Acoustic Stereotypes in the Interpretation of Unfamiliar Telephone Signals

Abstract

International dialling has brought with it the problem of recognizing whether an unfamiliar telephone sound means a ringing or an engaged signal. On the evidence of 60 British listeners, our national stereotype appeals to be based on the repetition period and degree of complexity of British tone signals. Short, unmodulated sounds in foreign systems are judged to be engaged, longer complex ones to be ringing.