ðə mˈɪnɪts ʌv ˈækts wɜːɹ ˈɔːlweɪz tˈeɪkən dˌaʊn ɪn ɐ kˈaɪnd ʌv sˈaɪfɚ, ɔːɹ ʃˈɔːɹthænd, sˌoʊ ðætðə nˈoʊɾɚɹiz, æz ðə ɹˈoʊmənz kˈɔːld ðˌɛm, ɔːɹ ðɪ ænd , æz ðə ɡɹˈiːks kˈɔːld ðˌɛm, kʊd kˈiːp pˈeɪs wɪð ɐ spˈiːkɚ ɔːɹ pˈɜːsən hˌuː dˈɪkteɪɾᵻd.
The minutes of acts were always taken down in a kind of cipher, or shorthand, so that the Notaries, as the Romans called them, or the  and , as the Greeks called them, could keep pace with a speaker or person who dictated.