View source for Words per minute

{{Short description|Measure of writing, typing, or reading speed}}
{{redirect|wpm||WPM (disambiguation){{!}}WPM}}

'''Words per minute''', commonly abbreviated as '''WPM''' (sometimes lowercased as '''wpm'''), is a measure of [[word]]s processed in a minute, often used as a measurement of the speed of typing, [[reading speed|reading]] or [[Morse code]] sending and receiving.

== Alphanumeric entry ==
Since words vary in length, for the purpose of measurement of text entry the definition of each "word" is often standardized to be five characters or [[Typing|keystroke]]s long in English,<ref>Ahmed Sabbir Arif and Wolfgang Stuerzlinger. 2009."[http://www.asarif.com/pub/papers/Arif_TICSTH09.pdf Analysis of Text Entry Performance Metrics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923174328/http://www.asarif.com/pub/papers/arif_ticsth09.pdf |date=2015-09-23 }}". In ''Proceedings of the IEEE Toronto International Conference–Science and Technology for Humanity'' (TIC-STH '09). IEEE, Washington, D.C., US, pp. 100-105.</ref> including spaces and punctuation. For example, under such a method applied to plain English text the phrase "I run" counts as one word, but "rhinoceros" and "let's talk" would both count as two.

Karat et al. found in one study of average [[computer user]]s in 1999 that the average rate for transcription was 32.5 words per minute, and 19.0 words per minute for composition.<ref>{{cite conference |vauthors=Karat CM, Halverson C, Horn D, Karat J |year=1999 |title=Patterns of entry and correction in large vocabulary continuous speech recognition systems |book-title=Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '99) |publisher=ACM |location=New York, NY, US |pages=568–575 |doi=10.1145/302979.303160 |isbn=0-201-48559-1 }}</ref> In the same study, when the group was divided into "fast", "moderate", and "slow" groups, the average speeds were 40 wpm, 35 wpm, and 23 wpm, respectively.

With the onset of the era of [[desktop computers]] and [[smartphones]], fast typing skills became much more widespread. As of 2019, the average typing speed on a mobile phone was 36.2 wpm with 2.3% uncorrected errors—there were significant correlations with age, level of English proficiency, and number of fingers used to type.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Palin |first1=Kseniia |last2=Feit |first2=Anna Maria |last3=Kim |first3=Sunjun |last4=Kristensson |first4=Per Ola |last5=Oulasvirta |first5=Antti |chapter=How do People Type on Mobile Devices?: Observations from a Study with 37,000 Volunteers |date=2019-10-01 |title=Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3338286.3340120 |series=MobileHCI '19 |location=New York, NY, USA |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1145/3338286.3340120 |isbn=978-1-4503-6825-4}}</ref> Some typists have sustained speeds over 200 wpm for a 15-second typing test with simple English words.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World's Fastest Typist Is 17 Years Old, and His Next Trick Is Topping 305 Words Per Minute |url=https://www.pcmag.com/articles/the-worlds-fastest-typist-is-17-years-old-and-types-at-305-wpm |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=PCMAG |language=en}}</ref>

Typically, professional [[Copy typist|typists ]]type at speeds of 43 to 80 wpm, while some positions can require 80 to 95 (usually the minimum required for [[Dispatcher|dispatch]] positions and other time-sensitive typing jobs), and some advanced typists work at speeds above 120 wpm.<ref name="Ayres&Martinás2005">{{citation |year=2005 |author=Ayres, Robert U |author-link=Robert Ayres (scientist) |author2=Martinás, Katalin |chapter=120 wpm for very skilled typist |page=41 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ksxK7J95IF8C&q=typists+%22120+words+per+minute%22&pg=PA41 |title=On the Reappraisal of Microeconomics: Economic Growth and Change in a Material World |place=Cheltenham, UK & Northampton, Massachusetts |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-84542-272-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ksxK7J95IF8C&q=reappraisal+microeconomics |access-date=22 November 2010}}</ref> Two-finger typists, sometimes also referred to as "[[hunt and peck]]" typists, commonly reach sustained speeds of about 37 wpm for memorized text and 27 wpm when copying text, but in bursts may be able to reach much higher speeds.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=C. Marlin |title=Human-computer interface design guidelines |date=1988 |publisher=Ablex Pub. Corp |location=USA |isbn=0893913324}}</ref> From the 1920s through the 1970s, typing speed (along with [[shorthand]] speed) was an important secretarial qualification, and typing contests were popular and often publicized by typewriter companies as promotional tools.

== Stenotype ==
{{Main|Stenotype}}
Stenotype keyboards enable the trained user to input text as fast as 360 wpm at very high [[accuracy]] for an extended period, which is sufficient for real-time activities such as [[court reporting]] or [[closed captioning]]. While training dropout rates are very high&nbsp;— in some cases only 10% or even fewer graduate&nbsp;— stenotype students are usually able to reach speeds of 100–120 wpm within six months, which is faster than most alphanumeric typists. [[Guinness World Records]] gives 360 wpm with 97.23% accuracy as the highest achieved speed using a stenotype.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-3000/fastest-realtime-court-reporter-%28stenotype-writing%29/ |title=Fastest realtime court reporter (stenotype writing) |publisher=Guinnessworldrecords.com | date=2004-07-30 |access-date=2014-05-13}}</ref>

== Numeric entry ==
The numeric entry or 10-key speed is a measure of one's ability to manipulate the [[numeric keypad]] found on most modern separate computer keyboards. It is used to measure speed for jobs such as [[Data entry clerk|data entry]] of number information on items such as [[remittance advice]], bills, or checks, as deposited to [[Safe deposit box|lock box]]es. It is measured in keystrokes per hour (KPH). Many jobs require a certain KPH, often 8,000 or 10,000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 10-Key Typing Test |url=https://onlinetyping.org/blog/the-10-key-typing-test.php |website=OnlineTyping.org |access-date=October 11, 2024}}</ref>

== Handwriting ==
<!-- The average human being [[Penmanship|hand-writes]] at 32 words per minute for [[memory|memorized]] text and 19 words per minute while copying.<ref name="multiple">Brown, C. M. (1988). Human-computer interface design guidelines. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2017}}-->

For an adult population (age range 18–64) the average speed of copying is 68 letters per minute (approximately 13 wpm), with the range from a minimum of 26 to a maximum of 113 letters per minute (approximately 5 to 20 wpm).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Handwriting Speed in an Adult Population |url=http://occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/Archives/Article-Archives/Handwriting-Speed-in-an-Adult-Population.aspx |website=ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners |access-date=October 11, 2024}}</ref>

A study of police interview records showed that the highest speed fell in the range 120–155 characters per minute, the highest possible limit being 190 characters per minute.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hardcastle|first1=R. A.|last2=Matthews|first2=C. J.|title=Speed of writing|journal=Journal of the Forensic Science Society|date=January 1991|volume=31|issue=1|pages=21–29|doi=10.1016/s0015-7368(91)73114-9}}</ref>

According to various studies the speed of handwriting of 3–7 graders varies from 25 to 94 letters per minute.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zaviani|first1=Jenny|last2=Wallen|first2=Margaret|editor1-last=Henderson|editor1-first=Anne|editor2-last=Pehoski|editor2-first=Charlane|title=Hand Function in the Child: Foundations for Remediation|date=2006|publisher=Mosby|location=St. Louis, MO|page=228|edition=2nd|chapter=The Development of Graphomotor Skills|isbn=0323031862|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2g51sanc4AMC&pg=PA228}}</ref>

Using [[stenography]] (shorthand) methods, this rate increases greatly. Handwriting speeds up to 350 words per minute have been achieved in shorthand competitions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/12/30/102911691.pdf |title=New World'S Record For Shorthand Speed |work=New York Times |date=1922-12-30 |access-date=2014-05-13}}</ref>

== Reading and comprehension ==
Words per minute is a common metric for assessing [[reading (activity)|reading]] speed and is often used in the context of remedial skills evaluation, as well as in the context of [[speed reading]], where it is a controversial measure of reading performance.

A word in this context is the same as in the context of speech<!--, above-->.

Research done in 2012<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Trauzettel-Klosinski|first1=Susanne|last2=Dietz|first2=Klaus|title=Standardized Assessment of Reading Performance: The New International Reading Speed Texts IReST|journal=Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science|date=August 2012|volume=53|issue=9|pages=5452–61|doi=10.1167/iovs.11-8284|pmid=22661485|url=http://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2166061|doi-access=free|url-access=subscription}}</ref> measured the speed at which subjects read a text aloud, and found the typical range of speeds across 17 different languages to be 184±29 wpm or 863±234 characters per minute. However, the number of wpm varied between languages, even for languages that use the Latin or [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] alphabets: as low as 161±18 for [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and as high as 228±30 for English. This was because different languages have different average word lengths (longer words in such languages as Finnish and shorter words in English). However, the number of characters per minute tends to be around 1000 for all the tested languages. For the tested Asian languages that use particular writing systems (Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese) these numbers are lower.

Scientific studies have demonstrated that reading—defined here as capturing and decoding all the words on every page—faster than 900 wpm is not feasible given the limits set by the anatomy of the eye.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bremer|first1=Rod|title=The Manual: A Guide to the Ultimate Study Method|publisher=Fons Sapientiae Publishing|isbn=978-0-9934964-0-0|edition=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cEFKjwEACAAJ&q=ultimate+study+method|date=2016-01-20}}</ref>

While [[proofreading]] materials, people are able to read English at 200 wpm on paper, and 180 wpm on a monitor.<ref name=Ziefle98>{{cite journal|last1=Ziefle|first1=M|title=Effects of display resolution on visual performance.|journal=Human Factors|date=December 1998|volume=40|issue=4|pages=554–68|pmid=9974229|doi=10.1518/001872098779649355|s2cid=33065301}}</ref> [Those numbers from Ziefle, 1998, are for studies that used monitors prior to 1992. See Noyes & Garland 2008 for a modern tech view of equivalence.]

== Speech and listening ==
[[Audiobook]]s are recommended to be 150–160 words per minute, which is the range that people comfortably hear and vocalize words.<ref>Williams, J. R. (1998). Guidelines for the use of multimedia in instruction, Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 42nd Annual Meeting, 1447–1451</ref>

[[Slide show|Slide presentations]] tend to be closer to 100–125 wpm for a comfortable pace,<ref name=wong>{{cite book|last=Wong|first=Linda|title=Essential Study Skills|date=2014|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1285965628|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yL2iAgAAQBAJ&q=conversation+words+per+minute&pg=PA348}}</ref> [[auction]]eers can speak at about 250 wpm,<ref name="VirtualSpeech">{{Cite web |title=What is the Average Speaking Rate? |url=https://virtualspeech.com/blog/average-speaking-rate-words-per-minute |website=VirtualSpeech |access-date=October 11, 2024}}</ref> and the fastest speaking [[Policy debate#Speed|policy debaters]] speak from 350<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/magazine/319debate.html?pagewanted=all | work=The New York Times | title=Ministers of Debate | first=Zev | last=Chafets | date=2006-03-19}}</ref> to over 500 words per minute.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z9Jld9a4olgC&q=540+words+per+minute&pg=PA158 |title=Falwell Inc.: Inside a Religious, Political, Educational, and Business Empire - Dirk Smillie - Google Boeken |date= 2008-07-22|access-date=2014-04-20|isbn=9780312376291 |last1=Smillie |first1=Dirk |publisher=Macmillan }}</ref> Internet speech calculators show that various things influence words per minute including nervousness.<ref name="VirtualSpeech"></ref>

An example of an [[agglutinative language]], the average rate of [[Turkish language|Turkish]] speech is reported to be about 220 syllables per minute. When the time spent for the silent parts of speech are removed, the so-called average articulation rate reaches 310 syllables per minute.<ref>{{cite thesis |url = https://avesis.gazi.edu.tr/dosya?id=74ab36ed-fd81-4d52-85dd-fad0935db12e |author = Huzeyfe Bilge |type=PhD |date=September 2019 |language=Turkish |access-date=29 August 2023 |publisher=Gazi University |title=Okuma, Yazma ve Konuşmada Akıcılık ile Okuduğunu Anlama ve Kelime Hazinesi Arasındaki İlişki |trans-title=The Relationships between Reading, Writing and Speaking Fluencies, Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary}}</ref> The average number of syllables per (written) word has been measured as 2.6.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.atesman.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Atesman-okunabilirlik.pdf |journal=Dil Dergisi (Language Journal) |date=August 1997 |author=Ender Ateşman |access-date=29 August 2023 |pages=71–74 |language=tr |title=Türkçede Okunabilirliğin Ölçülmesi |trans-title=Measuring Readability in Turkish}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Metinlerin Okunabilirliğinin Ölçülmesi Üzerine Bir Yazılım Kütüphanesi ve Türkçe İçin Yeni Bir Okunabilirlik Ölçütü |trans-title=A Software Library for Measurement of Readability of Texts and A New Readability Metric For Turkish |last1=Bezirci |first1=Burak |last2=Yılmaz |first2=Asım Egemen |language=tr |pages=49–62 |volume=12 |number=3 |date=October 2010 |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/deumffmd/issue/40831/492667 |journal = Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Mühendislik Fakültesi Fen ve Mühendislik Dergisi}}</ref> For a comparison, [[Rudolf Flesch|Flesch]] has suggested that the conversational English for consumers aims 1.5 syllables per word,<ref>{{cite web |title=Chapter 2: Let's Start With the Formula |url=https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~wstarbuc/Writing/Flesch.htm |access-date=29 August 2023 |author=[[Rudolf Flesch]]}}</ref> although these measures are dependent on corpus.

[[John Moschitta Jr.]] was listed in ''[[Guinness World Records]]'', for a time, as the world's fastest speaker, being able to talk at 586 wpm.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1988/may_24_1988_161209.html |title=John Moschitta set record for fast talking... May 24 in History |publisher=Brainyhistory.com |date=1988-05-24 |access-date=2014-04-20}}</ref> He has since been surpassed by [[Steve Woodmore]], who achieved a rate of 637 wpm.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4-CRv0ih28  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/c4-CRv0ih28| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=World's Fastest Talker - Steve Woodmore |publisher=YouTube |date=2011-02-05 |access-date=2014-04-20}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Sign language ==
In the realm of [[American Sign Language]], the American Sign Language University (ASLU) specifies a cutoff proficiency for students who clock a signing speed of 110-130 wpm.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/how-fast-should-i-sign.htm |title=How fast should I sign? |publisher=American Sign Language University |date=2014-02-09 |access-date=2020-07-30}}</ref>

== Morse code ==
[[Morse code]] uses variable length sequences of short and long duration ''signals'' (dits and dahs, colloquially called dots and dashes) to represent source information<ref>{{cite web|last1=International Telecommunication Union|first1=ITU|title=International Morse Code Recommendation|url=http://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/m/R-REC-M.1677-1-200910-I!!PDF-E.pdf|publisher=ITU}}</ref> ''e.g.'', sequences for the letter "K" and numeral "2" are respectively ({{morse|dash|dot|dash}}) and ({{morse|dot|dot|dash|dash|dash}}). This variability complicates the measurement of Morse code speed rated in words per minute. Using telegram messages, the average English word length is about five characters, each averaging 5.124 dot durations or [[baud]]. Spacing between words should also be considered, being seven dot durations in the USA and five in British territories. So the average British telegraph word was 30.67 dot times.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Morsh|first1=Joseph E.|last2=Stannard|first2=A. F. B.|title=Studies in international Morse Code. II. A simplified method of determining code speed.|journal=Canadian Journal of Psychology|date=1947|volume=1|issue=2|pages=67–70|doi=10.1037/h0084027}}</ref> So the baud rate of a Morse code is {{frac|50|60}} × word per minute rate.

It is standard practice to use two different such ''standard words'' to measure Morse code speeds in words per minute. The standard words are: "PARIS" and "CODEX". In Morse code "PARIS" has a dot duration of 50, while "CODEX" has 60.

Although many countries no longer require it for licensing, Morse is still widely used by [[amateur radio]] ("ham") operators. Experienced hams routinely send Morse at 20 words per minute, using manually operated hand [[telegraph key]]s; enthusiasts such as members of [[The CW Operators' Club]] routinely send and receive Morse code at speeds up to 60 wpm. The upper limit for Morse operators attempting to write down Morse code received by ear using paper and pencil is roughly 20 wpm. Many skilled Morse code operators can receive Morse code by ear mentally without writing down the information at speeds up to 70 wpm.<ref>[http://www.arrl.org/news/morse-code-at-140-wpm Morse Code at 140 WPM]</ref> To write down the Morse code information manually at speeds higher than 20 wpm it is usual for the operators to use a typewriter or computer keyboard to enable higher speed copying.

In the United States a commercial radiotelegraph operator's license is still issued, although there is almost no demand for it, since for long distance communication ships now use the satellite-based [[Global Maritime Distress and Safety System]]. Besides a written examination, proficiency at receiving Morse at 20 wpm plain language and 16 wpm in code groups must be demonstrated.<ref>[https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/commercial-radio-operator-license-program/commercial-0 Commercial Radio Operator Types of Licenses]</ref>

[[High-speed telegraphy]] contests are still held. The fastest Morse code operator was [[Theodore Roosevelt McElroy]] copying at 75.6 wpm using a typewriter at the 1939 world championship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rogerwendell.com/morsecode.html |title=Morse code page of Roger J. Wendell - WBŘJNR (WB0JNR) |publisher=Rogerwendell.com |access-date=2014-04-20}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Colemak|Colemak keyboard]]
* [[Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak keyboard]]
* [[Instructograph]]
* [[Keystroke dynamics]]
* [[Morse code]]
* [[Speed typing contest]]
* [[Touch typing]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

[[Category:Input/output]]
[[Category:Reading (process)]]
[[Category:Typing]]
[[Category:Writing]]
[[Category:Units of temporal rate]]