[DECtalk] User dictionaries for Speak windows

[Corine Bickley]

When we're ready to release 4.3, Snoopi and I will make the changes to
the dictionary that relate to common words in general use and that
most people request. We will not enter names and specific
pronunciations that might reflect a specific dialect or style of
speech.

Once we have completed that task, then Enable will later offer a
service of creating specialized dictionaries for specific individuals
who want pronunciations customized for their own use, such as names.
Snoopi will be in charge of that work, and we'll offer batches of
customized dictionary entries for a small price.

Only the first set of general corrections will be free with the
product. Perhaps it would be useful to post a list of the words that
seem most necessary to correct before we release the product. What do
you think?
corine

On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 12:55 PM, Alex H. <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Corine,
>
> What should we do with these changes? Will we be asked in the future
> to submit them? Also, when can we expect to hear demos of the
> synthesizer?
> Thanks,
> Alex
>
> On 5/17/11, Brandon Misch <bmisch2002 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> i know fs's version of access 32 was version 4.41 of dectalk
>>
>> On May 16, 2011, at 8:51 PM, Jayson Smith wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Is there any chance we could hear a sample of the 4.3 SAPI as it currently
>>>
>>> stands? The reason is, if it's the same as the 4.3 Speak window which has
>>> been distributed all over the net for years, I'm sure that same sounding
>>> DECtalk turned into a SAPI would be wonderful news to the entire
>>> DECtalk-loving community. Corine, do you have any audio samples of the
>>> DECtalk sound you remember using? It'd be interesting to hear those and
>>> compare it to the 4.3 we all know and love.
>>>
>>> As far as what we mean by "Classic," I personally would say anything from
>>> 4.0 through 4.4 falls into that category. I'm not sure what version of
>>> DECtalk the Access32 software product used, but by then there were some
>>> changes I didn't like. Of course, others on this list may differ in what
>>> they would consider "classic DECtalk."
>>> Jayson
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Corine Bickley" <corine.bickley at gallaudet.edu>
>>> To: "DECtalk Discussions" <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
>>> Sent: Monday, May 16, 2011 7:33 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] User dictionaries for Speak windows
>>>
>>>
>>>> What do you mean by classic? There have been many different versions
>>>> of DECtalk over the years. I am most familiar with the one that Dennis
>>>> Klatt used at MIT when Martha and I were members of the Speech Group
>>>> there headed by Prof. Ken Stevens, You may favor a different version,
>>>> perhaps one that was put out by DEC, or SmartModular, or Force, or
>>>> modified by one of the companies that licensed DECtalk for sale with a
>>>> particular screen reader. I don't have good information about all
>>>> those versions, only my memory of the one we used at MIT.
>>>>
>>>> We (Enable) have a couple of versions of DECtalk that we are
>>>> considering for release as "SAPI DECtalk". One older one, 4.3, has
>>>> been SAPI-ized and works with jvda and JAWS, it seems, but I have to
>>>> tune up the voices to match the version of DECtalk that we used at
>>>> MIT. We also need to test 4.3 with various current operating systems
>>>> and screen readers. The original DECtalk was written for VAX computers
>>>> (sold by DEC and used at MIT). The Windows versions do not sound the
>>>> same as the VAX version, due to differences in the way C code is
>>>> implemented on different platforms.
>>>>
>>>> I'll leave it to others to compare the voice quality to versions you
>>>> each use and prefer.
>>>> corine
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, May 15, 2011 at 6:18 PM, Alex H. <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> Hi Corine,
>>>>>
>>>>> Does this mean that you have found a classic version of DECTAlk to use
>>>>> for the sapi?
>>>>>
>>>>> Alex
>>>>>
>>>>> On 5/15/11, Corine Bickley <corine.bickley at gallaudet.edu> wrote:
>>>>>> Snoopi will be in charge of creating user dictionaries for Enable
>>>>>> products, such as SAPI DECtalk. We're not ready yet to announce the
>>>>>> release of SAPI DECtalk, but hope to be soon.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sun, May 15, 2011 at 6:04 PM, Jayson Smith <ratguy at insightbb.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Does anyone know how to create/generate/compile user dictionaries for
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> Speak windows? I know back in the days of the DECtalk PC, it shipped
>>>>>>> with
>>>>>>> software to take a properly-formatted text file and compile it into a
>>>>>>> binary
>>>>>>> dictionary file. I still have one of those files, and it doesn't work
>>>>>>> as a
>>>>>>> user dictionary in Speak43. Are there tools out there to generate user
>>>>>>> dictionaries, or are they pretty much just internal tools which should
>>>>>>> have
>>>>>>> been distributed but weren't? Snoopi, Ed, Corine, can anyone help
>>>>>>> here?
>>>>>>> Thanks.
>>>>>>>
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