Stepography

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The stiefografie even Stiefo and Rational Shorthand called, is a Stenografiesystem that of the press and Parliament stenographers Helmut Stief (1906-1977) of Frankfurt was developed by rational considerations in eight years legwork. In 1928, Stief himself wrote 480 syllables per minute in German unified shorthand, which was the world's highest performance at the time. The stepography was first published in 1966 and has been taught since then. According to Stief, it can be learned in a quarter of the time that would otherwise be required to learn the German standard abbreviation , as the stepography has significantly fewer characters, rules (without exceptions) and memorandum points and the basic script has no abbreviations for common syllables and words.

Mitlaut representation

The consonants of stepography

The "Rational Stenography" has only 24 characters for consonants and consonant combinations (German unified shorthand 56 characters, Stolze-Schrey 44 characters).

The symbols for consonants are kept as simple as possible and differ in four characteristics:

  1. Size: half-level (e.g. t) or full-level (e.g. b)
  2. Position (i.e. course of the smear): straight (e.g. b), right oblique (e.g. j), arched (e.g. w), tapering to the left (e.g. h), step-shaped (only p )
  3. Top shape: pointed (e.g. b), round (e.g. nd), head loop (e.g. st)
  4. Shape below: pointed (e.g. b), round (e.g. f), "inserted" - the foot of the character runs rounded to the left, with an upward connection to the next character a small foot loop is made while a horizontal connection is pointed (e.g. h)

According to the inventor, over a million syllables were counted during the development in order to determine the frequency of each consonant at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the word and of the individual words. The count went down without knowing Friedrich Wilhelm Kaeding's frequency statistics . In retrospect, it turned out that Stief's counts, which were made about 50 years after Kaeding's frequency counts, almost matched those of Kaeding. After these investigations, the easiest to write and thus most volatile characters were assigned to the most common sounds. Example: The consonant d is the most frequent consonant at the beginning of a word in the German language; over 80 percent of all d are at the beginning of the word. So Stief assigned the very easy-to-write character to the d, which is used in the standard shorthand for the prefix “ver”.

The consonant v has no character of its own, but is represented either as f or w, depending on the pronunciation. There are no separate characters for c and y either. They are also represented purely phonetically , namely as k or z for c and as i, j or ü for y. The extremely rare co-sounds x and qu are also not assigned their own characters up to and including advanced level 1. They are represented by the spelling of ks or kw. There are separate consonant characters for ch, cht, nd = nt, ng = nk, pf, sch, sp and st. They may not be used when combining prefixes with the word stem or when combining words. In the case of consonant connections for which no separate sign is provided, the accompanying sounds are put together very closely to distinguish the self-expression for e. The inaudible, toneless stretch h such as h in the word "deer" is also omitted if it is at the end of a word stem. The ck is represented by k and tz is represented by z. In contrast to the German unified shorthand and the Stolze-Schrey system , where l, r, and s (with Stolze-Schrey still further consonants) are shown doubled, the doubling of consonants is completely eliminated in the stepography. If there is a risk of confusing certain words, double-endings are indicated by a horizontal line above the consonant. In this way, if necessary, v, nk and nt can also be distinguished from f, w, ng and nd. All consonants and consonants have only two character sizes (German standard shorthand five character sizes) and are at most one step in size (letter size, for example, of m or r in long script). Ascenders and descenders are completely eliminated. Full lengths, i.e. three-stage characters, can only be found in the supplementary font I (see there) for own abbreviations from the personal technical vocabulary of the respective user; Two-stage characters only appear as an abbreviation in Aufbauchschrift II.

Vocal representation

Examples of vowel spelling

The vowels are indicated on the following consonant sign by close and wide connection as well as by subordinate, higher or lower position of the following consonant. The stepography gets by with only eight self-vowel representations (German standard shorthand and Stolze-Schrey eleven each). There is no reinforcement through pressure in Helmut Stief's shorthand system, as in many other systems, as these - especially when using a ballpoint pen  - are a hindrance and inhibit writing for most writers. In order to compensate for this lack of symbolization possibilities, the symbols for ä, au and ü are replaced by e, u and i. Consequently, e and ä (close connection), u and au (wide connection), i and ü (close connection and semi-level subscript) and eu and äu (wide connection and full-level superscript) each have the same representation. If there is a risk of confusion, ä, ü and au are distinguished from e, i and u by a subordinate point. Other vowel symbols: a is represented by a close connection and half superscript, o by a wide connection and half subscript, ö by a close connection and single superscript and ei by a wide connection and half superscript. If two vowels follow one another directly, the first one is represented by a so-called vowel mark (the form corresponds to a half-step w in the German unified shorthand). If there is a vowel at the beginning of the word, the word image begins on the baseline. At the end of the word, the vows are literally written as their own characters using up and down strokes of different lengths.

Classification of the system

The “Rational Stenography” is divided into the basic font, the supplementary font I and the supplementary font II.

Basic font

The basic font is designed as a notepad and should enable the writing speed to be doubled or tripled. It has no abbreviations , i.e. no short characters of its own for the most common words in the German language. Compared to other shorthand systems, this lack is to be compensated for by the graphically very small and short sympathetic and sympathetic sequence characters that occupy at most one level. The basic script consists of only 24 characters for consonants and strings. The very few rules have no exceptions. Helmut Stief himself wrote 180 syllables per minute with this abbreviated font . For further features of the basic script, see "Mitlautrepresentation" and "Selbstlautrepresentation".

Composition I

The supplementary font I (former designation was "business font") is supposed to allow four times the writing speed compared to the conventional long font, i.e. up to about 160 syllables per minute. 35% of all syllables in the German language are covered by 54 abbreviations. These 54 abbreviations are used for around 70 common words and syllables (e.g. articles , pronouns , prefixes , suffixes ). A number of abbreviations - as with the Simplified Shorthand Schultz and the German Euro-Steno - have the same form for phonetically identical or similar-sounding words regardless of the part of speech or meaning (for example da / dar, man / man / mahn, for / lead, was / true / goods). The same abbreviation is used for different conjugations of the same word (for example have / have / has, will / will). In contrast to other shorthand systems in stepography, if an abbreviation is not used in the basic font, but is also correct.

Basic, superscript and subscript, taking into account the vowel symbols, determine the character of the font. Abbreviations for syllables with the vowels e, ä, u and au are on the base line, with the vows i, ü and o they are placed half a step lower and with ö and eu or äu the corresponding abbreviations are put one whole step higher . So you can immediately recognize the vowel of a syllable from the position of an abbreviation. For example, the stiefographic n (the same character as the k in the German unified shorthand) is used in the basic position for “the”, in the subscript for “not” and in the superscript for “man”, “man” and “mahn”. Dispensable syllables and sounds such as "en" in verbs and other inflectional endings , including nouns and adjectives , are omitted.

A special feature in comparison with other shorthand systems are the three-level abbreviations that each user can form specifically for their own needs and technical vocabulary. They make stepography a special stenography for every profession and for every subject. For example, the three-step m can mean “ minister ” for an authority , “ furniture ” for a furniture factory , “ client ” in the legal field or “ Gospel of Matthew ” in theology . A large number of other word meanings can be covered by adding the literal self-spoken signs at the head or foot of the three-level co-signed sign.

Assembly letter II

For very high writing speeds over 160 syllables per minute, the Aufbaauschschrift II (earlier name was "Blitzschrift") has been developed. It provides a further 120 optional abbreviations as well as further abbreviation rules for individual use and increasing writing speed. The learner can choose the abbreviations for syllables and words that he considers to be useful, taking into account graphical considerations and with regard to the frequency of syllables and words.

Left shorthand

All otherwise known shorthand systems were developed exclusively for writing with the right hand. A special feature among all known shorthand systems is the development of shorthand designed specifically for left-handers . The graphic artist , traveling salesman and shorthand teacher Dieter Wilhelm Dominik from Düsseldorf published the basic font and the additional font "Links-Steno" as a stepography variant in 1977 after he had come across stepography. In this adaptation for left-handers, the characters and writing rules are identical to the stepography system. However, the typeface is shown mirrored. The lines of text are written and read from right to left, which should accommodate the natural movement of left-handers. As a result, left-handers should also be able to use the shorthand without any disadvantages compared to right-handers.

distribution

In addition to Germany, stepography is also written in Austria and Switzerland . By his own admission, Helmut Stief had already found 40,000 followers for his system before his death in 1977. The stepography or rational shorthand has been used since 1966 until today mainly at adult education centers and the like. a. also taught under the course names “memo” or “write and note quickly”, such as B. at the VHS Dingolfing and at the VHS Straubing . The VHS also published an official assessment of the stepography as well as a comparison with the German standard shorthand (see web link). Also learning in distance education is offered on several occasions. Many years also took place at several universities such as B. the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main held courses.

literature

  • Helmut Stief - Siegen, the 20 year old 360 syllable writer . In: The waiting . Journal of the German Youth Association for uniform shorthand 10/1927, pp. 105-106.
  • Dieter Wilhelm Dominik u. a .: Left shorthand for the German language . First part: basic font . Hanau 1977
  • Dieter Wilhelm Dominik: Left shorthand for the German language . Second part: advanced writing . Hanau 1977
  • Horst Gunkel: Rational shorthand. Instructions for self-study . Hanau 2004
  • Horst Gunkel u. a .: Rational shorthand. Assembly letter II . 2nd Edition. Hanau 1981
  • Hans Karpenstein: What is “stepography”? In: The stenography teacher . Scientific monthly for the promotion of teaching in shorthand, typing and related fields, 5/1966, pp. 115–118
  • Arthur Mentz et al. a .: History of shorthand . 3. Edition. Wolfenbüttel 1981
  • Franz Moser u. a .: Living shorthand story. A guide to shorthand theory and shorthand history . 9th edition. Darmstadt 1990
  • Uwe Scheler : stepography. Shorthand in three hours . Berlin 1967
  • Steno from right to left. Left-handers should become faster with the new shorthand . In: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung , December 22, 1976
  • Helmut Stief u. a .: History of stepography . Hanau (1977)
  • Helmut Stief u. a .: stepography, the shorthand alphabet of the German language. Learning instructions for the basic script . 27th edition. Frankfurt am Main 1975
  • Helmut Stief u. a .: Rational shorthand. Construction, subtitle . 22nd edition. Hanau 2006
  • Stepography . In: Der Nationalstenograf , 1/1967, pp. 14-16.
  • Stepography . In: Shorthand Systems . Memphis TN 2010, pp. 67-69
  • Gustav Vriesen: Helmut Stiefs 480 syllable achievement . In: Deutsche Stenographenzeitung , 4/1931, pp. 52–56.
  • Rudolph Weber: Rational Steno. Exercise book I / basic script . 4th edition. Hanau 1979
  • Rudolph Weber: Rational Steno. Exercise book II / advanced writing . 4th edition. Hanau 1979
  • Fight for craquelure . In: Der Spiegel . No. 45 , 1966, pp. 174 ( online - also on stepography).
  • Shorthand for left-handers . In: Hamburger Abendblatt , December 24, 1976, p. 22; u. a. also about Helmut Stief and stepography

Web links