening is
required (thickened hooked form belongs to Imp/Imb/Ing):
manned mend/meant mint cement
summoned
remind demand lament payment bemoaned anoint renowned lenient
simmered hammered rumoured mannered
honoured innards tunnelled channelled
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(b) Eld Ard
The strokes Eld and Ard are
compound consonants, they do not have a vowel inbetween. They are
always written downwards, as no thick stroke is ever written
upwards:
old ailed pulled pooled boiled tiled
retailed detailed doled
chilled jailed galled killed skilled failed field
fields
revealed mould/mold moulding/molding
mailed mildly pummelled nailed kneeled
lulled cancelled excelled puzzled
bustled bristled tasselled jostled
rolled world whirled overhauled behold foothold withhold
Stroke Eld cannot have any attachments if standing
alone, and such words need full strokes. It can be joined in a
phrase/compound word:
sold sailed styled oldest hold/holed healed wild but
Oldham, old age, oldwife
Use full strokes if Eld cannot be
written:
muzzled whistled embezzled shield
shelled assailed hustled
scheduled quarrelled swirled unfurled
Stroke Ard is used when there is a vowel
before, and no final vowel after:
aired erred card cord coward hard hardly
hardest hoard heard unheard arduous
ordeal ordain ordinal ordinary extraordinary spared
prepared shared stared required
afford conferred
deplored marred pondered slandered
standard
Note:
standardise
Exception: assured
retains its form in assuredly
assuredness,
these two
are the only instances where there is a vowel between, although it
is very lightly sounded.
Ard is able to take an initial Sway Circle, Stee Loop
or W-sign, and Circle S either end:
ward wired sired sword swords sward stored stirred steered
Sometimes Ray is used for the -erd sound where it
makes for a quicker outline or where Ard does not join easily:
referred preferred deferred answered
censored wondered wintered
If there is a vowel between L & D and R & D sounds,
compound consonants are inappropriate and full strokes are used:
laid lid load followed valued allowed
allayed relayed unload truckload
red/read reed/read
arid married narrowed queried salaried
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Ing
These
strokes cannot be halved in their plain form, as those shapes are
used for the halved and thickened versions of Em En Ell Ar, where they are of more use because of
their greater frequency.
Ing plus T or D needs to have the full stroke
added, as the halved form is unavailable, being allocated to N-D.
The lightly sounded K sound that comes inbetween the two is omitted:
distinct instinct adjunct banged
wronged
longed belonged prolonged hanged*
*Some regional British accents
pronounce a hard G at the end of such words as "long" "hang" but
this is not shown in Pitman's Shorthand.
Note: ink inked wink winked
show the K because it is part of the original outline.
Ing may be halved if hooked for R, and the light K or
G sound is omitted:
anchored/angered blinkered tankard
drunkard fingered lingered hungered/hunkered
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Ler Rer
These
are never halved, such combinations use full strokes:
coloured
tailored mirrored reared lured leered
Compound words
(a) Second word of the compound begins with T or D
The first word of the compound does not use halving to indicate the
T or D of the following word, as this would obscure where the
syllables naturally split. Keeping both words in their normal form
is more legible:
tabletop* half-tone half-dozen
half-time full-time write-up
*Disjoining would also be acceptable, to avoid
invading line below
Some common words override this rule to make a
briefer outline:
beforetime beforehand sometimes
Some phrases also use halving for a T or D that rightly
belongs to the next word, or even a whole word like "it" and "to".
They can do this because phrasing is a matter of choice and you
would only use it if you felt it was readable and convenient:
at one time, considerable time, if it
is possible, I am unable to
(b) Either word of the compound ends in T or D
The compound word as a whole is treated the same as a word of more
than one syllable. One of the words may end up halved, and so be
written differently than when standing alone:
copy right
but copyright, up right
but
upright, right angle but
right-angle
brush wood
but
brushwood, go ahead but
go-ahead, cow hide but
cowhide
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Vowel
placement
Vowels
are placed to the stroke as normal, and read before or after that
stroke. The three places of the vowels are closer
together along the stroke, so that more care is needed when
inserting them.
When
you have such a medial T or D, or a medial circle or hook, you must
remember that the vowel sound cannot "jump" over it. Each vowel sign
must stay with its own stroke, and so the rule regarding putting a
third-place vowel against the next stroke does not apply here:
Pitman goodness goodwill biddable cottage potato
First up or downstroke of outline is halved
The first up or downstroke is the one that is placed in position to
match the vowel, and it continues to do so even if halved. Any downstrokes
following it may end up going through the line, but that is
irrelevant, only the first up or downstroke needs to be in position. Do not
raise the outline up further to get other strokes off the line:
ostensible creditable inestimable
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Order of reading final
attachments
-
The
stroke and any final hook are read together
-
Next read the T or D sound
-
Next read Circle S
-
"Dot -ing" is last of all
pan pant pants dancing renting
rantings
Loops after halving occur in only a few words:
midst amidst
bidst didst
For comparison, note that if the S or ST comes before
the T or D, the formation is entirely different:
pots but
post/posed posted
boats boating
but boast
boasted boasting
meets meetings midst
but mist
misted misting
This order of reading always applies within outlines,
but in some phrases it is overridden because of their great
usefulness. Note that the hook is being used to indicate another
complete word, not a sound within a word:
part of, sort of, in spite of,
instead of, state of
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When not to use
(a) Final Vowel When a final vowel follows the T or D sound, a
full stroke T or D is necessary in order to place the vowel sign,
thus indicating the existence of a final vowel without actually writing it:
pit pity bud buddy tat tatty dad daddy
chat
chatty Jude Judy kit kitty good goody fat fatty
avid video meat meaty mid
media knot knotty need needy
lot Lottie late latte
wit witty hat Hattie
The
presence of the full Tee or Dee stroke at the end of an outline does not
always mean that a vowel follows, because the monosyllable rule
above sometimes requires a full stroke for other reasons. In such
cases inserting the last vowel should be considered, and always
inserted in names:
pad Paddy bat batty Ted Teddy dot
dotty
jet jetty cad caddy get Getty fad faddy
Fred Freddy shade shady lad laddie
red ready wood woody head heady
(b) Allowing full vocalisation
Halving is not used where this would prevent the full
vocalisation of the outline. This generally occurs where a medial T or D
sound is followed by a Circle S, which itself cannot be vocalised,
thus requiring a stroke against which to write the vowel that comes
after the T
(underlined):
anticipate antiseptic reticent
criticism
absolutism conservatism egotism participle
catastrophe
Most outlines are constructed to enable full
vocalisation, and abbreviation methods generally take a lower
priority. The lack of somewhere to put a vowel sign would imply that
there is no vowel to place, thus reducing legibility. Exceptions are made on an individual basis to gain a
more facile outline, so long as it remains readable (unwritable
vowels underlined):
despotism protestation
pragmatism patriotism favouritism scepticism
rheumatism
(c) Joining strokes of differing lengths Strokes of differing
lengths must show a clear angle of join. If no clear angle can be
made, halving is avoided and other methods must be used:
Use
full strokes:
popped propped propound bobbed bribed blabbed churched judged
cooked cracked fact liked select conflict
milked thicket gagged aggregate segregate navigate
quaked squeaked entirety* patina
fatigue integer nightmare
*Dictionary gives no vowel for the
second "e", as it is barely spoken
rotary notary territory tonight intimate
award abhorred adhered
dwarfed
obstinate platypus dominate discriminate
minute animate
mashed smashed famished ambushed polished abolished
Use
disjoining. Note that it is the last stroke that is halved. In everyday shorthand the vowels are omitted and so
the disjoined strokes can be written closer to the rest of the
outline:
dated dieted
attitude credited dictated agitated devastated facilitated
frustrated
gravitated hesitated illustrated imitated incapacitated
necessitated
maltreated situated mis-stated overstated
but stated
restated
precipitated
rehabilitated reinstated rotated irritated stratify
traded intruded* protruded* tightened
detained deadened
*Examples of how the disjoined strokes are closer
when the outlines are not vocalised, this applies to all.
aptness badness madness boldness
broadness candidness multitudinous
A change of thickness may provide a reasonable angle
with halved curves, but not with a succession of straight strokes:
discard arrived named conferred
interfered veered*
mediate intermediate
*This does have a change of
thickness, because curved strokes are only thick in the middle.
denote badinage bleeped biped probate
probed
clogged evict vacate revoked
Sometimes the angle has to be made a little sharper on purpose to
show up the join:
assuage
death-bed (compare with the smoother
join in
sausage Thebes)
Wedgwood
Two
half length strokes may be joined as long as there is a clear
angle, otherwise use full strokes or disjoin:
protect altitude
latitude dedicate deduct
indicate integrate
aptitude platitude meditate medicate intent
intend estimate
Compare
chit-chat catgut bedpost litigant
The
sounds of -NT -ND would normally be achieved by adding N hook and
halving the preceding stroke, but in the following words that would
not produce any angle of join. There is no choice but to use a
halved stroke En, and its use does not therefore always indicate a vowel
between the N and the T or D:
Medial hook to produce a join: definite defend toughened tenant pennant
Medial
hook for better join:
prevent profound convenient
Other
halved strokes: likened
quickened thickened vacant inherent
For two
lots of medial nt/nd, halve both: accountant
redundant abundant dependant
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(d) Shun Hooks & Circle Ses With the large Shun
Hook, the stroke is halved as normal, but after the small Shun Hook
and Circle Ses, use stroke D:
actioned fashioned positioned
requisitioned exercised emphasized
(e) Derivatives generally retain their
original form, which increases legibility:
paid unpaid repaid
but rapid,
played replayed but
replied replete rippled
decked bedecked but
abdicate induct
pitiful decode encode
undivided undefeated rowboat overrate overcrowd
outspread rightness
haughtiness weightiness greediness flightiness
Exceptions for brevity:
beautify beautiful undefiled indebted
subdivide
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(f) A final syllable that is accented or has a
very clearly pronounced vowel may use full stroke T or D:
part parade, bricked bracket brocade, blocked blockade, decked
docket decade
arced arcade orchid, rabbit rebut rebate, stooped stupid, hotly
hotel
flannelled flannelette, leathered
leatherette, casket cascade, knocked naked
passioned passionate, kitchen
kitchenette, need Enid, sinned Synod
Exception:
bicycle bicyclette*
*= Dictionary, but stroke Tee would give a more reliable distinction
(g) After
triphones the full stroke T
or D is used. The past tense is shown also with each example:
accentuate/d, infatuate/d insinuate/d perpetuate/d
fluctuate/d punctuate/d situate/d graduate/d
statuette diadem avowedly quiet diet suet
Normally halving for past tenses occurs on the last stroke, but outlines like "accentuate" have pushed the halving back
onto the
stroke before, in order to have a full stroke T to accompany the
triphone. This also allows derivatives to match. Compare with:
accent accented unfit unfitted
(h) Diphones
Halving proceeds as normal after most diphones:
abbreviate obviate
affiliate appreciate
appropriate create delineate humiliate infuriate
luxuriate permeate nauseate negotiate
radiate repudiate fluid superfluous*
*Dictionary has diphthong "U" for the
first vowel, but that pronunciation has become less common
expiate
but
poet poetic, conciliate
but
silhouette
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An
R sound following a T or D may require the use of
an R Hook on a stroke Tee or Dee, thus making unnecessary any
halving of the preceding stroke:
patron retrograde hydrogen hydraulic
Names sometimes use full strokes in preference to using
abbreviating devices. This improves legibility, although the
outlines may be slightly slower to write. This is especially
important as context cannot help. Vocalisation is often easier, and
avoids ambiguities, such as whether a halving means T or D, or a hook
means F or V:
Margate Margaret Highgate McLeod Rutland Bedale
Pendennis Dudley Thetford
Shetland
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