Editing Shorthand (section)

=== Systems resembling standard writing ===
Some shorthand systems attempted to ease learning by using characters from the Latin alphabet. Such non-stenographic systems have often been described as '''alphabetic''', and purists{{who|date=May 2025}} might claim that such systems are not 'true' shorthand. However, these alphabetic systems do have value for students who cannot dedicate the years necessary to master a stenographic shorthand. Alphabetic shorthands cannot be written at the speeds theoretically possible with symbol systems—200 words per minute or more—but require only a fraction of the time to acquire a useful speed of between 70 and 100 words per minute.

Non-stenographic systems often supplement alphabetic characters by using punctuation marks as additional characters, giving special significance to capitalised letters, and sometimes using additional non-alphabetic symbols. Examples of such systems include [[Stenoscript]], [[Speedwriting]] and [[Forkner shorthand]]. However, there are some pure alphabetic systems, including [[Personal Shorthand]], SuperWrite, Easy Script Speed Writing, Keyscript Shorthand and Yash3k which limit their symbols to ''a priori'' alphabetic characters. These have the added advantage that they can also be typed—for instance, onto a [[computer]], [[Personal digital assistant|PDA]], or [[cellphone]]. Early editions of Speedwriting were also adapted so that they could be written on a typewriter, and therefore would possess the same advantage.