Dolch word list fluency in the English language. The compilation excludes nouns, which comprise a separate 95-word list. Between 50% and 75% of all words used in schoolbooks, library books, newspapers, and magazines are a part of the Dolch basic sight word vocabulary. These lists of words are still assigned for memorization in American elementary schools. Although most of the 220 Dolch words are phonetic, children are sometimes told that they can't be "sounded out" using common sound-to-letter implicit phonics patterns and have to be learned by sight; hence the alternative term, "sight word". The list is divided according to the grades in
English words of Greek origin to recognize words of Greek origin, and give hints as to their pronunciation and inflection. Some romanizations are not completely standard. The Ancient Greek diphthongs and may be spelled in three different ways in English: the digraphs "ae" and "oe"; the ligatures "æ" and "œ"; and the simple letter "e". The ligatures have largely fallen out of use worldwide; the digraphs are uncommon in American usage, but remain common in British usage. The spelling depends mostly on the variety of English, not on the particular word. Examples are: "encyclopaedia" / "encyclopædia" / "encyclopedia", "haemoglobin" / "hæmoglobin" / "hemoglobin", "oedema" /