verb, adjective, adverb (Speedwords Dictionary, 1945, page 5). Create other meanings by adding suffixes to show relationships or create antonyms (Speedwords Dictionary, 1945, page 3). While this approach is sound it has both advantages and a few disadvantages discussed below. Speedwords was meant to be written and spoken, so Dutton provided some guidelines on pronunciation which is included below. Advantages In Teach Yourself Dutton Speedwords, Dutton claims at least eight benefits from Speedwords: Knowing just a few Speedwords (he means the one letter Speedwords) allows immediate savings in time and effort (Teach Yourself Dutton Speedwords 1951, page 7). The words can be substituted for the English equivalents as the Speedwords vocabulary is learnt. This contrasts with geometric shorthand shapes that require the entire system to be mastered. It uses the English alphabet. This means it Speedwords can be written or typed (TYDS, page 8). It uses a range of Indo-European words. So, its vocabulary has an "international currency" (page 87). Speedwords are chosen based on the frequency of usage. This means that the most frequently used words are the shortest (TYDS, page 7). Correspondence can be exchanged although the individual writers without having to learn the foreign language of all their many correspondents. This means the writers can be ignorant of the language of their correspondent (TYDS, page 8). Knowing speed words takes between 20 and 30 hours (TYDS, pages 9, 90). The work of learning "is a fascinating pastime and in no sense an arduous task" (TYDS, page 9) Speedwords makes 5 out of 6 words far shorter (page 87). This increases the speed of writing and note taking approximately 100-120 words per minute (page 137) or up to 150 wpm (page 8). The 'hurdle' to overcome language barriers is considerably reduced because the Speedwords vocabulary is small. The basic vocabulary is 493 words (page 89). The more extensive vocabulary is 1,000 words (page 142) Disadvantages The disadvantages appear to be: No-one is developing Speedwords. So authoritative information about it is now hard to find, except for the Teach yourself Dutton Speedwords book. Some have taken Speedwords and adapted it. For example, see Briefscript by Ray Brown at The Teach Yourself Dutton Speedwords book does not have a full discussion of pronunciation. Dutton suggests is essential to using Speedwords. Hearsay is that Dutton had a simplified pronunciation system which may have been shared with some inquirers after his death,