Court Reporting at Home: Stenograph Machine Theories

(Last Updated: 7/12/2014)

Below are the various stenograph machine theories I have found. I organized them in chronological order. I cannot understate that many basic concepts (e.g., alphabet, prefixes, suffixes, etc.) in the various stenograph machine theories can be traced back to Ward Stone Ireland's theory. It seems that the biggest changes in stenograph machine theory occurred with the advent of CAT in the mid 1970's which introduced the necessity to eliminate homonym and word boundary conflicts.

Summary of the Various Theories:

Stenotypy (1914):
Ward Stone Ireland first produced the modern stenograph machine in 1911. Along with the machine, he also invented the first stenograph machine theory. The third edition was published in 1914.

Berry H. Horne Theory (1937)
I not sure of the exact name of the theory. Berry H. Horne produced a text called "Stenotype-Reporting: A Complete Course" in 1937. I have found other copies (editions?) dated 1952, 1969, 1970, and 1973.

Touch Shorthand (1967):
Touch Shorthand was written by Marion E. Nixdorf, Jon R. Dugan, and Robert J. Ruegg in 1967. I have the Dictionary/Handbook that was published by Stenograph in 1968. The theory was updated in 1976 by John R. Bianco to make it “computer compatible.”

Philadelphia Clinic (1975):
The theory was developed by Harry J. Foster in the 1950's. Harry and his wife, Florence, opened the Foster Court Reporting Service in 1968. Subsequent theory editions: 2nd (1976), 3rd (1978), and 4th (1983).

Sten Ed (1979):
Beverly Ritter founded Stenotype Educational Products, Inc. (Sten Ed) in 1979. The theory, however, was developed by Albert Gasdor, a court reporter, in 1973 (published by Stentran Systems, Inc). The latest revision to the theory was published in 1996.

Academy of Court Reporting (1982):
Developed by Dominic A. Coccia, Lynn M. Fischer, Dennis Hagestrom, Karen M. Pratt in 1982. The theory was revised (the second edition) by Dennis W. Hagestrom, Lynn M. Fischer-Mizanin, and James M. Mizanin of Ohio in 2005.

Robert, Walsh, and Gonzalez (1984):
"Computer Shorthand: Theory and Transcription" was developed by Allen Roberts, John Walsh, and Jean Gonzalez in 1984. Roberts and Walsh were court reporters based in New Jersey and Gonzalez was an educator and specialist in learning technologies. The latest revision to their theory, the third edition ("Computer Shorthand: Realtime Theory"), was published in 1995.

Moody Method (1984)

Kay Moody founded the College of Court Reporting in 1984. The Moody Method is not only a theory but also a method of learning the writing theory. The 4th edition of the theory was published in 2013.

Digitext (1985):
Jerry Lefler created a theory and a one-piece translation system in 1985. The company (Digitext) did not survive and he found Realtime Captioning in 1989. Carol Jochim, who created the Phoenix Theory, once worked for Digitext as a consultant for their training program.

Computer Compatible Stenograph Theory [CCST] (1986):
Developed by Mae Glassbrenner and G. Allen Sonntag of Illinois in 1986. Glassbrenner was a court reporting educator and Sonntag was a court reporter. The second edition was published in 1992, and the third edition was published in 1996.

Bryan College Theory (19??):
Not too sure of the theory's origins but it does have it’s own dictionary on the Stenovations website. I called Bryan College (July 2014) and they stated they teach Sten Ed and have in recent years.

National Court Reporting Systems [NCRS] (19??):
National Court Reporting Systems was developed by Nancy Patterson. It appears to have been used by her at Bryan College in southern California until 2005. Currently, it is used at Sage College. A former student called it a "Modified Sten Ed."

StarTran (1995):
Developed by Marlene L. Struss, a court reporter, in 1995.

Phoenix (1997):
Developed in 1997 by Carol Webster Jochim, a court reporter and owner of a court reporting business in Arizona. It was updated in 2005 (Version 1.5? There are also dictionary version 1.6 and 1.7). Version 2.0 was released in 2011. This Theory is published and recommended by Stenograph, LLC.

Realwrite Realtime (1997):
Developed by Robert W. McCormick and Carolee Freer in 1997. The second edition was published in 2004.

Realtime Reporting and Captioning Theory (2000):
Also known as Court Reporting at Home (CRAH). It was developed by Linda Bland, a court reporter, in 2000. The second edition was published in 2002.

Stenomaster/ Magnum Steno (2004):
Developed by Mark Kislingbury, the Guinness World Record holder of 360 words per minute with 97.22% accuracy, in 2004. The theory was updated and renamed Magnum Steno in 2008.

Write Way (2009):
Developed by Jim Hall and Tammie Shedd in 2009. Both were a court reporters and captioners. Shedd also co-authored Real-Time Writing.

The Steno Way (2014):
Developed by Grant Morrison. Based on the Philadelphia Clinic Theory.

Stenotypy (1914):
In 1911, when Ward Stone Ireland first produced the modern stenograph machine, he also developed a "theory" though he received input from stenography teachers and others. His 1914 theory (Book: Stenotypy) can be summarized by the following:

Omit Silent Letters. Except:

Write W when it proceeds “r” (wretch = WREFP)

Write consonants according to sound
Write Vowels:

One vowel in syllable: Write vowel (off = OF)
Two vowels in syllable and only one is sounded: write the sounded vowel (leaf = HREF)
Two vowels in syllable and both are sounded: write both vowels (our = OUR)
Unimportant or unaccented vowels occurring in the middle or last syllable may be omitted to save a stroke (benefit = PWEPB/TPEUT, revel = REFL). However, when a word ends in a s or z sound and proceeded by any vowel except e, the vowel must be written out (furnace = TPUR/TPHAS).
When an initial consonant appears in the same stroke with a suffix, the vowel must be written (even though it is included in the suffix). Example: designate = TKES/EUG/TPHAT. Except omit the vowel before the suffix -BG for -ical, -icle, -acle.

If a word cannot be written in one stroke, write the word syllabically. Write as much of the word as possible in the first stroke.
If a word contains two consonants that are not in sequence on the keyboard, write the first consonant in the first stroke and the second in the next stroke (Pelf = PEL/F).
When the sounds s, k, or x occur medially in a word and are followed by a syllable that begins with t, write t (picture = PEUBG/TUR, pasty = PAS/TEU)
When possible write the prefix of suffix in the same stroke. (The outline noted that compact, comport, and compile must be written in 2 strokes to distinguish them from exact, exhort, and exile).
Omit T in words ending in the sound of st, kt, and xt (past = PAS)
For “ex-”:

Before a vowel sound or the sound h, write KP (exhale = KPHAL)
Before all consonants except h, write S.

In words with 3 or more syllables, omit the “y” in the suffixes -ary, -ery, -ory, and -ury (histories = HEUS/TORS)
The -S (under -D) is used only when an -S follows -D.
Standard abbreviations should be used without any punctuation (Mr. = PHR)
If abbreviation forms part of compound word or derivative, the abbreviation should be used for the part of the word it represents.
Writing Numbers (note: if 1914 the number bar was the “*” bar):

Figures are represented by a combination of the * key and certain letters: 1= S*, 2= T*, 3= P*, 4= H*, 5= A*, 6= *F, 7= *P, 8= *L, 9= *T, 0= O*.
Fractions are written in words, omitting the word “and” between whole numbers and fractions.
For Dates, place a comma day, month, and year.
For Time, write a colon between the hour and minute. (Note the abbreviation for a.m. is APL and p.m. is P-PL)

Notes:
1. The alphabet was the same except:
A. Initial Z = S
B. Final V = F
C. Final Z = S. Note that the 1914 keyboard had no Final Z.
2. There was no * key in between the initial side and final side; this key in 1914 was a space key.
3. The modern number bar was the * key

Touch Shorthand (abt. 1968):

I have the Dictionary/Handbook which was published in 1968, so the theory is probably older. However, if you compare it to the Stenotypy theory by Ireland in 1914 there are many similarities.

1. Write consonants according to sound.
2. Write vowels according to spelling. Except:
A. Words with “ai” is written AEU
B. Unaccented or unimportant vowels within a word may be omitted if a stroke is saved.
A vowel heard at the beginning or ending of a word must always be written.
C. When a word ends in a s or z sound and it is proceeded by a sounded vowel,
the vowel is not omitted.
3. Multi-syllable words are written by syllable, as they sound.
4. Omit T in words ending in the sound of st, kt, and xt (south = SOUT)
5. If a word contains two consonants that are not in sequence on the keyboard,
write the first consonant in the first stroke and the second in the next stroke.
6. Standard abbreviations should be used.
7. If abbreviation forms part of compound word or derivative, the abbreviation should be used
for the part of the word it represents.
8. Writing Numbers:
A. Figures are represented by a combination of the number bar and certain letters:
1= S, 2= T, 3= P, 4= H, 5= A, 6= F, 7= P, 8= L, 9= T, 0= O.
B. For large numbers use: hundred= HUN, thousand= THOU, million= MIL, billion= BIL.
C. Dollars and cents: with the number write -D for dollars and -S for cents in the same stroke,
if possible. For large suns of money: hundred dollars= HUND,
thousand dollars= THOUD, million dollars= MILD, billion dollars= BILD.
D. Fractions: write a diagonal (OEU) between the numerator and the denominator.
If a whole number is included, write “and” (APB) between the whole number and the numerator.
E. For Dates, place a comma day, month, and year.
F. For Time, write a colon between the hour and minute. (Note the abbreviation for a.m. is APL
and p.m. is P-PL)