A Shorter Course in Munson Phonography | by James E. Munson
This text-book of Phonography is, as its name implies, a course in Munson Phonography that is shorter than that presented in the author's recent and larger work, The Art of Phonography. It has been designed especially as a phonographic instruction book for schools, by the use of which teachers will be able to advance their pupils with great rapidity to a practical knowledge of Phonography, without at the same time sacrificing thoroughness.

G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London
A Shorter Course in Munson Phonography
Containing a complete exposition of the Author's system of Shorthand, with all the latest improvements, adapted for the use of schools, and planned to afford the fullest instruction to those who have not the assistance of a teacher
By James E. Munson
Official Stenographer, New York Supreme Court, and Author of "The Art of Phonography"
Second, Revised, Edition
G. P. Putnam's Sons New York And London
The Knickerbocker Press
Copyright, 1912 By Josephine L. Munson
Preface- Mr. Munson was so careful and so thorough in his work that a revision might be considered unnecessary, yet he never lost sight of the fact that daily practice will reveal errors or defects which might...
Preface To First Edition.- This text-book of Phonography is, as its name implies, a course in Munson Phonography that is shorter than that presented in the author's recent and larger work, The Art of Phonography (A complete ins...
Historical Sketch Of Shorthand.- England is the birthplace of true shorthand, and the art has had its entire growth and development to its present high state of perfection among English-speaking peoples, without any assistance from t...
Phonography. Lesson I.- i. Phonography Defined. - Phonography is a method of shorthand writing in which each sound of the language is written with a sign of its own. 2. Number of Sounds. - There are forty dist...
Rules For Reading Phonography.- 19. If a vowel-sign is written at the right of an upright or slanting consonant-stem, or below a horizontal stem, the consonant is read first and the vowel next. 20. If a vo...
Directions About Writing.- 22. Materials Used. - Phonography should always be written on paper with lines - wide ruled being the best ; and either pen or pencil may be used. 23. How to Hold the Pen. -...
Of The Consonants.- 24. Length of Consonant-Stems. - The proper length that the consonant-stems should be made is about one-sixth of an inch, the forms in the reading exercises being models in this respect. I...
Rules For Writing Phonography.- 28. Order of Writing. - The consonant-stems of words are always written before writing any of the vowels, and the vowel-signs are afterwards placed to the stems. 29. One Consonant and One V...
Phonography. Lesson II.- 30. The learner should now commit to memory the remaining nine consonant-signs of the Phonographic Alphabet (page xvi ), in the same way that the first sixteen were memorized (17); that is, from Em to...
The Long - Vowels.- 34. In the previous lesson only two vowels were given to the learner to use, namely, the two long-vowels (a and 6) of the second position. It will now be necessary to learn the four other ...
Word-Position.- 39. Three Word-Positions. - There are three different positions, up and down, with reference to the line, in which words are written - high, median, and low being called respectiv...
Vowel-Places Suggest Word-Positions.- 47. First Vowel-Place. - The first vowel-place is associated with and suggests the first word-position - that is, above the line. 48. Second Vowel-Place. - The second vowel-...
Words Of One Stem And One Vowel.- 50. When a word has but one consonant-stem and one vowel-sound, it is written in position by putting the stem in the position indicated by the place of the vowel, in accordance with the principles lai...
The Diphthongs.- 52. Besides the twelve simple-vowels, which are written with dots and dashes, there are in our language four Diphthongs, or glide-vowels, which are written with small angle-points, placed ...
Phonography. Lesson III. The Short-Vowels.- 59. The six short-vowels are written with light dots and dashes as follows: 1. The sound of a in at, with a light dot in the first-place. 2. The sound of e in...
Words Of More Than One Stem.- 69. Consonant-Outline Written before Vowels. As has been already stated (28), all the consonant-stems of a word are written before writing any of the vowel-signs. The entire outline is...
Which Stem To Write The Vowel To.- 72. One Vowel between Stems.- When one vowel only occurs between consonants, its sign is sometimes written to the first stem and sometimes to the second. The general rule that governs in such cases is...
Position Of Words Of Two Or More Stems And One Vowel.- 77. When a word has more than one consonant-stem and but one vowel-sound, it is put in its proper position as follows: I. If the outline commences with an upright or slanting stem, or i...
Phonography. Lesson IV. Position Of Words Of More Than One Vowel.- 81. When a word has more than one vowel-sound, as also, uneasy, memory, etc., the position of its outline is determined by the place of the accented vowel. The accented vowel is the one that is sounde...
About Certain Stem-Joinings.- 85. A Straight Stem is Repeated by making it double its ordinary length; thus, 86. A Curved Stem is Repeated by writing it twice without taking off the pen, making a sharp angle betwee...
Phonography. Lesson V. Downward And Upward Stems. Er, Ree, Ish, Shee, El, And Lee.- 96. The learner will recall the fact that the consonant r has two stems assigned to it, namely, and , each having a name of its own, Er and Ree respectively ; and that when standing...
At The End Of Outlines.- 100. General Rule. - At the termination of outlines, the last stem of which is an r, sh, or / sign, I. The upstroke is used if the word ends with a vowel-sound, and II....
At The Beginning Of Outlines.- 104. General Rule. - At the beginning of outlines, the first stem of which is an r, sh, or / stem, unless the result will be a difficult or awkward word-form, the following rule is applied...
In The Middle Of Outlines.- no. When a sign of the r, sh, and / series occurs between two stems, generally the stems Ree, Ish, and Lee are used. Examples: III. Exceptions. - The following are exceptions...
Phonography. Lesson VI. Breve-Signs For Hay, Way, And Yay.- 113. Besides the heavy stems, Hay, Way, and Yay, for the sounds of h, w, and y, light breve-signs for writing these consonants are also provided, as explained below. 114. &q...
Capitals And Punctuation.- 127. Proper Names. - Whenever it is desirable to indicate that a shorthand outline stands for a word that begins with a capital letter, as, for instance, a proper name, it may be done by p...
Phonography. Lesson VII. Abbreviations.- 129. Of the large number of words used in speaking and writing English, fully one-half is made up by the repetition of certain common words such as the, and, of, to, in, a, for, it, be, bu...
Certain Abbreviations Described.- 134. An and And.When standing alone, both the words an and and are written with a light dot in the first-position (156). 135. A....
Phonography. Lesson VIII. The Breve-Signs.- 149. Number of Breve-signs. - There are twelve principal breve-signs used in phonography, the forms of which are here shown: Of these signs, Nos. 6 and 7 are shaded; all the rest are made lig...
Positions Of Breve And Dot Signs.- 154. Although dot word-signs, within the definition just given, are not strictly breves, for the sake of convenience the rule for their positions will be stated here, in connection with that for...
Phraseography.- 157. In writing sentences phonographically, oftentimes two or more words are joined together in one sign, without taking off the pen; very much as some rapid penmen connect words together...
Phonography. Lesson IX. Hooked Stems.- 180. Hooks, Initial and Final. - Hooks may be made at either end of any of the consonant-signs of the alphabet. When made at the finish of a stem, they are called Final-hooks ...
Final-Hooks.- 184. Vowel Read before Final-hook. - Any vowel-sign written to a stem with final-hook, whether it stands before the stem or after it, must always be read before the hook. Consequently when a ...
The Eff Or Vee Hook.- 190. Either f or v may be added to any straight stem by a small final hook turned on the side opposite the En-hook. This hook is not written on curved stems. Examples: 191. Names of Ef ...
Hooks In Phrase-Writing.- 195. Besides the use of the hooks to represent consonant-sounds in writing words standing alone, they are also sometimes employed in phrase-writing to indicate one or more entire ...
Phonography. Lesson X. The Shun-Hook.- 200. The syllable shun or zhun may be added to any consonant-stem, either straight or curved, by a large final-hook, turned on the Ef-hook side of straight stems, and on the inner side of ...
The Ter Or Ther Hook.- 203. Any one of the syllables ter, tor, ture, or ther may be added to any straight stem by a large final-hook turned on the En-hook side. 204. Name. - This hook is usually called ...
Phonography. Lesson XI. Initial-Hooks.- 211. Order of Writing and Reading. - Although initial-hooks are written before making the stems to which they belong, yet they are read after such stems. 212. Vowels and Initial-...
El And Er Hooks On Curved Stems.- 217. Either l or r may be added after any curved stem by an initial-hook, the hook being made large for / and small for r. Both hooks are written on the inner side of the curve. Examples: ...
Phonography. Lesson XII. Special Vocalization.- 222. An ordinary vowel-sign dot, dash, or diphthong-angle placed after a stem with an initial-hook, is read after both stem and hook (212). Hence it follows that in writing ...
Way-Hook On Straight Stems.- 225. The sound of Way may be added after any straight stem by a large initial-hook on the El-hook side. Examples: tweak quill quasi guava ...
Plural-Vowel Signs.- 235. Directions have heretofore been given (93) for writing Con-current-Vowels, both between stems and otherwise, with their regular dot and dash signs ; and it may be added that it is entirely ...
Two-Vowel Signs.- 236. The diphthong-sign I, with the first part shaded, represents the long dot-vowels followed by I, as follows : First-Place. - Put in the place of a it represents a-I, as in ...
Three-Vowel Signs.- 242. The vowel \ may be joined, either finally or initially, to each of the diphthongs, I, OI, OW, ew, by a light tick, struck at a sharp angle to the part of the sign to which it is attached, as in ...
Phonography. Lesson XIII. Modified Stems.- 247. Definition. - A stem is said to be modified when it is made either one-half its ordinary length or twice its ordinary length. 248. Halving Principle. - ...
Halving Principle.- 251. T or D Added by Halving. - Either t or d may be added to any stem, straight or curved, simple or hooked, by making it half its ordinary length. 252. ...
Phonography. Lesson XIV. Lengthening Principle.- 260. Tr, Dr, Thr, or Ture Added. - The syllables ter, der, ther, and ture may each be added to any curved stem, whether simple or hooked,...
Short Rules For Positions.- 264. Half-Length Stems. - For the three positions a half-length stem always rests on the same level as its full length; thus, 265. Lengthened Stems. - For the three positions a ...
Phonography. Lesson XV. Circles And Loops.- 277. Two Sizes of Circles and Loops. - There are two sizes of circles and two of loops used in Phono graphy, being called respectively Small Circle, Large Circle, ...
The Circle Between Stems.- 282. Rule. - The circle is written between stems, when they are simple at their contiguous ends, in the following manner: I. Between two straight stems, 1. If the stems do ...
The Large Circle.- 287. Large Circle for ss, sz, etc. - Two s or z sounds, when they occur with a single vowel-sound be tween them, are usually written with a large circle, turned on the ...
Phonography. Lesson XVI. Of The Loops. The Small Loop.- 293. Loop for st or zd.Either st or zd may be added to the simple end of any stem by a small loop turned on the circle side. 294. Name. - The small loop ...
The Large Loop.- 300. Loop for Str.The consonants str, with intervening unaccented vowel-sounds, as heard at the close of such words as master, castor, moisture, texture, etc., may be ...
Phonography. Lesson XVII. Implied En And Er Hooks On Straight Stems.- 312. From the fact that the circles and loops, when joined finally or initially to the simple ends of straight stems, are invariably turned on the side and in place of the Ef or El hook, we are ...
Ens And Sper Stems In The Middle Of Words- 318. Rule for Ens-Stems. - Stems of the Ens-series are never joined before straight stems, and before curved stems only when the junction will permit the circle to be turned on the back ...
Circles And Loops Joined Together.- 321. The circles and loops may be combined together in various ways, according to the requirements of the ease and the convenience of the writer. 322. Breve-S Joined After. ...
Phonography. Lesson XVIII. Curls For The Nasals En And Ing. Final Curls- 326. The En-curl. - The consonant n may be added after final breves es, est, and ster, by continuing the circle or loop beyond the point of its finish, and forming a curl on the opposite ...
The Curls In Phrases.- 334. Final En-curl. - The words than, an, own and in may be written with the final En-curl. 335. Initial En-curl. - The word in may be written with the initial En-curl. ...
Phonography. Lesson XIX. Prefixes And Suffixes.- 337. Definition of Prefix. - A prefix is a phonographic sign placed at the beginning of an outline (either joined or detached) which is used with more than its ordinary signification. ...
Phonography. Lesson XX. Words Commencing With "In," "En," "Un," "Il," "Im," "Ir."- 368. When the prefix in, en, or un is added to words beginning with n (as in nerve-innerve, noble-ennoble, necessary-unnecessary), or the equivalent prefix il, im, or ir, to words beginning with /...
Rules For The Formation Of Past-Tense Outlines, Etc.- 371. The phonographic outlines of the past tense of regular verbs are generally formed from those of the first person of the present tense, in accordance with the following rules. Rule ...
Forms Of Plural And Possessive Nouns, Etc.- 388. The outlines of nouns in the plural number, ending regularly in s or es, as well as of nouns in the possessive case, are formed from the outlines of the singular number in the ...
Unvocalized Phonography.- 391. Assuming that the learner has up to this point in his study made it a rule to vocalize pretty fully everything that he has written, he must now be familiar with all the principles of ...
Miscellaneous Abbreviations.- 392. The following list contains all the miscellaneous phonographic abbreviations that are required by shorthand writers, even in the swiftest verbatim reporting; and learners should not ...
Outlines Of Derivatives Op The Abbreviations.- 393. In the following collection of words printed in phonography will be found the outlines of most of the derivatives of the words given in the foregoing List of Abbreviations. ...
Remarks About Abbreviations, Etc.- 395. Initials of Proper Names. - In the foregoing List the first phonographic character under each letter is the sign for that letter when used as the initial of a proper name. See the ...
Remarks About Word Outlines.- 409. Ingly.The termination ingly is written with the stem Ingl when it will join readily ; otherwise it is written with Ing-El. After abbreviations ingly is written ...
Festival Of The Abbreviations.- Remark. The following article, entitled Festival of the Abbreviations, contains substantially all of the words found in the List. It should be written and rewritten until thoroughly maste...
List Of Phrases.- Remarks Ab
Words And Phrases Specially Distinguished.- Remarks
Reading Exercises. Short Words Are Best.- BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE LETTER No. 1. LETTER, No. 2. LETTER .N...
Business Correspondence.- Letter No. 1. Gentlemen : We-desire to-call-your attention to-an improved process for galvanizing we-are putting on-the market. It-is of special value in galvanizing lengths such-as are used in con...
3 Points Of Superiority Of Munson Phonography- 1 - SIMPLICITY. It is the simplest system that is published and is therefore the easiest to learn. The author was one of the Official Stenographers of the New York Supreme Court. He writes on a pra...
Works By W. H. P. Phyfe- How Should I Pronounce ? Or the Art of Correct Pronunciation. 16......$1.25 Popular edition. 16 . . . . net 75 cts. I appreciate its value, and indorse your work as a most serv...