All right, peeps. I’ve worked up this very basic English-to-Machine-Steno Translation for you …. (or for those of us, ahem, nerds who find this vaguely interesting.) Oh, and the dashes before the letters means you use the final side/right side of the keyboard only. Got that, WordGirl? 😉
Now this takes up a lot of space, sorry, but keep scrolling down after it. I found an example of steno writing from a website. It’s a fancy- schmancy moving image that shows the writing with the translation.
Ooh! Ahh!
So check that out.
My next post will have a Machine Steno Translation CONTEST!
I’m working on posting something that YOU will need to translate correctly to ME. Haven’t decided what you’ll win.
“A sense of smug satisfaction” sounds good to me.
So study up and be ready for the EXCITEMENT!
Initial B: PW
Initial CH: K H
Initial D: TK
Initial F: T P
Initial G: TKPW
Initial H: H
Initial J: S K W R
Initial K: K
Initial L: HR
Initial M: P H
Initial N: T P H
Initial P: P
Initial QU: K W
Initial R: R
Initial S: S
Initial T: T
Initial V: S R
Initial W: W
Initial Y: K W R
Initial Z: SWR
Final B: -B
Final CH: -F P
Final D: -D
Final DZ: -DZ
Final F: -F
Final G: -G
Final J: -PBLG
Final K: -B G
Final L: -L
Final M: -P L
Final MP: -FRP
Final N: -PB
Final NG: -PB G
Final NJ: -PB G
Final NK: * -PB G
Final P: -P
Final R: -R
Final RCH: -FRPB
Final RF: -FR B
Final RVE: -FR B
Final S: -S
Final SH: -R B
Final T: -T
Final V: -F
Final X: -B G S
Final Z: -Z
Vowel A: A
Vowel A (Long): A EU
Vowel Aw: A U
Vowel E: E
Vowel E (Long): AO E
Vowel I: EU
Vowel I (Long): AO EU
Vowel O: O
Vowel O (Long): O E
Vowel OI: O EU
Vowel OO: AO
Vowel OU: O U
Vowel U: U
Vowel U (Long): AO U
OK, this is pretty cool. Here’s my question: why is it in such a strictly columnar layout? Is there meaning inherent in the columns, or do the outputs of the individual letters merely always go to the same column? It looks like it’s the latter, but I just wanted to double-check.
OK, after a little more watching, the columns are:
STKPWERAO EUFRPBLGT
…which means that it’s case 2.
Next question: are some things harder to read than others? “Hennepin” looks pretty tough to me, seeing as how it’s over two lines.
Next question: Say you’re writing along at 260 wpm. And then you make a mistake. How do you correct it?
Are there timestamps? Can you say that at 11:15, the prosecutor said “Isn’t it true that you’re a bad, bad person?” In fact, how do you denote who says what? Do you write it like a script? EG:
Prosecutor: “Isn’t it true that you’re a bad, bad person?”
Defendant: “Uh, no?”
In the previous post you mentioned that people have different briefs (aka “sweet, sweet briefs”). Can you give us an example of some of yours?
Ahhhhhhh……GEEK OUT!
-M@
Why does “TKREUBGT” translate to “district”, though? There’s only one “EU” in there, and I would expect two. Clearly, some vowels are implicit. Like Hebrew! Without the diacritical marks. Or the right-to-left reading. So really, it’s not much like Hebrew, except for this one thing.
-M
M@ — Wow. Great questions! Not that I expected any less from you. Okay. Here you go:
1. The letters print out according to their positions on the keyboard, yes.
Left side letters: STKPWHRAO
Right side: EUFRPBLGTSDZ
2. The name “Hennepin” is harder to read in the readout because, you’re right, it takes 2 strokes to write that word. It’s a 3-syllable word, but unaccented syllables are not written. Hey, that’s an easy word to write!
3. “Say you’re writing along at 260 wpm.” Uh, that’s pretty rare, first of all! That aside, if you make a mistake on a “modern” steno machine, you hit the * key all by itself. It deletes what came before. Otherwise, you correct it when you edit it on your computer later.
3. Timestamps? Um, no. But if the prosecutor said that, it would be in the transcript. This is verbatim writing; people should watch what they say, but they don’t. They REALLY don’t. Rather like life.
4. Great question about how you denote who’s speaking. Here’s how:
We use what are called “symbols.” On the keyboard, you have 5 built-in symbols:
THE COURT (Judge): STKPWHR-FRPBLGTS
ATTORNEYS CAN BE:
STPHAO
SKWRAO
EUFPLT
EURBGS
For more speakers, one must get creative.
If you’re at a depo and 6 attorneys walk in, you can assign those 4 symbols above, but then you must improvise 2 more for the duration of the job. Say your last 2 attorneys are a Ms. MacIntosh and a Mr. Kennedy. My solution would be to write “MAC/MAC” (PHABG/PHABG) for MacIntosh and
“KEN/KEN” (KEPB/KEPB) for Kennedy.
5. Ooh, my briefs. I was the “Brief QUEEN.” Um, let’s see. Some sports briefs:
football: FAOBL (TPAOBL)
baseball: BAEUBL
basketball: B-BL
volleyball: VAUBL (SRAUBL)
6. And “TKREUBGT” is a brief for “district.” It’s a way to write the word in fewer strokes. Some writers are “brief” writers; some “write everything out.” One method is not better than the other, although it might seem that way on the surface. It has to do, really, with each person’s brain and what processes best for him or her. Some of the fastest writers out there don’t use briefs at all.
Ta da!
Wait, wait. For some reason, I misunderstood the “timestamp” question. The answer is yes, they DO have time stamps. As a matter of fact, any time a proceeding is videotaped as well as reported, it’s required that the two synch up timewise. But this is a pretty new thing in the court reporting field.
Grüvy. Thanks! Keep it coming!
-M@
Are you proposing another layout for the stenomachine?
if so what are your patrons?
Um, no, sergio. That’s pretty standard steno theory.
EU/THEU/KWROU/TKEUD/A/PRET/TEU/TKPWAOD/SKWROB/FPLT/KWROU/AT/HRAO*ES/PHAED/EUT/AZ/HARD/AZ/EUT/RAEL/HREU/S
That being said…nice website…were or are you an actually court reporter, or how did you learn any of it?