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The sounds of R and L are very frequently pronounced
with the preceding consonant, e.g. PR PL CR CL, the sounds running
together with no vowel between. To reflect the joining of the two
sounds in a double consonant, the combination is shown as a hooked
stroke. This double consonant is sometimes called a
consonantal diphthong.
-
Primary use is to
indicate the above combination of 2 consonants.
-
Secondary use is
for when the combination includes a slurred or indistinct vowel.
-
Third use is for
convenience, despite the presence of an distinct vowel, to avoid
an awkward outline or to obtain a briefer outline.
The R and L are always pronounced second in the
combination, although when the hooks are written, the pen will form
the hook part first.
Not all strokes can take the R or L hook.
Adding S to the hooks is entirely covered on the
Theory 4 Circles/With
hooks page.
The reversed forms section contains a very large number
of
example outlines. Parts of theory where there are alternatives can cause hesitation and
it is essential to have a wide vocabulary of known outlines on which
to base similar words.
R & L Hook
to straight strokes
R & L Hook to curved strokes
Vocalisation
Reversed forms for F V Ith Thee
– Reversed forms R Hook
– Reversed forms L Hook
– Reversed forms Derivatives
Suffixes -ful & -fully
Special case for Ing
Halving a hooked stroke
Hooks in middle of
outline
When not to use
Strokes not taking R or L
Hook
For hooks to Imp/Imb, see
Theory 16 Imp/Imb page
R &
L Hook to straight strokes
R is shown by a clockwise hook written at the
beginning of the stroke.
L is shown by an anticlockwise hook written at the
beginning of the stroke.
pray play brew blue tray dray crow clay grew glue
upper apple rubber rubble batter battle adder addle acre eager eagle
etcher
fetcher voucher lodger Roger catcher cadger cudgel hopper yapper
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R & L
Hook to curved strokes
R is a small hook inside the beginning of the
stroke:
offer ever every author either
shrew shrub shred shrink usher
Esher masher washer
pressure fisher/fissure leisure measure erasure casher but
cashier usury
inner honour tanner liner emmer slimmer hammer
L is a large hook inside the beginning of the
stroke. As hooks are never written outside the curve, the difference
has to be shown by having a larger hook:
flow fly evil Ethel camel tunnel bushel essential
Sher is always
written downwards and Shel always upwards, so they can never be mistaken for each other:
pusher specialise, fisher official, fresher freshly
polisher palatial, finisher initial, harsher Herschel
but
harshly
There appears to be no word that contains ZH-L
with an slurred vowel, but should one occur, it would never be
written upwards, as it is a thick stroke. That combination of sounds
would probably is best written using the full stroke Ell.
casually, casual
(optional contraction), usual/usually
(short
form)
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Vocalisation
Vowels are always placed outside the hook. Only
the Shun Hook takes a vowel inside and then only in certain
circumstances (see
Shun Hook on Theory 2 Vowels page).
(a) No intervening vowel Vowels
are read immediately
before the double consonant or immediately after:
appraise oblique address across acclimatise
(b) An indistinct, unaccented or slurred vowel
between the two consonants. This is never shown and the
outline is fully correct without it. With the R hook, this is
generally the "-er" sound (equivalent to 2nd place light dot),
hence the 2nd position of the outline. See
Intervening
Vowels on Theory 2 Vowels page for fuller explanation:
reader puddle miner/minor person personal terminal machinery
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(c)
Distinct vowel Although
the intervening
vowel is generally an indistinct one, some distinct
vowels are allowed for convenience,
to avoid unwieldy outlines. Such vowels are indicated somewhat
differently from normal, by circles and intersected dashes, and
their placement.
See also
Theory 2
Vowels/Intervening Vowels and
Theory 15 R
Forms page/R Hook For Brevity for more examples.
engineer mutineer veneer souvenir virulent ethnology Penelope
In many words the second syllable starts with a
consonant. As no vowel needs to be written between the
syllables, using the hook results in a briefer outline:
perfect perceive purchase persuade
pearl parcel pilgrim
journey vortex culminate garnish carnage furnish
Care with "per-" needs to be taken, because there are
many similar words starting with "pre-" and "pro-".
Some combinations of consonants never occur in
English without a vowel inbetween, so the hook may safely be used to
obtain a briefer outline, as it will not clash with any other words:
telephone telegraph deliberate divulge charm
Charles German
molecule moral nullify narrate nourish shilling
analytic enliven enlighten enlightenment* Dunlop
*contraction
Other examples:
collect courage college forget caramel colony ignore
More
examples on Theory 15 R Forms page/R Hook For Brevity
(d) Third place vowels
Unlike Circle S, the presence of a hook in the
middle of a stroke does not affect the correct placement of a third
place vowel against the second of the 2 strokes. This is because,
although the hook is written between the strokes, the R or L
that
it represents is spoken after
the stroke, i.e. there is nothing spoken between the two consonants
other than the vowel:
trip tripper, cheap cheaper, tick tickle, dig digger
book booker, look looker, rich richer, teach teacher
nib nibble, rip ripple reapply, grim grimmer
Compare the placement of the vowel in:
weep weeper wisp, deep deeply display
whip whipper whisper, rip ripper respray
fitch visage, groom groomer gruesome
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Reversed forms
for F V Ith Thee
Ar Rer Ess Zee do not use R or L Hook (see
below) and these shapes
when hooked are used to represent reversed versions of hooked F V
Ith Thee. Reversing is used:
The reversal is not a mirror image, either
vertically or horizontally, but the "mirror" is along the stroke's
own angle of formation. They cannot clash with Ar Rer Ess Zee because of the
presence of the hook – see zither below which
has both strokes together.
Fer Ver
Ther
THer
Fel Vel
Thel
Thel does not take right curve form. Most
words with that combination use stroke Ell (see
below). No known examples of the voiced THel.
Reversed Forms,
R Hook
(a) One stroke
outlines The reversed form provides a means of vowel indication:
left curve if there is a vowel or Con Dot before, right curve if
not. Derivatives that add another stroke retain the form if
possible:
Left:
offer suffer afront/affront affright affray
(afront = in front of; affront =
insult)
over*
ever every sever averse converse conversion conversation Avro Sèvres
*short form
author ether athirst either soother seether cither
Right:
free fray frost friend front fright fruit
verse versed version versus very*
*short form
throw three thrice thirst thrust threat throat third*
there*
therefore*
*short forms
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(b) Two or more stroke outlines The form is
used that gives a better join (clear angle of join, best hook, and similar motion of curves/hooks). If all else is
equal, the right curve is preferable, because it then matches the R
hooks on straight strokes, thus helping overall legibility:
Left:
authoring affrighted affronted frighten fruity fraud Friday
frayed afraid fragile fridge free-hand*
frank France
froth free-thinking*
freckle frugal phrenetic frantic
*3rd place vowel is placed against
the Fer because "hand" and "think" are short forms
tougher duffer chafer Jeffrey/Geoffrey overalls*
Avril Trevor driver
*Vowel placed against Ell because
"over" is a short form
endeavour achiever Chivers jiver thievery arriver
verge converge leverage virtual vortices
vernacular verve verdant convertible vertical
authorship etherism ethernet
(2 pronunciations)
Right:
frap freebie Africa fresco fraction frequent frog
frame Ephraim freedom frump freeness*
freesia
*derivative retaining right curved form, despite the En stroke
frail frazzle free-hold frolic
freer fraternal French franchise frenzy
fragility fronted frightful puffer buffer coffer gaffer
loafer rougher refrigerator sniffer chamfer chauffeur
paver beaver believer cover giver lever/leaver silver
river weaver hover shaver mover Hannover hangover*
*Vowel belongs with second word;
being reversed, it does
not count as short form here, therefore vowel is needed.
verb vertebra vortex verdict verdure vermin
throb throttle thread thrift thrive throng throwing feathery
slithery Rotherham
thrum thrombosis thermal threesome thrill thrower thrush anther
panther
thirteen thirty Thursday Luther lethargic Arthur arthritis arthritic arthropod
pother bather
brother tether
dither gather
leather
writher weather
heather zither farther but
further furthered
Notes:
affront affronted, confront*
confronted*,
front fronted
*Under the rules, "confront" would
be a left curve but it is too close in meaning to affront, therefore
it is written with the right curve, its "-con dot" keeping it
different from "front".
Distinguishing outlines:
afresh
fresh,
affranchise franchise
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Reversed Forms,
L Hook
-
Reversal is not
used for vowel indication.
-
The reversed form
is only used after straight horizontals (Kay Gay En) and
straight upstrokes (Ray, Way, Whay, Yay, upward Hay) to provide a
better joining.
-
Where the outline
starts with an L hooked stroke, the left curve is always used.
This includes those with a Con Dot. This matches with the L
hook on straight strokes, which are all left curves, thus
helping overall legibility.
(a) L-hooked stroke starts the outline:
flow aflow fly Eiffel fluster flutter
flap flab flatten flood flitch fledge Fletcher
flake flask flag flame aflame flump
flounce flannel flowing fling fluent affluent
flail flair/flare flower flour flurry flourish fleecy flash
soufflé safflower flagrant conflagration conflict conflation
confluence
evil
civil civilisation
vulnerable vulture vulpine vulva*
wildebeest (x2)
*All other words beginning "vul-" use
stroke Ell
Ethel Ethelbert Ethelred
(b) L-hooked stroke is in middle or end of outline: use left curve,
unless reversed has better join (i.e. after Kay Gay En Ray Way Whay Yay upward Hay):
Left:
piffle baffle briefly stifle toughly duffel/duffle acephalous
earful earflap
actively alternatively develop privilege
bevel bravely travel drivel ogival devolve Pavlov
Right:
gruffly unflagging inflow inflation inflame inflict
snowflake rifle ruffle reflect
waffle whiffle yaffle muffle mayflower
gravel gravely arrival marvel weevil hovel Yeovil
cavalry naval/navel anvil revel athletic*
betrothal *Uses Thel to avoid an unwieldy outline
All other TH-L combinations use stroke Ell:
ethyl methyl ethal lethal Athol
Athlone athlete
Bethel brothel withal lithely blithely authority authorise
Notes:
envelope novelise ethereal level monthly
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Reversed
Forms, Derivatives
There is normally an effort to preserve original
forms in derivatives, but legibility always takes top priority:
free freed, fry fried, fruit fruited, lever leverage
fresh fresher freshly, garish garishly, rash rasher
but rashly
A medial circle keeps the strokes separate, in the
same way that an angle does:
frost frosted
but fret
fretted
Similar motion of curves and medial hooks gives a faster
outline:
verse
versicoloured versify
versicle fever favour favoured
but
favourite
Some awkward combinations:
inflationary
inflationary*
inflationism
inflationist
"Inflationary" has a choice
of full outline or contraction. For "inflationism" and
"inflationist" a non-dictionary right-curve would
be more legible.
reflation reflationary revaluation refloat refloated
For "reflationary" a
non-dictionary contraction similar to "inflationary" (i.e. right
curve and omitting shun hook) is better. Any contraction decided
upon must
not clash with "revaluation".
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Suffixes -ful and
-fully
The suffix "-ful" and "-fully" are normally
written the same as the single words:
full fully careful carefully lawful lawfully
In some cases using the hooked stroke gives a
better outline and the final vowel inserted if thought necessary:
powerful powerfully joyful faithful hopeful skilful cheerful
colourful
Special case for
Ing
Ing plus R hook is not used for ing-er as one
might expect, but instead for ing-ger (hard G) and ing-ker,
as these are more common sounds:
ing-ker and ing-ger:
pinker banker tanker dunker clinker conker/conquer/conger finger thinker
bankrupt bankruptcy*
*contraction
fishmonger warmonger
costermonger ironmongery*
but
mongrel
*contraction
Note:
Bangor clangour*
*"Clangour" can also be
pronounced without hard G, like "clanger"
ing-er is written by just adding Ar, which
has the advantage of retaining the original form. Some dialects in UK pronounce a hard G in
words like these but this is not taken into account in Pitman's
Shorthand:
sing singer clang clanger swing swinger but
singe singer (one who singes)
bang banger ring ringer hang hanger
but
hangar*
*Formerly with hard G, but now
pronounced like "hanger"; derived not from "hang" but from Medieval
Latin angarium = shed
Although Ing can use the R hook, ing-ger and
ink-ker can also be shown by doubling the stroke; this is
used where the hooked form does not join easily, or if alone.
longer ranker/rancour winker hanker hunger/hunker
anger/anchor sinker
Use Ger if there is a final vowel:
hungry/Hungary angry
Ing does not take a large L hook, because
that would not indicate the sound of hard G or K that occurs in the
middle. Therefore, Gay or Kay with L Hook is used:
bungle tangle jungle mingle uncle
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Halving a
hooked stroke
Hooked strokes can be halved for T/D, according to
the normal rules:
babbled battered bottled uttered addled toggled giggled haggled
offered float afloat flit flint honoured tankard drunkard
angered lingered hungered feathered mothered measured ushered
hammered
R & L
Hook in middle of outline
In most cases the hook is easily accommodated:
paper papal deeper deeply cater label loader liner earner
bicycle designer listener retrain restrain tunneller
channelling
Sometimes the hook has to be opened out or
flattened slightly. The pen should flow into the hook smoothly with
no undue
effort at making a sharp angle. On no account should the pen be
lifted from the paper. Do not curl the end of the hook round in an
attempt to make it look like the normal full hook:
cheaper reply shipper taker docker trigger jogger vital
Some Circle S + hook combinations in the middle of the
outline need extra care to write clearly. A slight exaggeration of
the size of the hook is unavoidable if the hook is to be seen at
all, and giving the hook a very slight corner as it emerges from the
stroke is helpful. It is safe to elongate the Circle S, as it will
not clash with Stee loop which never crosses a stroke. Such
expedients will keep the outline readable:
explain disbranch massacre miscreant gossamer
This larger example shows the exact difference:
expose explain chasm gossamer
If the hook cannot legibly be written, then Ar Ray or
Ell must
be used:
runner winner winery Henry runnel tamer dimmer
The R is omitted in some words in order to secure
a brief outline:
demonstrate*
demonstration ministry*
ministered
transcript subscript subscriber
*contractions
On curved strokes, Sway Circle/Stee
Loop cannot be used at the same time as R or L hook:
swimmer swooner suaver swivel steamer stainer stinger
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When not to use
A distinct vowel between the consonant
and the R or L sound generally requires separate strokes. This
allows you to see how the word breaks into its natural syllables,
thus aiding legibility:
pray par parry, play pal, average aver avarice
display dispel, flew full, flower failure, finger vinegar
ripper repair,
ripple repeal, rebel rebel
personal personnel, milliner millionaire
"-ery" "-ary" As the vowels are distinct, stroke Ray is
used, so that the outline can be fully vocalised:
brave braver bravery, grain grainer granary, verse varies
refine refiner refinery, wafer midwifery
Sometimes the consonant and the following R or L
belong to different words, or word and suffix, and so separate
strokes are used to accurately reflect the separate syllables:
thrum bathroom, masher mushroom, shrimp showroom
enabling sibling, dandruff woodruff midriff,
usher ashery ashore
Strokes not taking R or L hook
Way, Yay, Hay, Kwa, Gwa cannot take an
initial R or L hook because because they already have an initial
attachment, as well as being unpronounceable without a vowel between. An R
or L sound after them will use strokes.
Ray, El, Ler.
-
Ray with initial
attachment would look like Way, Whay, Yay or upward Hay
-
Ell with initial
hook is used for Wel, Whel
-
Ler already
signifies two consonants
Ess, Zee, Ar, Rer do not take an initial R
or L hook, because of the uncommonness of the combinations. Their
initially hooked forms are "borrowed" by F V Ith Thee as a reversed
form, see explanation
above. An R or L sound after
them will use other strokes.
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