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For some reason it never occurred to me that cursive is related to shorthand. I did self study cursive a little bit when in high school, but I simply recognized

by kccqzy 2y ago

For some reason it never occurred to me that cursive is related to shorthand. I did self study cursive a little bit when in high school, but I simply recognized it as a way to write things that are more beautiful even though to modern eyes it might be more difficult to read. I did remember annoying a few teachers in high school when my work looked like the handwriting in https://mastodon.social/@waldoj/113082201727675702 https://mastodon.social/@waldoj/113082201727675702 and the teachers spent extra time understanding my writing. It never occurred to me that there is a shorthand to increase my own efficiency.

mananaysiempre 2y ago
Side note: in the word “shorthand” itself, the “hand” is “handwriting; style of penmanship” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hand#English https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hand#English meaning 10), cf. “round hand” etc.
toast0 2y ago
> I did self study cursive a little bit when in high school, but I simply recognized it as a way to write things that are more beautiful even though to modern eyes it might be more difficult to read. That sounds more like calligraphy, IMHO. Many of the letter forms for some styles of cursive are similar to what happens if you write in block letters without lifting your pen. Depending on the particular style, there's some exceptions and embelleshments, but if you're taking a lot of notes in a hurry with a pen in block letters it kind of devolves into cursive naturally. Shorthand is generally phonetic, so that's a different skill, IMHO.
- kccqzy 2y ago
  Yea I recognized that writing cursive is faster because I don't need to lift the pen that often. But the question is whether that makes the reader do more work. A few teachers in high school preferred that I stop because it was more troublesome for them to read. In any case I find any kind of handwriting to be slower than typing, and I am not even a good typist.
reaperducer 2y ago
I simply recognized it as a way to write things that are more beautiful The whole point of cursive is to make writing easier and faster than printing. Once you know it, and aren't struggling against it, it becomes very fluid and your hand muscles hurt less than if you print.

by kccqzy 2y ago

mananaysiempre 2y ago

Side note: in the word “shorthand” itself, the “hand” is “handwriting; style of penmanship” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hand#English https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hand#English meaning 10), cf. “round hand” etc.

toast0 2y ago

> I did self study cursive a little bit when in high school, but I simply recognized it as a way to write things that are more beautiful even though to modern eyes it might be more difficult to read. That sounds more like calligraphy, IMHO. Many of the letter forms for some styles of cursive are similar to what happens if you write in block letters without lifting your pen. Depending on the particular style, there's some exceptions and embelleshments, but if you're taking a lot of notes in a hurry with a pen in block letters it kind of devolves into cursive naturally. Shorthand is generally phonetic, so that's a different skill, IMHO.

kccqzy 2y ago
Yea I recognized that writing cursive is faster because I don't need to lift the pen that often. But the question is whether that makes the reader do more work. A few teachers in high school preferred that I stop because it was more troublesome for them to read. In any case I find any kind of handwriting to be slower than typing, and I am not even a good typist.

reaperducer 2y ago

I simply recognized it as a way to write things that are more beautiful The whole point of cursive is to make writing easier and faster than printing. Once you know it, and aren't struggling against it, it becomes very fluid and your hand muscles hurt less than if you print.