James Pitman

Sir Isaac James Pitman, KBE (14 August 1901 – 1 September 1985) was a British businessman, civil servant, publisher, politician and spelling reformer.

Sir James was vitally concerned with the teaching of children to write the English language. His analysis of the teaching of handwriting to students, both in school by professional teachers, and at home by parents has several strong pedagogical theories in its intellectual background. Along with his analysis Pitman created a system of spelling that allows students to spell as words are pronounced (according to an alternative orthography for an English-language teaching alphabet). His major work on this topic is Alphabets and Reading: The Initial Teaching Alphabet (1965).

His thorough work has been adapted for several other uses: teaching English as a second language to adults for pronunciation and handwriting purposes, use on the Internet by alternative orthographers of English (an alternative most realisable by use of crossover systems adapted to the standard keyboard), and aesthetic uses where the writer wants to play at the conjunction of signs or symbols, and alphabet-based writing. This latter use gives rise to an aesthetics and poetics of its own, as in the Owlbirdbet Crossover system adapted to the standard keyboard, where it is more widely accessible to Internet users. Overall, the Pitman initial teaching alphabet (ita) points the way to the needed overall reform of English spelling, such as the Dutch accomplished in regard the writing of their own tongue some two decades ago.

Pitman was the son of Ernest Pitman and grandson of Sir Isaac Pitman, who developed the most widely used system of shorthand, known now as Pitman Shorthand. James Pitman was to become chairman and joint managing director of the Pitman Press and Pitman Publishing.

Pitman was educated at Summer Fields School, Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. He excelled in athletics, won the Public Schools middleweight boxing championship of 1919 and gained his 'blue' at Oxford University in rugby union which he also played for England against Scotland.

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