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T h o m a s F i n ch , 1 B . S . , M . E d .

C lass C haracter is t ics of Alphabe t ic Sp eedw rit ingS hor tha nd S y s te m s

REF ERE NC E: Finch, T., Class Characterist ics of Alphabetic Speedwriting Shorthand Sys-t em s , Journal of Forensic Sciences JFSCA, Vol . 37, No. 1 ; Jan. 1992, pp. 265-280.AB ST RACT : The handw ri ting class character is t ics of fou r a lph abet ic speedw ri t ing shor than dsystems are ident i f ied and com pared. The four systems are ana lyzed and com pared pr imar i lyby (1) let ter form simplif ication; (2) prin ted and cursive ca pital let te r form s; (3) disjoin edand jo ined le t ter forms; (4) superscr ip t and subscr ip t le t ter or number forms, or both;(5) capi ta l and smal l le t ters or symbols , or a combinat ion of these , used as abbreviat ions;(6) nonalpha bet ic symbols; and (7) phrasing or comb inat ions of symbols.KE YW ORDS: que stione d documents, hand writ ing, speed writ ing , class chara cterist ics, al-phabe t i c shor thand

D e f i n i t i o n s o f T e r m sSpecific system meaning--A l e t t e r o r s y m b o l t h a t r e p r e s e n t s a p r e f i x , s u f fi x , w o r d s o u n d ,

o r l e t t e r f o r a s p e c i f i c a l p h a b e t i c s p e e d w r i t i n g s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m .Word outline--A c o m b i n a t i o n o f l e tt e r s o r s y m b o l s o r b o t h t h a t r e p l a c e s a c o m p l e t ew o r d o r p h r a s e .Subscript--A l e t t e r o r s y m b o l t h a t is d e s i g n e d t o b e w r i t te n t h r o u g h o r b e l o w t h e b a s e l i n eo f t h e w o r d o u t l in e f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f a s p e ci f ic u n i q u e s y s t e m m e a n i n g .Superscript--A l e t t e r o r s y m b o l t h a t is d e s i g n e d t o b e w r i t t e n o f f th e b a s e l i n e a n d a b o v et h e w o r d o u t l in e f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f a s p e c if ic u n i q u e s y s t e m m e a n i n g .Joined--A l e t t e r f o r m ( p r i n t e d o r c u r s i v e ) o r s y m b o l t h a t is w r i t t e n i n a c o n n e c t e dm a n n e r i n a n a l p h a b e t i c s p e e d w r i ti n g s y st e m .Disjoined--A l e t t e r o r s y m b o l t h a t is w r i t t e n in a n u n c o n n e c t e d m a n n e r w i t h i n a na l p h a b e t i c s p e e d w r i t i n g s h o r t h a n d s y s t em .Printed--A n o n c u r s i v e f o r m u s u a l l y w r i t t e n w i t h li t t le o r n o r e t r a c i n g o r i n i ti a l o r t e r m i n a ls t r o k e s . I t m a y b e u s e d i n a n a l p h a b e t i c s p e e d w r i t i n g s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m a s a na l t e r n a t i v e f o r m t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e l e t t e r s fo r t h e p u r p o s e s o f sp e c i f i c s y s t e m m e a n i n g .Cursive--A c o n n e c t e d l e t t e r f o r m w h i c h m a y o r m a y n o t h a v e a s p ec i fi c s y s t e m m e a n i n g .Letter form simplification--Small l e t t e r fo r m s t h a t a r e s i n g l e d o u t i n a n a l p h a b e t i c s p e e d -w r i t in g s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m to b e a l t e r n a ti v e f o rm s f r o m t h e g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t e dc o p y b o o k f o r m s ( s e e T a b l e 1 ).

Nonalphabeticforms--Symbols o r p u n c t u a t i o n m a r k s t h a t a r e n o t p a r t s o f t h e a l p h a b e t i c( a to z ) s y s t e m w h i c h a r e u s e d i n a n a l p h a b e t i c s p e e d w r i t in g s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m f o rs p e ci fi c s y s t e m m e a n i n g o r p u n c t u a t i o n ( s e e T a b l e 5 ).

P r esen ted a t t he 43 rd Annu a l Mee t ing o f the A mer ican Aca dem y o f Forens i c Sc iences, Ana he im,CA , 18 -23 Feb . 1991 . Rece ived fo r pub l i ca t ion 5 March 1991 ; accep ted fo r pub l i ca t ion 12 June1991.1Forensic docum ent analyst , Cr ime Lab oratory , U.S. P ostal Inspect ion Service , Chicago , IL.265

Copyright 1992 by ASTM International

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266 JOURNAL O F FORENSIC SCIENCESAlphabetic Speedw riting Shorthand

U n l i k e s y m b o l i c s h o r t h a n d s y s te m s , s u c h a s th e G r e g g o r P i t m a n s y s te m s , w h i c h a lm o s te x c lu s iv e ly u s e a s y s t e m o f s y m b o l s , a l p h a b e t i c s p e e d w r i t i n g s h o r th a n d s y s t e m s u s e t h el e tt e rs o f t h e a l p h a b e t a n d , i n s o m e s y s t em s , a l im i t e d n u m b e r o f n o n a l p h a b e t i c s y m b o l sto r e p r e s e n t w o r d p r e f i x e s , s u f fi x e s , a n d s o u n d s . T h e o n e p r in c ip l e o f t h e m a jo r i t y o fs h o r th a n d s y s t e m i s t o w r i t e w h a t y o u h e a r . F o r e x a m p le , i n o n e s y s t e m th e c a p i t a l l e t t e rC r e p r e s e n t s t h e c h s o u n d . T h e w o r d " c h e c k " i s w r i t t e n a s C k . N o n a l p h a b e t i c s y m b o l sa r e u s e d i n a s im i l a r m a n n e r . A h y p h e n i s u s e d i n o n e s y s t e m f o r t h e e d w o r d e n d in g .T h u s , t h e w o r d " f i n i s h e d " i s w r i t t e n a s f n s - .T h e a d v a n t a g e o f a n y a l p h a b e ti c s p e e d w r i ti n g s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m i s t h a t, f o r p u r p o s e so f tr a n s c r ip t i o n o r n o t e - t a k in g , i t i s f a s t e r t o w r i t e i n a s h o r th a n d s y s t e m th a n i n l o n g h a n d .T h e r e f o r e , t h e a l p h a b e t i c s h o r t h a n d s y s t em s a r e a n a l t e r n a ti v e t o t h e s y m b o l i c s h o r t h a n ds y s te m s , s u c h a s t h e G r e g g s y s te m . P u b l i sh e r s o f a l p h a b e t ic s h o r t h a n d s y s te m s h a v ed e s i g n e d t h e i r p r o d u c t t o b e u s e d i n b o t h s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s a n d p o s t s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l sa n d c o l l e g e s.

A r e v i e w o f t h e q u e s t i o n e d d o c u m e n t l i t e r at u r e r e v e a l s a n a b s e n c e o f r e s e a rc h o na l p h a b e ti c s h o r t h a n d s y s te m s . A n i n f o r m a l s u r v e y f o u n d a l a c k o f a w a r e n e s s a m o n gq u e s t i o n e d d o c u m e n t e x a m i n e r s a b o u t a l p h a b e t i c s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m s . T h e r e f o r e , t h eo b j e c t i v e s o f th i s r e s e a r c h w e r e c l e a r l y e s t a b l i s h e d . T h e y w e r e , f i rs t , t o g e n e r a t e a w a r e -n e s s a m o n g q u e s t i o n e d d o c u m e n t e x a m i n e r s t h a t a l p h a b e t i c s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m s e x i s t ;s e c o n d , t o a n a ly z e c l a ss c h a r a c t e r i st i c s o f e a c h . o f t h e f o u r c u r r e n t l y p u b l i s h e d s y s t e m s ;a n d t h i rd , t o c r e a t e a r e f e r e n c e a n d a r e s o u r c e f o r f u tu r e s t u d y a n d c u r r e n t a n a ly s i s o fq u e s t i o n e d d o c u m e n t p r o b l e m s r e l a t e d t o a l p h a b e t i c s p e e d w r i t i n g s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m s .

Four SystemsT h e f o u r a l p h a b e t i c s h o r t h a n d s y s te m s a n a l y z e d f o r th is r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t a r e d e s c r i b ed

in t h e f o l l o w in g c u r r e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s : Principles o f Speedw riting Shorthand [1 ] , pub l i shedb y G le n c o P u b l i s h in g C o . , w h ic h i s a d iv is i o n o f M c M i l l ia n , I n c . ; Stenoscript A B C Short-hand [ 2 ] , p u b l i s h e d b y P r o d u c t i v i t y S o f tw a r e I n t e r n a t i o n a l I n c . ; Super W rite AlphabeticWriting System [ 3] , p u b l i s h e d b y S o u th w e s t e r n P u b l i s h in g Co . ; a n d Study Ski l ls andNotetaking [ 4 ], p u b l i s h e d b y P a r a d ig m P u b l i s h in g . F o r p u r p o s e s o f t h is r e s e a r c h p a p e r ,t h e s e p u b l i s h e d s y s t e m s a r e i d e n t i f i e d r e s p e c t i v e ly a s S y s t e m s 1 , 2 , 3 , a n d 4 . E a c h s y s t e mh a s it s o w n o b j e c t i v e s a n d u t i l i z a t io n o f l e t te r s a n d s y m b o l s . H o w e v e r , t h e a u th o r o f t h isp a p e r i s p r im a r i l y c o n c e r n e d w i th a n a ly si s o f se l e c t e d c l a ss c h a r a c t e r i s ti c s o f t h e s y s t e m sf r o m t h e v ie w p o i n t o f t h e q u e s t i o n e d d o c u m e n t e x a m i n e r . N o e v a l u a t i o n o r j u d g m e n ti s m a d e o r im p l i e d r e g a r d in g t h e e d u c a t i o n a l p r i n c ip l e s , e f f i c i e n c y , o r e f f e c t i v e n e s s o ft h e f o u r s y s t e m s , e i t h e r i n d iv id u a l l y o r c o l l e c t i v e ly .

T h e m o s t c u r r e n t p u b l i s h e d f o r m o f e a c h s y s t e m w a s u s e d f o r a n a l y si s in t h is r e s e a r c hp r o j e c t . I t is i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t i n s p i te o f t h e d e c l i n e o f t r a d i ti o n a l s h o r th a n d a n d t h e a d v e n to f e le c t r o n ic d i c t a t io n a n d w o r d p r o c e s s in g s y s t em s , n e w a l p h a b e t i c s h o r t h a n d s y s te m sa r e b e in g p u b l i s h e d . I n f a c t , b o th S y s t e m 3 a n d S y s t e m 4 w e r e f i r s t p u b l i s h e d i n 1 9 9 0 .

Method and Sco pe of AnalysisT h e p r i m a r y m e t h o d o f a n a ly s is w a s b y d i r e c t o b s e r v a t i o n o f s e l e c te d c l a ss c h a r ac t e r -

i st ic s o f e a c h s y s t e m . A f t e r i n i t ia l e v a lu a t i o n o f e a c h s y s t e m , a d e c i s i o n w a s m a d e t ol im i t a n a ly s is t o t h e f o l l o w in g c h a r a c t e r i s ti c s :

( a ) l e t t e r f o r m s im p l i f i c a t io n ;( b ) s p e c i fi c s y s t e m m e a n in g o f c a p i t a l l e t t e r , s m a l l l e t t e r , a n d n o n a lp h a b e t i c f o r m s ;( c ) d e t e r m in a t i o n o f m u l t i p l e l e t t e r f o r m s ;

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FINCH 9ALPHABETIC SPEEDWRITING 267( d ) i d e n t i f i c a t io n o f s p e c i fi c p r i n t e d f o r m s ;( e ) j o in e d a n d d i s j o in e d f o r m s ;( f ) s u b s c r ip t a n d s u p e r s c r i p t f o r m s ;( g ) a b b r e v i a t i o n s ( w i th t h e e x c e p t i o n o f s m a l l le t t e r s a n d p h r a s in g o f w o r d o u t l i n e

f o r m s ) ; a n d( h ) n o n a l p h a b e t i c f o r m s ( b o t h f o r p u r p o s e s o f u n i q u e s y s t e m m e a n i n g a n d f o r p u n c -

tu a t i o n ) .T h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d p r e s e n t a t i o n o f al l f o u r s y s t e m s i s d o n e b y f i rs t i d e n t i f y in g t h e

s p e ci fi c s y s t e m m e a n i n g s a n d t h e n d e s c r ib i n g f o r e a c h o n e t h e l e t t e r o r s y m b o l u s e d t or e p r e s e n t t h a t p a r t ic u l a r m e a n i n g . T h e a n a l ys i s f o r th i s re s e a r c h p r o j e c t w a s p e r f o r m e db y f ir s t e x a m i n i n g e a c h l e t t e r f o r m ( c a p i ta l a n d s m a l l l e tt e r ) a n d e a c h n o n a l p h a b e t i c f o r ma n d t h e n d e s c r ib in g t h e s e l e c t e d c l a s s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c .

T h i s m e t h o d o f a n a ly s is w a s d e t e r m i n e d t o b e o f m o r e p o t e n t i a l v a l u e t o q u e s t i o n e dd o c u m e n t e x a m i n e r s b e c a u s e i t p r o v i d e s a c o m m o n b a si s f o r c o m p a r i s o n . I n d i v i d u a lw r i t e r s w e r e n o t t h e o b j e c t i v e o f t h e s t u d y . I t is w e l l k n o w n th a t i n d iv id u a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c st h a t a r e a d e p a r t u r e f r o m t h e c o p y b o o k f o r m h a v e g r e a t e r i d e n t i fi c a t io n v a l u e . T h e r e f o r e ,t h e q u e s t io n e d d o c u m e n t e x a m i n e r m u s t b e k n o w l e d g e a b le a b o u t h a n d w r i t in g s y s t e m si n o r d e r t o c o m p a r e a n d e v a l u a t e h a n d w r i t in g p r o p e r l y [ 5] , a l t h o u g h i t is g e n e r a l l y a g r e e dth a t s im i l a r i t i e s o r d i f f e r e n c e s i n l e t t e r f o r m s o r o th e r c l a s s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a lo n e d o n o tp r o v id e t h e b a s i s f o r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o r e l im in a t i o n [ 6 ] .

I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e b e t w e e n a h a n d w r i t i n g s y s t e m , s u c h a s t h e P a l m e r o rZ a n e r - B l o s e r s y s t e m s , a n d t h e f o u r s p e e d w r i t i n g s h o r t h a n d s y s te m s w h i c h a r e t h e s u b j e c to f t h is p a p e r . I t is h a n d w r i ti n g s y s t e m s t h a t d e t e r m i n e t h e m a s t e r p a t t e r n w h i c h t h e w r i t e rt h e n i n d iv id u a l i z e s i n a p r o g r e s s iv e m a n n e r a s h e o r s h e a p p r o a c h e s g r a p h i c m a tu r i t y [ 7 ] .A l p h a b e t i c s p e e d w r i t i n g s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m s a r e n o t i n t e n d e d t o t e a c h s o m e o n e h o w t ow r i t e , b u t d o p r o v i d e a s y st e m a t i c m e t h o d f o r t a k in g n o t e s a n d t r a n s c r ip t i o n . I t i s p r o b a b l ym o r e a c c u r a t e t o t h i n k o f a lp h a b e t i c s h o r t h a n d s y s t em s a s a p o t e n t i a l " f o r e i g n " i n f l u e n c eo n t h e i n d i v id u a l w r i te r . H o w e v e r , t h e i m p a c t o r e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e s e s y s t e m s o n t h ein d iv id u a l w r i t e r i s b e y o n d t h e s c o p e o f t h i s p a p e r .

Results of AnalysisT a b l e s 1 t h r o u g h 7 a r e t h e c o m p l e t e c o m p i l a t i o n o f t h e c l a ss c h a ra c t e ri s ti c s a n a l y z e d .

H o w e v e r , s o m e n o t a b l e r e s u l ts f o r e a c h s y s t e m n e e d e m p h a s i s .S y s t e m 1 , w h i c h i s t h e o l d e s t o f t h e f o u r s y s t e m s , i s t h e m o s t c o m p l e x s y s t e m b e c a u s ei t u s e s t h e m o s t c a p i t a l l e t t e r a n d n o n a l p h a b e t i c f o r m s f o r u n i q u e s y s t e m m e a n i n g [ 8 ] .U n i q u e s y s t e m m e a n i n g is d e f in e d a s t h e d e s i g n a t i o n o f a le t t e r f o r m o r s y m b o l i n p l a c eo f a w o r d , p r e f ix , s u f fi x, w o r d s o u n d , o r l e tt e r . W h e n t h e s e s y m b o l s w i t h u n i q u e s y s t e mm e a n i n g a r e u s e d i n c o m b i n a t i o n , t h e y f o r m w o r d o u t l i n e s t h a t a r e a s h o r t r e p r e s e n t a t i o no f t h e f u ll w o r d o r p h r a s e .

S p e c i f ic r e s u lt s i n c lu d e t h e s im p l i f ic a t i o n o f 1 7 s m a l l l e t t e r s , w i th 5 t h a t h a v e m u l t i p l ef o r m s . F o u r t e e n c a p i t a l l e t t e r s , 23 s m a l l l e t t e r f o r m s , a n d 1 0 n o n a lp h a b e t i c s y m b o l s a ls oh a v e s p e c i f i c s y s t e m m e a n in g . S y s t e m 1 d e s ig n a t e s 5 c a p i t a l p r i n t e d f o r m s a n d o n e s m a l ll e t t e r p r i n t e d f o r m a s h a v in g s p e c if i c s y s t e m m e a n in g . T h e r e a r e 4 sp e c i f ic a l l y d i s j o in e df o r m s a n d o n e s u p e r s c r i p t f o r m t h a t h a v e u n i q u e s y s t e m m e a n i n g . T h i s s y s t e m a l s o u se s9 c a p i t a l l e t te r s a s s p e c i fi c a b b r e v i a t i o n s . I n a d d i t i o n , S y s t e m 1 a l s o u se s n u m e r o u s s m a l ll e t t e r f o r m s a s a b b r e v i a t i o n s . H o w e v e r , n o a n a ly s i s o r t a b u l a t i o n s o f t h e s m a l l l e t te rf o r m s a s a b b r e v i a t i o n s w a s a t t e m p t e d .S y s t e m 2 h a s 7 c a p i t a l, 1 2 s m a l l l e tt e r , a n d 5 n o n a lp h a b e t i c f o r m s w i th s p e c if i c s y s t e mm e a n in g . T h i s s y s t e m a l s o u s e s 1 3 s m a l l l e t t e r f o r m s f o r s im p l i f i c a t io n . A n a ly s i s r e v e a l e dt h a t S y s t e m 2 d o e s n o t u s e a n y m u l t ip l e l e t t e r f o rm s . A l s o , S y s t e m 2 d o e s n o t u s e a n y

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2 6 8 J O U R N A L O F F O R E N S I C S C I E N C E ST A B L E 1 - - S im p l i f ic a t i o n o f letter form s in the fou r systems.

04 rr - . t" ~ { '~ O~ - .1 '= , . . , = ~ , .= , = = ~ =~ ' -1 r .~ r .~U ~ r ~ c n ~ . . , r .. n c n ~ n c n

1 1 8 1

ddddct -1 1 8 7 , 1 , 2

2 7 2 8 7 2

I11 8 1. g / h h - u -3 , 4 , 7 4 9 8 4

4 , 5 5 , 7 4 9 8 4 4 , 5 , 7

5 8

6 6 8 , 6 6A' ,X .g .e A'

2 5 8 2p d P7 8 8

1a . 9 . 5: . 4 3, 91 9 9 7i ? 9c x.1 0 8 8 1 0

q / - n . x - n d " - 'I /7 9 8 8 9

7 2 2 8 8

7 5 5

aNotes:1 No approach s t roke o r upper l oop .2 No approach s t roke o r l ower loop .3 No approach s t roke .4 No do t .5 No loop .6 Syst em shows open lo op - -n o t r e t raced .7 M ultiple forms.8 Included wi th th is table for comp ar ison wi th o ther systems.9 No cross.10 Sharp angular form.

p r i n t e d o r d i s j o i n e d l e t t e r f o r m s f o r s p e c i f ic s y s t e m m e a n i n g . T h i s s y s t e m h a s 21 s u p e r -s c r i p t a n d 4 s u b s c r i p t f o rm s i n v e r y s p e c if i c a b b r e v i a t i o n s . T a b l e 6 p r o v i d e s a c o m p l e t el is t o f t h e s e s p e c i fi c f o r m s . O n e s u b s c r i p t f o r m i s u s e d f o r a s p e c i f ic s y s t e m m e a n i n g .E l e v e n c a p i t a l l e t t e r f o rm s a r e u s e d f o r a b b r e v i a t i o n s i n S y s t e m 2 .

S y s t e m 3 h a s a n a p p r o a c h t h a t i s d i f f e r e n t f o r m t h o s e o f a l l t h e o t h e r s y s t e m s i n t h a ti t d o e s n o t r e q u i r e a n y c h a n g e i n t h e w r i t e r 's " n o r m a l w r i t in g s t y le " a n d " d o e s n o t r e q u i r em e m o r i z i n g a n e w a l p h a b e t " [3 ]. I n f a c t , t h e r e i s n o l e t t e r fo r m s i m p l i f i c a t io n o r n o n -a l p h a b e t i c f o r m u s e d i n S y s t e m 3. H o w e v e r , S y s t e m 3 d o e s d e s i g n a t e t h e s m a l l l e t t e r tf o r s i m p l i f i c a t io n . T h i s a l s o is t h e o n l y m u l t i p l e f o r m . S y s t e m 3 d o e s u s e 5 c a p i t a l l e t t e rf o r m s a n d 1 7 s m a l l l e t t e r f o rm s f o r s p e c i f ic s y s t e m m e a n i n g . H o w e v e r , t h i s s y s te m u s e so n l y o n e d i s j o i n e d l e t t e r f o r m a n d n o p r i n t e d , s u b s c r i p t , o r s u p e r s c r i p t f o r m s f o r s p e c if i cs y s te m m e a n i n g . S y s t e m 3 us e s o n l y o n e c a p i t a l f o r m a s a n a b b r e v i a t io n . F u r t h e r , S y s t e m

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FINCH. ALPHABETIC SPEEDWRITING 2 6 9T A B L E 2--C om pariso n of capital letter form s in the fou r systems.

1

1 , 2

t , 2 ,42

1

2

1

1 , 2313

1

1 , 2

3 , 4

1

1

2 , 3

1

l

A

B

C

C

D

F

M

N

N

O

P

S

S

S

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UUX

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7 -u

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a d - , a l - ~ aADVISE- b le , - b e l , - b l y 6 ~ aABLEch ~ TEACHER acite-, c t r c u m - ~ , ~ CIRCLE a

dis- ~ DISTANT a-ful ~ a , eCAREFULm i s - ~ MISLEAD ae n t e r - , i n t e r - ~ } 7 / - - a- r i s e t -ace ENTERTAINi n- , - nt , . , . ~ / ~ a-rid - e n d - , v v v , L I N D E N Tover- ~ a

O V E R T I M Ep e r - , p u t - , p r e - ~ ) ~ dp r o - - - ~ P R E FE R- s t- t i o n ( s y s te m 3o n l y ) s h ( i s h )( s y s t e m 3 & 4)-script, - s c r i b e ,super-, circ-circum-cer-, cir-,s e t - t S U r -t r a n s -

t r a n s -

u n d e r - ( s y s t e m 3 )un- ( s y s t e m i)extra-, extr

TEST aa

SUFFICIENTS . - - ' , . ~ d

SUPERM~S . , , - ~SERVE

TRANSMIT

~ UNDERTAKE aEXTREME

~ C a p i t a l c u r s i v e f o r m .b C a p i t a l p r i n t e d f o r m .c J o i n e d c a p i t a l p r i n t e d f o r m .d D i s j o i n e d c a p i t a l p r i n t e d f o r m .e F o r m e d li k e t h e n u m b e r 7 w i t h a c r o s s b a r .t O t h e r c a p it a l fo r m s m a y b e u s e d a s b r i e f f o r m s o r a s a b b r e v i a t io n s .

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270 J OUR NAL OF FOR ENSIC SC IENC EST A B L E 3- -C a p i t a l l e tt e r f o r m s u s e d a s a b b r e v ia t io n s .

, z

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3 i s t h e o n l y o n e o f t h e s y s t e m s t h a t u s e s c a p i t a l l e t t e r s f o r t h e f i r s t l e t t e r o f a p r o p e rn a m e , y e t l i k e a ll t h e t h r e e o t h e r s y s t e m s , i t d o e s n o t u s e c a p i t a l l e tt e r s in t h e f i rs t w o r do f a s e n t e n c e .

S y s t e m 4 i s d e s i g n a t e d a s a " s y s t e m o f r a p i d w r i t i n g " [ 4 ] . T h i s s y s t e m d e s i g n a t e s 1 1s m a l l le t t e r f o r m s f o r s i m p l i f i c a t i o n , a n d 4 o f t h e s e h a v e m u l t i p l e f o r m s . S y s t e m 4 h a s 2c a p i t a l a n d 2 7 s m a l l l e t t e r f o r m s t h a t h a v e a s p e c i fi c s y s t e m m e a n i n g . T h i s s y s t e m h a so n l y 2 p r i n t e d , 8 d i s j o i n e d , 2 s u p e r s c r i p t , a n d o n e s u b s c r i p t f o r m w i t h s p e c i fi c m e a n i n g .O n l y o n e n o n a l p h a b e t i c f o r m h a s a s p e c i fi c s y s te m m e a n i n g f o r t h is s y s te m . N o c a p i t a ll e t t e r s a r e u s e d a s a b b r e v i a t i o n s i n t h i s s y s t e m .

O n e a s p e c t o f th i s s y st e m a n d o f th e o t h e r t h r e e w h i c h w a s n o t p a r t o f t h e c la s sc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a n a l y z e d w a s t h e u s e o f s m a l l le t t e r f o r m s o r a c o m b i n a t i o n o f s m a l l l e t t e r st o m a k e a s p e c if ic a b b r e v i a t i o n o r t o c r e a t e p h r a s i n g . F o r e x a m p l e , i n S y s t e m 4, t h e

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FINCH. ALPHABETICSPEEDWRITING 271T A B L E 4--C omp arison o f small letter forms in the four systems.

I a

2 a3 , 4 b

2 c4 c4 c C4 d d3 d

4 e3 f

1 ,3 f, f /, f )

2 g ~3 g ~4 g ~

?

t h h2 J t

1 ,2 k1 , 23 1 ~

SOUND, P R E F I X E X A M P L EO R SUF F I X( A l s o S e e N o t e A

a v d r a w i n ga d - , a l 6 t , ? ? U ~ a d m i r eb e - , b l e / ~ t r o u b l e

6 c h - t e a c h e r6 ` c o n - , c om - c o n t r o l

D-icle - c a l , cle ~ C l o g i c a l- e d s a v e dd e - d e c i d e

r e a d i l yf o r - , f o r e - , f u r ~ f o r c a s t

- f u l ~ c a r e f u l- f u l ~ ~ r a t e f u l- i f y , i f i c a t i o n / # L a ~ n o t i f y- g ra m P 7 p r o gr a m- n g ~ e a t l n ~-ing ~ 0 ~ ~rowingThe vo rd ago us ed ~s .i n c om m o n p h r a s e s days ago- i ng , I n g s ~ . r p a r t i n g- h o o d p a r e n t h o o ds h u n , c h un 0 " ~- -I o c c a s i o nC O m j c o n -c o t ~ t e r t c o n t r a co~Ron= l y f a m i l y

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2 7 2 JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCEST A B L E 4--Continued.

2 m ~ mis-mem-, merit-3 , 4 m ~ [im, em-System 4only]

1 , 4 m ~ - m e n t

4 m ~ mis-1,3 en-, in4 n /~ . [tin- System 4only]inter-, enter-4 n ~ Intr-, entr-

I

3

4

4 o O " o v e r

3 p ~ -pal, -pie

3 pr ~ pre-, pro-I, 2 [qu, vowel + nk]3 q ~ . . [ k w , System 1only I1,4 q ~ quire

3,4 r /~ re-

4 r / ~ -ure

3 s ~ -s

I s . ~ s ub -4 s . ~ s u b-

I s ~ sh(Ish)- c t a l (shul)1 s ~ - t t a l ( c h u l )

4 s . . ~ s u p e r

4 s ~ s e l fs h u l , chulI sl -cial, -tial

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member

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mistake

e n t i r e

introduce

t wn io C > ow

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overhead [ c

0 amplep r e f e r

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repair

procedure

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s p e c i a let o o t h

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FINCH 9ALPHABETIC SPEEDWRITING 2 7 3T A B L E 4 - - C o n t i n u e d .

them2 3 t ~ t treat3,4 t ~ -Ity ~ q u a n t i t y4 t ~-- -ther (ith) ~ gath er

, t . ~ t r a m s- " ~ t r a n s fe r4 t n ~ - r a i n detained

1 , 2 , 34 u U un- U untilu n d e r ( S y s t e m 4 ) ~ u n d e r n e a t hu l & a l4 u l V . [omit I result

1 v - ~ - t i v e r e l a t i v e2 v ~ / - - t t v e

r e l a t l v e1 w ~ - w a rd ~ ) - t o w a r dI x \ vowel + x e x p l a i n

3 , 4 x ~ e x - e x p e r tI x /2~ media l & final x boxes2 x /~ eeus, shul, shus devious

oy ~1,2 y (-4 (System )I ry & rry o r (oi) loyal2 z ~ s h ( i s h ) 6 " 3 f i s h

1 z ~ zh ~ pleasure" J o i n e d l e t t e r f o r m .~ l e t t e r f o r m .c D i s j o i n e d a n d s u p e r s c r i p t f o r m .d P r i n t e d a n d j o i n e d s m a l l s .e C r o s s e d t .P U n c r o s s e d t .g D i s j o i n e d a n d w r i t t e n t h r o u g h t h e b a s e l i n e ( s u b s c r i p t ).h M a n y s m a l l l e t t er f o r m s a r e a l so u s e d a s a b b r e v i a t i o n s . T h e

s o u r c e p u b l i c a t i o n s s h o u l d b e c o n s u l t e d f o r e a c h s y s t e m .

ff

b , fe

b , ff

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limited

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FINCH. ALPHABETICSPEEOWRITING 2 7 5T A B L E 6- -S ys te m 2 superscript and subscript form s in abbreviations.

Wednesday ~ Vermont VT)October ~ Virginia (VA)December ~ Washington (WA)Western ~ ] ' V . Wes t Virginia (WV)~ - Northeast ~ Wisc onsin (WI)

L ~ - -~ Southeast ~ W yoming (WY)

Southwestern _ ~ PuertoRico (PR)_ ~ Delaware (DE) ~ Vir gi n slands (Vl)

District ofColumbia (DC) ~ On tari o (ON)Ohio (OH) Prince EdwardIsland (PE)Oklahoma (OK) 6 ~ About

( ~ Oregon (OR) /J(.~/ ~, Without_ -- _ Q./7 ~ Penns yl vania PA)

p h r a s e " t o k n o w " i s w r i t t e n i n a s i n g l e w o r d o u t l i n e a s t n o ( w r i t t e n i n c u r s iv e w r i t i n gw i th t h e t u n c r o s s e d ) .

F i g u r e 1 s h o w s e x a m p l e s o f t h e f o u r s y s t e m s .

C o n c l u s i o n sT h e f o u r a l p h a b e t i c s p e e d w r i t i n g s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m t h a t w e r e a n a l y z e d f o r t h i s p a p e r

h a v e o n e f e a t u r e i n c o m m o n . A l l f o u r s y s t e m s h a v e t h e p r i m a r y p u r p o s e o f p r o v i d i n gt h e w r i t e r w i t h a s y s t e m a t i c m e t h o d f o r r a p i d l y t a k i n g n o t e s o r t r a n s c r i b i n g . W h i l e t h es p e c i fi c d e s ig n a t i o n s i n e a c h s y s t e m o f l e t t e r s im p l i f i c a t i o n , m u l t i p l e f o r m s , p r i n t e d a n dc u r s iv e f o r m s , j o i n e d a n d d i s jo i n e d f o r m s , s u b s c r ip t a n d s u p e r s c r i p t f o r m s , n o n a l p h a b e t i cf o r m s , a n d a b b r e v i a t i o n s a r e q u i t e d i f f e r e n t a n d a p p a r e n t l y s o m e w h a t a r b i t r a r y , t h e y d op r o v id e a s p e c i fi c s e t o f c l a ss c h a r a c t e r i s ti c s f o r e a c h s y s t e m .

A n a ly s i s o f t h e f o u r s y s t e m s h a s p r o v id e d e n o u g h s p e c i f i c d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e c l a s sc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t o d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n t h e s y s t e m s , p r o v i d e d a n a d e q u a t e q u a n t i t y o fw r i t i n g is s t u d i e d . O b v io u s ly , i f o n ly a l im i t e d a m o u n t o f w r i t i n g is o b s e r v e d , t h e r e m a yb e a q u e s t i o n a s t o t h e c e r t a i n ty o f s y s te m i d e n t if i c at i o n . I t m u s t a l s o b e r e m e m b e r e dth a t t h i s i s o n ly r e l e v a n t t o c la s s c h a r a c t e r is t i c s . T h e r e f o r e , n o e r r o n e o u s c o n c lu s io n ss h o u l d b e m a d e a b o u t a n i n d i v id u a l w r i te r . I n f a c t , s o m e s y s t e m s e n c o u r a g e t h e s t u d e n tt o m o d i f y th e s y s t e m t o m e e t h is o r h e r i n d i v id u a l n e e d s .

I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t S y s t e m s 1 a n d 2 u s e m o r e n o n a lp h a b e t i c s y m b o l s t h a n S y s t e m s 3a n d 4 . T h i s is a p p a r e n t l y a s t r a t e g y b y t h e a u t h o r s o f th e n e w e r s y s t em s t o m a k e t h e i rs y s t e m s e a s i e r a n d q u i c k e r t o l e a r n . I n t h i s a u th o r ' s o p in io n , i t i s e a s i e r t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e

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2 7 6 JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES

L ~

5

S~176 Imzo30T~oqeqaTV-uoNsuoT~eTno=qqv-poauTzd I

~dTa~s~adn$

auTT1no p=o~/pauTo~STOauTo,no p=oA o~ pauTo~

po~uT=doaTs~n3

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.~1III - I f ,

I I I I I I II I I I I I II I I I I I II~II.II~III I I I I Il i l l l lI~1111~ll~ll~ll~llll~ll~lI I I I I I I l l l l l l lIHHI1111.111

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s~oTaeTAazqqv-paauTz~suoT~eT~azqqv-o~Ts=nD

~dTzos~adns~dTzosqns

ouTT~no pzo~/PauTo[sTOaUTO,no pzo ~ o~ pouTopo~uTz~

aATs~n3mzo~ ou0 ueq~ a~og~uTueoN m osses onbTu~

~ T T ~ . ~ ~ o ~ T ~mo~s~Sao3aoq

I . It iJi i t lJil Ii i l l t t

I I I 'l lH.li.i

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I II~11111111111 II II III I I I I I Ii ~ JJ l l l t l . i l . I i l i i~ i l J l ] f JH JI l l i l l i i l i i l i t l i t i J l i l i l li l i l i t l i t i l I t l i l i l l l i l4 1

i i l l i i t t t i l t l t t . i t l l t i l i ti t l t l i i l l l f t i i l i i J l l I J t i lI t i l l l i l t t i l i l t t t l t l ] t i l l

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FINCH * ALPHABETIC SPEEDWRMNG 277

~

i

SNOS~qn

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FINCH 9ALPHABETIC SPEEDWRITING 279S Y S T E M 1

S Y S T E M 2

S Y S T E M 3~ . ; ~ ~

~ ~ . x ~c~ ~

S Y S T E M 4

r t , e ,

F I G . 1 - - E x a m p le s of the .four alphabetic speedwriting shorthand systems.

b e tw e e n S y s t e m s 1 a n d 2 t h a n b e tw e e n S y s t e m s 3 a n d 4 . T h i s i s a d i r e c t r e s u l t o f t h e u s eo f n o n a l p h a b e t i c s y m b o l s . S y s t e m 4 is n o t a b l e i n t h a t i t c o m b i n e s s t u d y s k il l d e v e l o p m e n tw i th a n a lp h a b e t i c s p e e d w r i t i n g s y s t e m w h ic h is d e s ig n e d f o r n o t e - t a k in g . S y s t e m 3 isa l so p u b l i s h e d in a f o r m a t " d e s i g n e d t o t e a c h n o t e t a k i n g s k i l l . . , f o r p e r s o n a l , e d u c a t i o n ,and business use". [9] .

A s s t a t ed b e f o r e , T a b l e s 1 t h r o u g h 7 c o n t a i n a t o t a l c o m p i l a t i o n o f t h e s e l e c t e d c l a s sc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f a l l f o u r s y s t e m s . T h e a u th o r b e l i e v e s t h a t t h i s i n f o r m a t io n w i l l p r o v id ea r e so u r c e f o r q u e s ti o n e d d o c u m e n t e x a m i n e rs w h o m a y f ac e a d o c u m e n t p r o b l e m i n-v o l v in g a l p h a b et i c s p e e d w r i t i n g s h o r t h a n d s y s t e m s .

R e f e r e n c e s[1] Pullis, J. M., Principles of Speedwriting Shorthand, Glencoe Publishing Co., Mission Hills, CA,1987.[2] Asadi, M. W ., StenoscriptABCShorthand, Productivity Software International, Inc., New Y ork,1989.[3] Lemaster, A. J. land Hankin, E. G ., Sup er Write Alphabetic Writing Syste m, SouthwesternPublishing Co., Cincinnati, OH, 1990.[4] Condon, G. A., Study Skills and Notetaking, Paradigm Publishing International, Ed en Prairie,MN, 1990.

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2 8 0 J O U R N A L O F F O R E N S I C S C I E N C E S[5] Somerford, A. W., 20th Century Handwriting Systems and Their Importance to the DocumentsExaminer, U.S. Post Office Department, Washington, DC, 30 Jan. 1948.[6] Hilton, O., Scientific Examination o f Q uestioned Documents, Elsevier North-Holland, Inc., New

York, 1982, pp. 160-171.[7] Harrison, W. R., Suspect Documents, Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, New York, 1958, pp.258-307.[8] Dearborn, E. B., Speedwriting, the Natural Shorthand, School of Speedwriting, Inc., NewYork, NY, 1937.[9] Lemaster, A. J. and Hankin, E. G., Notemaking Super Write, Southwestern Publishing Co.,Cincinnati, OH, 1991.Address requests for reprints or additional information toThomas Finch, M.Ed.Crime Laboratory, Room 723U.S. Postal Inspection Service433 W. Van Buren St.Chicago, IL 60607-5451