The Words and Sounds of Telephone Conversations

This paper presents data concerning the vocabulary and the relative frequency of occurrence of the speech sounds of telephone conversation. Tables are given showing the most frequently used words, the syllabic structure of the words, the relative occurrences of the sounds, and, for each vowel, the percentage distribution of the consonants which precede and follow it. Comparisons are made with the vocabulary and relative occurrence of speech sounds in written English.