Reginald John Garfield Dutton (8 November 1886 – 23 June 1970) was the inventor of the auxiliary language and stenographic system known as

Dutton Speedwords Dutton Speedwords, transcribed in Speedwords as , is an international auxiliary language as well as an abbreviated writing system using the English alphabet for all the languages of the world. It was devised by Reginald J. G. Dutton (1886–1 ...

. Dutton was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and was the eldest son of George H. J. Dutton. In 1890, when Dutton was three or four, his family moved to

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 21,128 as of 2021 ...

so George could work as a

phrenologist Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or ...

and bookseller. Dutton studied

Pitman Shorthand Pitman shorthand is a system of shorthand for the English language developed by Englishman 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 let ...

and other shorthand systems as an aid to his work as a

newspaper correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

. He invented his own system, published in 1916 under the title "Shorthand in Three Days". He made minor improvements but settled on a final form by 1919, republishing his work as "Dutton One Week Shorthand" as the 12 lessons could be mastered in one week. Dutton became interested in

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

and, in general, the concept of an auxiliary

constructed language A constructed language (shortened to conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, orthography, and vocabulary, instead of having developed natural language, naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devise ...

in the interests of increasing communication and goodwill among peoples. He set about creating his own auxiliary language, based on his earlier shorthand system, and in 1943 introduced "World Speedwords" (now Dutton Speedwords), conceived as a system of shorthand as well as a spoken and written auxiliary language. Dutton was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

from 1918 to 1969. His mail-order self-education course in Dutton Speedwords was continued by his daughter Elizabeth after his death in Skegness on 23 June 1970.

Sources and external links

* Creators of shorthand systems Dutton, Reginald J.G. Dutton, Reginald J.G. Constructed language creators People from Nottingham 20th-century British newspaper people {{England-bio-stub