… looking for “Long U, machine steno.” I’m always happy to help. I love posting these because they are so random and so obscure and everybody else HATES them. Hahahahaha. Sorry, everybody else. I thought you knew I was a sadist.
Here I go, dispensing free information, helpful sadist that I am.
Okay, searcher. Long U in machine steno is stroked:
AOU
There you go. Long U.
Featured in words such as:
cute: KAOUT
suit: SAOUT
brute: PWRAOUT
This is assuming, of course, that someone has told you that “PW” is initial “B” which I’m now really questioning since it would appear that no one has bothered to tell you how to write the basic vowel sounds. Too bad I’m not your teacher. Seriously, searcher. You have no idea how badly you need me. Anyhoo. Please proceed apace with your studies. I’m here should you need me.
You will.
P.S., searcher: I’m now starting to worry that no one has even told you what letters the keys are and seeing as how they’re blank, it could be a rather demoralizing way to start your schooling. So here’s a chart to help you with Long U, et al:
Please don’t cry. You will learn to smile again. Some day.
Maybe this is a dumb question, but it’s a serious one: why don’t stenographers just use typewriters?
sarahk — That’s not a dumb question; it’s an excellent question! I love that you asked it. I love it if anyone asks about it because I am a dork.
To answer you: Mainly because you just can’t go fast enough. I mean, how fast can a person type? 100 wpm, 120 wpm? Court reporters need to be able to write at speeds over 200 wpm, so they use the machine. Typewriters/computers work by striking one key at a time, as we all know. Steno machines work by striking multiple keys simultaneously — I always call them “chords” because I play the piano and I think it’s a pretty good analogy. I can write an entire word in one stroke. Sometimes I can write several words in one stroke if there’s an abbreviation for that particular phrase of words. So that’s why. Believe it or not, the way the machine is designed — letter placement based on most frequently occurring letters, etc. — facilitates speed.