Prowords are special words or phrases used to facilitate message passing by voice. They allow the sending and receiving stations to be clear with each other, while still being as efficient as possible (using as few words as possible, avoiding repeats).
Prowords are NOT part of the message and are NOT written down when copying the message. This makes it critical that both the sending station and receiving station know the prowords and how they are used. The sending station must use the proper prowords or else the receiving station may write the word into the message. The receiving station needs to recognize the prowords, so they don’t write them into the message.
Prowords can be grouped into four broad categories, depending on how they are used. We group them into these categories only because the prowords in each category have similar behavior and it’s easier to teach them this way. The names of the categories are not important. Neither is knowing which proword is in each category. Knowing the prowords themselves and how/where to use each one is all that is important.
Control Prowords
- Define the start, end, or control the flow of the message
Clarification Prowords
- Always spoken AFTER a group
- Clarifies or emphasizes what was just said.
Qualification Prowords
- Always spoken WITHIN a group
- Defines a quality to allow precise copy
Introductory Prowords
- Always spoken BEFORE a group
- Alerts receiving operator to what is coming next
It is important to use each proword in the right place (before, inside, after a group) to avoid confusing the receiving station and slowing down the message transfer.