In 1939 faculty members of the Romance Languages Department were offered an opportunity to try an experimental model of a “Voice Mirror” built by the Society of Acoustic Engineers. In 1940 faculty in romance languages used the product, in which students spoke into a microphone attached to a machine that looked like a table-model radio, turned a knob on the machine, and the machine repeated exactly what had been spoken. Unlike the recording made for a phonograph, the Voice Mirror recorded the voice by a system of magnetizing a steel tape, which could be demagnetized and reused.
The machine was used in classes, for individual practice in speaking romance languages, and even for flute practice. UT’s machine was one of eight experimental models used at universities throughout the country. Dr. J. O. Swain evaluated the machine and made suggestions for improvement before the Voice Mirror was returned to the society. In 1949 a “phonetics” language laboratory was established.