Can someone please tell me how a court reporter works?

Question

A court reporter seems to type every word that is spoken in the courtroom. How does this machine record every word with so few keys?

Answer 1

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The machine is called a Palantype and the operator just types in the phonetics of the words and then reads them back later as one would shorthand or even a book. It needs about 2 years practice to get a good speed. There are also verbatim shorthand writers that do the work. I don't know how the palantype machine works but know that an American had one in my office many years ago.
Some verbatim shorthand writers have a speed of over 200wpm.