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– ...

. 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 north-west of London, south-east ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 19,579 as of 2011, i ...

so George could work as a

phrenologist Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...

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 lette ...

and other shorthand systems as an aid to his work as a newspaper correspondent. 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 ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

and, in general, the concept of an auxiliary

constructed language A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction. ...

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 (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

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

* Dutton, Reginald J.G. Dutton, Reginald J.G. Dutton, Reginald J.G. Constructed language creators People from Nottingham British newspaper people {{England-bio-stub