Telegram style

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This telegram was sent by Orville Wright in December 1903 from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, following the first successful aeroplane flight.

Telegram style or telegraph style describes a clipped way of writing that attempts to abbreviate words and pack as much information into the shortest possible number of words and or characters.

It originated in the telegraph age when telecommunication consisted only of short messages transmitted by hand over the telegraph wire. The telegraph companies charged for their service by the number of words in a message. The style developed to minimise costs but still convey the message clearly and unambiguously.

A characteristic is the use of the word STOP for a full stop character.

[edit] See also

• SMS language

[edit] References

• "HOW TO WRITE TELEGRAMS PROPERLY" A Small Booklet by Nelson E. Ross, 1928
• Notes on Writing Richard N. Langlois, February 1997 . University of Connecticut. Accessed February 2008

• Standage, Tom. The Victorian Internet. ISBN 0-8027-1342-4 for hardback, ISBN 0-425-17169-8 for paperback. 

[edit] Photo Gallery

Hochiminh to President Truman 1946

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