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Description of the Phonetic Mnemonic System
| The phonetic mnemonic is one of the most powerful memory systems. The first version
was developed three hundred years ago, in 1648, by Winckelman who introduced a
system where digits were represented by letters of the alphabet. In the 18th and 19th
century, this memory system was further refined and it has remained essentially unchanged
throughout the 20th century. The key aspect of the Phonetic Mnemonic is that digits are
represent by consonant sounds (the term 'phonetic' refers to speech sounds). This
allows the fabrication of large numbers of peg words to be used in mental filing systems.
It is also possible to code numbers directly into words and sentences.
This system takes more time to master than the others. To start learning and applying
the system now, work through the steps below. |
Step 1. Study the digit-sound groups (5 min)Step 2. Verify the digit 'codes' of the example words (10 min)
Step 3. Use a trainer to learn digit-sound groups very
thoroughly (15 min)
Step 4. Visualize and check up to 111 peg words (15 to 30
min)
Step 5. Use a trainer to learn the key words by
heart (60 to 120 min)
Step 6. Apply the system to remembering long lists
Step 7. Use the system for advanced mental filing |
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University of Amsterdam
