How does a court stenographers machine work?
The Stenograph machine: Traditionally, Court reporters use stenograph machines that enable them to type at speeds of up to 225 words a minute. The average person usually speaks 160 to 180 words a minute. The stenograph machines have a syllable-based system of 24 keys that spells words phonetically, the way they sound, rather than how they are actually spelled. Stenographers, commonly known as court reporters, use a keyboard with only 25 keys (there are about 100 on a standard computer keyboard) that account for just 13 consonants and 4 vowels. It was very difficult to find an answer for your question. That was the only one i could find, i like to answer peoples questions, in other words im an “answerbag freak”.
I am a court reporter. The first answer was the best. The second answer, stating that the average speed of testimony is 150 or less, is really wrong. Testimony can reach speeds over 225 words a minute at times. To pass the national test you need to write at a sustained speed of 225 words a minute for five minutes. Now, in regular testimony, although the speed may reach that or be higher, it is generally not for more than a few minutes. You can hook a new steno machine up to a computer and with the proper software, write straight to a file on the computer. Some of the new machines cost over $4,500. The dictionary you create will translate it instantly. The closed captioning you see on live TV is done by a court reporter, live. Court reporters are also availabe at colleges to help deaf students follow along in class. They write to a laptop, and the student is able to follow along with the class dialogue. There are very few Courts that allow taping of the proceedings, very few.
I used to be a court reporter and I used a steno machine. Each letter on the machine represents a word or phrase and each combination of letters represents a word or a phrase. There are literally hundreds of phrases or briefs that most court reporters use in order to keep up with the testimony. It is a very challenging profession.
