Eclectic shorthand (sometimes called "Cross shorthand" or "Eclectic-Cross shorthand" after its founder, J.G. Cross) is an English shorthand system of the 19th century. Although it has fallen into disuse, it is nonetheless noteworthy as one of the most compact (and complex) systems of writing ever devised. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Shorthand is a writing method that can be done at speed because an abbreviated or symbolic form of language is used. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Writing is a process which may refer to two activities: the inscribing characters on a medium, with the intention of forming words and other lingual constructs that represent language and record information, or the creation of information to be conveyed through written language. ...

While most later responses to Pitman shorthand aimed for greater simplicity and an elimination of such characteristics as shading and positional writing (cf Gregg Shorthand), Cross took his system in the opposite direction. Noting that English spelling is able to express all its many vowel sounds using only five vowel symbols, Cross adopted a five-position system for expressing vowels in his system (Pitman uses three). From there he went on to apply the five positions to consonant symbols as well, and to eliminate perpendicular strokes to make the writing more cursive. Curiously for a symbol system, the writing is based on English spelling rather than phonetics — there are symbols for q and c, for instance, and a wh symbol which is different from w (or h). Pitman Shorthand is a system of rapid writing developed by Sir Isaac Pitman (1813-1897). ... Gregg Shorthand is a form of shorthand that was invented by John Robert Gregg in 1888. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... A consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture sufficient to cause audible turbulence, at one or more points along the vocal tract. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word phone = sound/voice) is the study of sounds (voice). ... Q is the 17th letter of the Latin alphabett. ... C is the third letter of the Roman alphabet. ... W is the twenty-third letter of the modern Latin alphabet. ... H is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet. ...

A large number of tricks are employed to make writing more compact: shading a vowel at the beginning of the stroke denotes that it is preceded by an h; shading the whole stroke denotes a dipthong, while shading the end of the stroke denotes a following r. An l can be indicated by making the outline of the preceding letter smaller, and a following w by deepening the curve of the preceding stroke. In phonetics, a diphthong (in Greek δίφθογγος) is a vowel combination usually involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... R is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet. ... L is the twelfth letter of the Latin alphabet. ...

All in all, the system contains far more rules than any other widespread system of English shorthand, and the resulting notes are incredibly concise. However, the amount of practice required to make use of all these techniques without hesitation while taking dictation was undoubtedly quite burdensome. In addition, the heavy use of shading, common in nineteenth century systems when ink pens were the normal instrument of writing and the notion of thin and thick strokes was familiar to those accustomed to the copperplate script of the time, became difficult and counterintuitive in the 20th century. In sum, the system's complexity and the great investment of time that would have been needed to master it were most likely the causes for its downfall. Image File history File links Exerpt from Eclectic Shorthand by J.G. Cross, 1897. ... A pen is a writing instrument which applies ink to some surface. ... Copperplate refers to the use of inscribed sheets of copper in printing. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

An interesting experiment used by Cross was to use paper with slightly curved lines for note-taking, on the assertion that as the hand could move more naturally in an arc across the page than in a straight line, this would improve speed. Piece of paper Paper is a thin, flat material produced by the compression of fibres. ... Alternate meanings: Hand (disambiguation) A human left hand The hand (med. ...