Speed Of Manual Spelling
In reply to a question "What is the number of words a good hand speaker
can make or say in one minute?" A deaf mute says, "Take the average
number of letters per word of the English language as five; this is the
number decided upon by the Postal Telegraph department. The average of
the Bible is about 4-1/8."
A good hand speaker can go through the alphabet ten times in one minute.
I have proved this by per
onally testing several deaf mutes.
The pauses between words occupy the space of one letter each, so we must
deduct one sixth of the whole thus:--
Letters in alphabet 26
Number of times spelt 10
Total letters per minute 260
Deduct about one sixth for pauses 45
Average letters per minute 215/5
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Result 43 words per minute.