As the original source suggests, the list is intended to serve as a starting point for field work, and according ot the compiler, the list was originally provided by Swadesh himself and then slightly modified by the author. The compiler of the list seems to be indifferent regarding the validity of lexicostatistics, but deems the word lists quite useful for comparison with other resources. In the study, the author also presents a Samarin 1967 218 which in fact contains 218 items.