Troab Professional – Introduction Tutorial

Troab (T-Script) Professional

Introduction Tutorial

© 1946, 1951, 1996, 2018

CONTENTS
Module 1
Writing words, (Rule 1)
The consonants
The core letters D T N S
The Paired consonants, CH, SH, TH, QU, WH
Indicating vowels, medial vowels
Writing S, plural ‘s’
Punctuation
Proper nouns
Quick Forms

Module 2
The sound of R, (Rule 2)
Writing ‘sure’, compound words, than, every
Vowels followed by R
Blends ND, NT, CT
Writing TN
Blended PRV
Double ‘ses’ sound
Prefixes & Suffixes, con-, com-, can-, coun-.
‘shun’, -sion, -tion, -cian, -ciency

Module 3
The sound of L (Rule 3)
Some related L-suffixes, -less, -bility, -ility, ‘ self ’
The sound of AW
Diphthongs, OW, OI
Double vowels

Module 4
Some useful Prefixes, en-, in-, un-, imm-, em-, ex-, extra-, over-, under-, above-
Some more Suffixes, -NG, -ing, shul, shus, -ification, -ology

Module 5
Abbreviation in context
More useful Prefixes, anti-, ante-, electr-, sub-, trans-
Word Groups
 Troab Professional – Introduction Tutorial

Troab (T-Script) Professional

Introduction
Troab shorthand is a simple and versatile method of note-taking.

It is an integrated system of shorthand / speed-writing; which can be written at two levels; the
Basic level and the Professional level.

The Basic level (Basic shorthand) is a simple method of writing designed for general
note-taking in the classroom or in the office. The writer’s own familiar longhand (script)
letters are used; it was originally published as Alpha-Script speed-writing..
(The Keyboard version can be written on a standard QWERTY keyboard.)

The Professional level is a method of high-speed verbatim note-taking for writing at

more than 100 words a minute, also known as T-Script shorthand. It is based on the
principles of word abbreviation arising from many years of research and experience of
shorthand design.

At this level all consonants are written as modified, or contracted script forms, each
letter written as a single pen-stroke.

This Tutorial presents Troab (T-Script) Professional level shorthand arranged in five modules.

Module 1
Writing words
The Troab shorthand method uses a simple system of word abbreviation based on intuitive
common practice when making quick notes, words are written as they sound,
e.g. the words ‘way’ and ‘weigh’ would both be written with the two sounds, w + a.

Rule 1. Write the significant sounded letters of the word.

Most vowels can be omitted in the body of a word where the context of the sentence provides the
meaning, e.g. ‘Give him a hand’ – ‘gv hm a hnd’.

When needed, a significant vowel indicator may be included.

The Consonants
The consonants are written as contracted familiar script forms; the initial letter of a word is written
on the line as a single pen-stroke.

B C D F G H J L M

N P Qu R S T V W Z
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Note the following consonant sounds;

Use ‘c’ for the hard K sound, as in cat, cut; ‘c’ is faster to write than ‘k’.
Write ‘f’ however it is spelled.
Write ‘g’ for the hard sound as in ‘give’.
Use ‘j’ for the soft sound as in ‘gem’ or ‘general’.

The Core letters, D, T, N, S

These frequently occurring letters are a special feature of the Troab method. You will find that
these letters occur in almost every sentence. They are also used to represent some very
frequently occurring words, Quick Forms – these are indicated in the text.

D T N S
do to, it no, not is

D and T are not symmetrical curves; they may be deepened at either end as appropriate for fluid
writing and to make distinctive joins with adjacent letters.

to-do do-not it-is is-it

(D, T, N are derived from a crossed ellipse, )

D may be contracted to a hook form, e.g. with P, V or N.

The paired consonants, (CH, SH, TH, QU, WH )

CH is H written obliquely, on a downward slant.

SH is a combined S + H.

CH SH TH QU

TH is the contracted letter ‘T’ written obliquely, on a downward slant.

T TH On its own, TH represents ‘that’ and ‘than’ (or ‘thing’ in compound words).

both myth nothing south

The H in WH is not vocalized and can be omitted.

 Troab Professional – Introduction Tutorial

Indicating vowels
Sometimes it is necessary to insert a vowel for clarification of a word, e.g. ‘I saw the mn go into
the bank’, where the context does not help and it is necessary to distinguish between ‘man’ and
‘men’.

A simple system of Vowel indicators is used; these short diacritic marks are inserted only when
needed to distinguish between similar word outlines.

a e i o oo * u

They are also used to represent these very frequently occurring words (Quick Forms).

and the I, in of on you

* The indicator for OO is also used as an alternative for O (used especially with the letter N).

own (only) know known

Medial vowels
When used in the body of a word the indicators are written,

ABOVE the word to indicate a SHORT vowel sound,

BELOW the word to indicate a LONG vowel sound.

man men rot wrote win wine

A final sounded vowel indicator is written on the line adjacent to the final consonant.

pay gay die tie day

An initial vowel indicator is written joined or close to the first consonant of the word.

aid age echo egg inn ice open

A fast way to indicate a long vowel that occurs in the middle of a word is to join the indicator
on to the final consonant.

take pain sign

 Troab Professional – Introduction Tutorial

The Quick Form ‘on’ is written on the line, but when written above another letter it represents
‘over’.

on-the over-the under-the on-the-ball over-the-top

Writing S
The S-circle is written inside a curved letter,

best dust last sad sit slot test

With other consonants this may be written clock-wise or anti-clockwise.

just nest send sent tense

Plural-S may be indicated by the S-circle. The contracted form, Dot-S, is written to indicate the
plural of a Quick Form, but it may be used with other words as convenient.

books cuts debts forms joins leaves means

accounts changes examinations governments names questions

Punctuation
Normal punctuation signs are used. (A small cross or slash may be written instead of a full stop.)

Proper nouns
Proper nouns may be distinguished by writing two short lines below the word.

Jane John

Quick Forms
A small number of words occur particularly frequently – they make up around 50% of all written
and spoken matter. They are given special short forms termed Quick Forms, using either

The first letter of the word,

can, come for go, good he, him like

me, my page quick we, with very

 Troab Professional – Introduction Tutorial

or

The dominant sound of the word.

are be is she time which will

Some Quick Forms represent more than one word but this is not a problem when they occur in
the context of a sentence as different parts of speech.

These Quick Forms may be used in combination words.

all, long
although already altogether

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 Troab Professional – Introduction Tutorial

Module 2
The sound of R

Rule 2. The sound of R is read after a consonant that is written DOUBLE-SIZE or

in the R-position.

bread cry free green pride person

drug track winner another

An initial normal size letter written above the line where a downward double-size letter would
begin is in the R-position.

board, bread farm, frame grave

bar car farm grid hurt murder port

bread cry friend ground proof press

Vowel followed by R

A vowel indicator cannot be doubled in size; instead the R is written.

air (where) ear (here) ore your

Writing an omissible letter (R and L) indicates a long vowel. Ways of indicating the sound of L will
be explored later.

care fair, fear hair pair, pure wear

Writing ‘sure’
‘Sure’ is written as SR.

sure assure ensure leisure seizure treasure

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Writing ‘than’
Comparison words such as ‘more’ or ‘less’ are usually followed by ‘than’. These phrases are
easily written using the Quick Form ‘than’.

better-than more-than less-than quicker-than

Compound words with ‘every’

everyone everybody every-time everyday everywhere

(In compound words ‘day ’ may be abbreviated to ‘A’, e.g. today )

Blended NT and ND
When the combination NT occurs without an intervening vowel (consonant NT) the T is modified
and blended with N as a small anti-clock-wise hook.

sent want

Similarly with ND, the D is modified and blended to a clock-wise hook; this is also used for DD.

land send wind did cf. died

DT and TD are blended smoothly.

dated rated waited debt but do-it

The consonant combination CT may also be blended; an intervening vowel is indicated by writing
the letter T without a blend.

tact ticket duct docket pact packet

Writing TN
The hook form of T may be used before N, and hook D with P and V.

attend tend tenant tense

deep deposit dive diverse

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Blended PRV
When V follows PR, the P is slanted and merged with V.

prove private provide poverty

Double ‘ses’ sound

The double ‘ses’ sound is indicated by writing a disjoined S.

basis crisis suspect

sister system compare store stem

Prefixes and Suffixes

Some commonly occurring prefixes can be abbreviated to a single related letter.

con-, com-, are written as ‘c’.

contain container compare comparison computer

can-, coun-, are written as blended C + N.

candid cancer count counter

Some frequent suffixes may be similarly abbreviated.

-tion, -sion, -cian are all pronounced as ‘shun’ and are written as a disjoined N (Shun-N).
This suffix may be doubled in length to add the sound of R.

mission nation position quotation sanction tradition

action condition edition faction fashion mention

The NT blend is used for the word ending ‘-cient’, ‘-tient’ (‘shunt’).
and Shun-NSE for ‘-ciency’.

efficient patient sufficient efficiency deficiency

 Troab Professional – Introduction Tutorial

-ment, -mount are abbreviated to writing ‘m’ (often written slightly smaller).

comment statement

-tive is abbreviated to writing ‘v’.

comparative motive native negative positive primitive sensitive

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Module 3
The sound of L

Rule 3. The sound of L is read after a letter written in a SUBSCRIPT position;

this is the L-position.

The sound of L is read after the first letter of a word written through or below the line.

belt below bill build bulletin colour child clean

delight drill election element failure guilt killer

hold military real tell told value well wealth

dealer delay glance global kill people saleable trouble

black clue floor glad play

When writing on unlined paper

When writing on unlined paper the L-syllable is indicated by writing the letter following the
L-sound disjoined in a raised position; this should not be exaggerated, sufficient only to indicate
the subscript relationship of the L-position.

black clue floor gold play

The following examples illustrate how the L-principle can be applied.

Say the word as you write it.

belt felt held told

colour, killer failure gallery knowledge military value

athlete complicate convulsion demolition devolution

believe delicate filter polite relative shelter

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display propulsion replay repulsive revolution

This practice may be applied when writing on lined note-paper or at any time as
convenient.

Note: The R-rule takes precedence over L,

girl pearl thrill trail trial

Final L-syllable
(Note that a final L-syllable may be spelled variously, e.g. cymbal, trouble, symbol, medical,
article, raffle, careful, legal, principal, principle, metal, mettle, kettle.)

A final L-syllable is indicated by writing the first letter of the syllable in a subscript position.

careful couple double doubtful trouble

A LONG vowel may be indicated specifically when needed by writing the vowel indicator in a
subscript position.

fail feel file foal fool

But when writing in the context of a sentence the fundamental L-principle is usually sufficient.

‘Can you feel the heat’?

Some ‘L-related’ suffixes

The suffix ‘-less’ can be simply indicated by using the L-principle and writing the ‘S’ raised above
the final consonant; this puts the previous letter into the subscript position.

careless worthless spineless unless useless

The suffix ‘-ly’ is indicated similarly by writing the E-indicator in a raised position to indicate the L.

badly deadly lastly mainly roughly sadly surely

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The suffix ‘-tional ‘ is written as a subscript Shun-N.

additional conditional professional traditional

The suffix ‘-bility’ is indicated by writing a subscript ‘bE’.

ability disability feasibility possibility probability

The suffix ‘-lity’ is indicated by writing a subscript L.

facility fertility formality mentality quality reality utility

The suffix ‘-self’ is indicated by writing ‘S’ in a subscript position.

itself herself himself myself yourself selfish

The sound of ‘AW’

The sound of ‘AW’ occurs with different spellings, law, call, caught, ought, bought. It is given a
special form combining the vowel indicators for OO and U;

ought fought taught

However, it can often be omitted in words written in the context of a sentence.

bought caught ball call tall

The Diphthongs, ‘OW’, ‘OI’

The diphthong ‘OW’ is written as a normal script letter ‘o’.

cow how now

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But in words written in the context of a sentence the OW-indicator may often be omitted.

down found ground sound town

The diphthong ‘OI’ is indicated by the combined indicator AW + E.

annoy boy coin noise toy

In words written in the context of a sentence the OI-indicator may often be omitted.

coin join soil

Double vowels
When two vowels occur together in a word and are sounded separately, the dominant vowel only
may be written.

diet period poem ruin science but trail, trial

The specific double-vowel indicator may be used. This is a combination of the E- and I-
indicators, and for convenience and consistency it is written in the form of a small ‘v ’.

This may be inverted where it would be more distinctive.

area create idea deviate folio polio radio

Writing a final L may be sufficient to indicate a long vowel sound, but note how the L-principle
can be applied in compound words.

denial mistrial re-trial trial

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Module 4
Some useful Prefixes

A few frequently occurring prefixes can be abbreviated intuitively.

The Prefixes ‘en-’, ‘in-’, and ‘un-’.

‘en-’, is written as contracted N.

enough end enemy enquiry enter enable

‘in-’ is indicated by the Quick Form for ‘in’.

increase indecent indeed indefinite index indicate

indict indignant indirect indiscretion indoors

induce indulge industry inmate interest

‘un-’ is represented by the U-indicator; the N may be included as convenient.

unless until unlike unable

But when the vowel is LONG the N is included.

unit unison universe university union

The Prefixes ‘imm-’, ‘em-’.

‘im-’ is indicated by ‘m’.

The E-vowel indicator may be added to specify the prefix ‘em-’ if needed.

immense import imagination imitate immerse empty

‘ex-’ is represented by ‘Es’ (abbreviated ‘ECS’).

examine excellent expensive export express extent

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‘extra-’ is indicated by writing ‘ES’ above the following word, that is, in the R-position.

extra extra-time extra-help

‘over-’ is similarly indicated by writing the alternative O-indicator above the following word.

over over-all over-take

‘under-’ is indicated by writing the U-indicator above the following word.

under under-the under-it

‘above-’ may be indicated by writing the A-indicator above the following letter.

above above-the above-him above-it above-all

Some more useful Suffixes

Writing NG
As a word ending, -NG is indicated by a small ‘g.

hang hunger song wrong

In ‘NG’ words where the N is sounded and the ‘g’ is ‘soft’, it is written as pronounced.

engage angel engine hinge engineer

The specific word ending ‘-ing’ is indicated by writing a disjoined I-indicator.

cutting leaving sitting waiting

caring giving having leaving relying saving taking

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The ‘shul’ ending

The word ending pronounced as ‘shul’ may be spelled as ‘-cial ’ or ‘-tial ’; it is indicated by
writing SH as a subscript through the line; this is usually contracted to writing only H.

artificial commercial confidential crucial essential financial

initial official partial potential racial social special

The ‘shus’ ending.

The word ending pronounced as ‘shus’ may be spelled as ‘-cious’ or ‘-xious’, it is indicated by
writing a disjoined HS, the contracted form of SHS.

anxious conscious delicious precious gracious officious

Alternatively this may be written as a disjoined ‘US’.

anxious conscious delicious precious gracious officious

‘-ification’ is indicated by writing a disjoined ‘f’.

classification specification modification notification

‘-ology’ is indicated by writing a superscript ‘j’, applying the L-principle.

apology biology pathology psychology

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Module 5
Abbreviation in context
Familiar words written in the context of a sentence may often be abbreviated following common
abbreviation practice.

circumstances correspondence designation demonstration

It follows that a root word may often be used for related words written in context. A final letter of
the word may be added to enable quick reading back.

This is an urgent matter.

You must come urgently.
His work is satisfactory.
They completed the task satisfactorily.

urgent, urgently, urgency

satisfy, satisfactory, satisfactorily

More useful Prefixes

‘anti-’
Indicated by writing AN joined to the following consonant.

anti-abortion antibiotic anti-freeze anti-social

‘ante-’
Indicated by writing AN disjoined from the following consonant.

antecedent ante-dated

‘electr-’
This prefix is indicated by a disjoined L.

electr- electric electrical electricity electrification electronic

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‘sub-’

The prefix ‘sub-‘ is written in full, SB.

subdue subject submarine submission submit subsequent

subscribe subsist substance substitute subtract

‘trans-’
Indicated by ‘TRS’.

trans-action transfer translation transmit

Word groups
Increased speed may be achieved by writing word groups and common phrases.
Usually two or three words may be linked together; these should make sense when standing
alone. Short ‘linking’ words may often be omitted.

sign (of the) times fact (of the) matter

it-is it is not is-it I-do-not must-be of-the will-it-be

it-can-be it-cannot-be can-you have-you there-is-no-time

that-is this-is in-the and-the with-it

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End of Tutorial