Pitman shorthan is a system of shorthand for the English language developed by Sir Isaac Pitman (1813–1897), who first presented it in 1837. Like most systems of shorthand, it is a phonetic system; the symbols do not represent letters, but rather sounds, and words are, for the most part, written as they are spoken.As of 1996, Pitman shorthand was the most popular shorthand system used in the United Kingdom and the second most popular in the United States.