Word: stenotypist
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Even with computers, the stenotypist's technique remains the same. Pressing one or more letters on a 22-button keyboard, the stenotypist writes phonetically, omitting letters that are not sounded, or uses one of 3,000 standard abbreviations to represent a familiar word or phrase. For example, W stands for "with," KR for "consider." These abbreviations are printed on narrow strips of self-folding paper. In CAT systems, the keystrokes are also recorded electronically on a tape or magnetic disk, then fed into a computer that expands the stenographic shorthand into English and prints out a transcript that needs only...
Computer-aided transcription has paid off handsomely in some celebrated cases. The libel suit brought by retired General William Westmoreland against CBS generated 9,745 pages of transcripts in 68 days of testimony. Using CAT technology, Stenotypist Joel Hillman was able to produce printed transcripts of each morning's proceedings soon after the lunch break. Besides offering instant access to the record, the new bench-top machines provide an unexpected benefit. Judge Marshall, who at first found the terminals "distracting," has discovered that he can sometimes prepare for other cases during routine testimony, consulting the monitor from time to time...