To solve the problem of inaccurate pronunciation in speech synthesis, you can take the following approaches:
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Use a High-Quality Text-to-Speech (TTS) Engine with Pronunciation Dictionaries
- A good TTS system should include a pronunciation dictionary that maps words (especially proper nouns, abbreviations, or technical terms) to their correct phonetic transcriptions.
- Example: If the word "NVIDIA" is mispronounced as "nuh-VID-ee-uh," the TTS engine should have an entry like
NVIDIA → /ˈnviːdɪə/.
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Phonetic Transcription (IPA or Custom Rules)
- For words that are frequently mispronounced, manually specify their International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or custom phonetic spelling.
- Example: In a TTS system, you might define
"Cupertino" → "kupərˈtinoʊ" to ensure correct pronunciation.
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Leverage AI-Based Pronunciation Correction
- Some advanced TTS models use machine learning to predict and correct pronunciation based on context.
- Example: If "read" is used in the past tense ("I read a book"), the TTS should pronounce it as /rɛd/ instead of /riːd/.
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Human-Like Pronunciation Fine-Tuning
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Domain-Specific Training
- If the TTS is used in a specific industry (e.g., medical, legal), train the model on domain-specific vocabulary to improve pronunciation accuracy.
- Example: A medical TTS should correctly pronounce "hypertension" (/haɪˈpɜːrtənʃn/) instead of misreading it.
By combining these methods—especially using a robust TTS solution like Tencent Cloud TTS with SSML and custom dictionaries—you can significantly reduce pronunciation inaccuracies.