846 BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL 



the testing crews should be familiar with the syllables or words in 

 the lists. 



TABLE XVII 



Vowel Word List (English Words) 



Sound to be 



Graded English Words in the List 



a' bat back 



a bait bake 



e bet beck 



e beat beak 



i bit bit 



1 bite bike 



o but buck 



o' bought balk 



o boat boat 



u book book 



u boot boot 



Consonant Word List (English Words) 



Sound to be 



Graded English Words in the List 



b by by 



ch which which 



d die die 



f fie whiff 



g guy wig 



h high high 



J 



k wick wick 



1 He will 



m my whim 



n nigh win 



ng wing wing 



p pie whip 



r wry wry 



s sigh sigh 



sh shy wish 



th' thy with 



th thigh thigh 



t tie wit 



V vie \"ie 



w why why 



y 



z whiz whiz 



St sty whist 



Note: The h following w is not pronounced in such words as whim, whip, etc. 



It usually requires a training period of a month or more for a 

 testing crew to thoroughly master the technique of using the standard 

 lists, that is, to reach a stage where the phonetic symbols are spoken 

 and recorded almost mechanically. The vowel consonant lists require 

 less time, since it is only necessary for the observers to fix their atten- 

 tion on one sound in the syllable. With the word lists this training 

 period is reduced to a minimum. Phonetic symbols are avoided, 

 and attention is given to only one sound in the words. As may be 

 seen from Fig. 2, after a few tests they practically reach a degree of 



