Oh, this is a type of shorthand!
There are 3 main types, but from my research, this looks to be American Gregg Shorthand.
As you can see, there are set symbols for every letter.
Letâs break one of the words down:
Using the Gregg Alphabet as reference, we can see most of the letters in âatrophiedâ are present. But why no âoâ vowel, and why is âphâ written as âfâ?
Simple. In shorthand, you cut out all vowels in a word when writing it down, with the exception of words that BEGIN or END with a vowel (hence the âaâ at the start being present), or like in the âiâ in âatrophiedâ, to make it more readable when the sound could be harder to distinguish if it isnât written. In âatrophiedâ if the the âiâ isnât written, it could be hard to tell if the writer meant a âfudâ, âfadâ, âfodâ or âfidâ sound, for example.
Also, since Shorthand is a phonetic writing system, you are encouraged to write down the phonetic sounds of words rather than the actual letter blends - in this case, write an âfâ instead of a âphâ.
So in actuality, these arenât just meaningless scribbles - itâs Gregg Shorthand, a writing system developed to take down notes more quickly than when written out in full, which is very useful in a medical or journalistic environment.
Some people can even write over 100 words in a minute! And, itâs been in use since John Robert Gregg invented it in 1888! Wow! So old!
Isnât language amazing~?