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Test of Text-to-Speech (TTS) Abbreviations in Waze Clients

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[Please note that this lead post is edited periodically to reflect updated information, with any changes highlighted in the color of the date that follows:]

Post edit history:
2014-08-24 The Big List is now maintained entirely as a Google document and it no longer sourced from an Excel file.
2014-08-16 Every entry in the Big List has now finally been tested. A number of new entries also added.
2014-03-06 Column added to List to differentiate ROUTING TTS from DESTINATION TTS results.
2013-09-16 Minor rewrites of various paragraphs.
2012-10-31
2012-09-24
2012-09-06
2012-08-20
(earlier post edit history not maintained)
This is a list of abbreviations and acronyms that are being added to two sandbox test rigs, to be tested in the Waze clients to learn their TTS output results for North America. (Jenncard maintained a second test rig.)

All tests are with the Nuance female "Samantha" voice only as used in North America. While we expect that the other English voice choice for NA, "Tom", is likely to use the same TTS databases, we have not tested for it.

The list includes all the official and alternate abbreviations of the United States Postal Service, all the English abbreviations for Canada Post, a subset of the French abbreviations for Canada Post, a subset from the U.S. Federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices plus a number of others suggested by Waze users. (Additional abbreviations from the MUCCD for individual U.S. States and from any equivalent list for Canadian Provinces, have not yet been compiled.)

Official abbreviation list sources for specific states or providences are linked from their respective names in the test list.

If you already know or learn any TTS results, please post them here. Please submit only results that you are absolutely sure of, with the exact spelling (including any capitalization) of the abbreviation, and the confirmed TTS output result.

Also submit any additional abbreviations that you feel should be part of the list for testing and/or for future inclusion in the TTS system.

Some current abbreviations such as "Penn" (which generates "Pennsylvania") should probably be removed from the TTS system in favor of using the capitalized two letter State and Province abbreviation standards. We should also discuss others for consideration that may need to be removed from the TTS.

To hear the most current TTS results from your Waze client device, it may be necessary to clear your current TTS cache. Enter "cc@tts" without quotes in the Navigation search to clear the cache. Waze should reply with a "TTS cache has been cleared!" popup box. Then wait for "Searching ..." to end.

This list will be updated periodically. (The initial list was submitted 2012-01-18, which took a month for Waze to process, and for us to test in the Waze Clients.)

Once we learn what the TTS currently knows, we can add the results of this list to the Wiki, plus
we can use it to submit our requested TTS "wishlist" changes to Waze. Please note that entries in this are for testing purposes and do NOT automatically imply that we endorse them. This list is primarily to research as many possible abbreviations that we can test to learn what Waze currently recognizes or not.

To learn how to hear the TTS files on your Android device manually, read the side notes in the following post: http://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... 96#p144296

A section on Abbreviations has been added to the Waze Wiki. The link below takes you to a selection of countries. Select your country from the list and follow the links to the abbreviations in your country:
Editing Manual > How to label and name roads (by country)

In the United States you can go directly to the US Abbreviations and acronyms list.

Google Drive Spreadsheet:
Text-to-Speech (TTS) Abbreviations in Waze Clients - Test List for North America aka the "Big List" or the "Big TTS Test List".

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Last edited by GizmoGuy411 on Wed May 09, 2012 6:42 pm, edited 32 times in total.

Post by Inactive user -1697532064-
Scioto should be pronounced sai-o-to, and Trabue should be pronounced trei-byu. These are place and road names from Central Ohio
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Post by Inactive user -1697532064-
Alpha_VA wrote:Would it be possible to add

Blvd = Boulevard

to the custom abbreviations list?

It's the only one I noticed with a German TTS voice which is spelled char by char and not translated. It is also missing in the list in the wiki.
Blvd is on the global abbreviations page but not on the US page. It works in WME and the app with Jane, but were you using Kathi? Kathi says it wrong.
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Post by Inactive user -1697532064-
abc1357 wrote:Unfortunately, unlike road segments, there is no "voice" button next to it to test. So I have to wait for a tile update AND drive over there to test....
Why not just test the name on a nearby road segment, and then if it sounds right put that name on the place?
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Post by Inactive user -1697532064-
DrDisaster wrote:Chili is not pronounced like the food or chilly weather. It should be a long I like eye. Ch-eye-l-eye
xanderb wrote:In most cases where a word or road name is very commonly pronounced a certain way, it is impossible to replace for a single road. Those TTS replacements are done for the whole country.
Yes, a word can only be pronounced one way. For example, I'm sure New Yorkers would like Waze to read Houston St as "hauston street," but since Houston is pronounced as "hyuston" in the rest of the US we can't change it without making the pronunciation incorrect to more people.
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Post by Inactive user -1697532064-
Ha yeah I was thinking German. Sometimes I wish English writing was as phonemic as German. But back to TTS problems, I requested a correction for Coshocton and Scioto a year ago and they still sound like Keyshokton and Seoto. Is there any movement with TTS fixes?

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Post by Inactive user -1697532064-
Mispronunciation of "Parkcenter" using the Jane voice. As a UR reported and I confirmed in WME, it sounds like Park-chenter. It should sound like Park Center.

PL with both Parkcenter Cir and Parkcenter Ave, both of which sound wrong.
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Last edited by Inactive user -1697532064- on Fri Sep 08, 2017 7:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by abc1357
There is a restaurant named "Va de Vi". Unfortunately, Waze pronounces it as "Virginia de Vi". What's the best way of fixing? Could I put it in as "Va. de Vi" as the primary to aid pronunciation and put in "Va de Vi" as alternate name to enable search?

Unfortunately, unlike road segments, there is no "voice" button next to it to test. So I have to wait for a tile update AND drive over there to test....
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