[MV] Errant words in speech recognition suggestions

[Chuck Rogers]

All:

I did a little research in order to give a more complete response to 
the issue of errant words or phrases being entered by iListen (although 
these suggestions would apply to ViaVoice as well). This sometimes 
happens with one-syllable words, or even when nothing is being spoken. 
Here are some suggestions for addressing these issues. Some of what I 
am going to say here has already been posted, but I am repeating it for 
completeness, and for the benefit of those who may have just joined the 
list.

If you are getting extra words when you say a hard "t" or similar 
consonant:

1). Check the position of your microphone. If it is too close to your 
mouth, breath sounds will cause errant words to pop into your document. 
In general, the microphone should be two fingertips away from the 
corner of your mouth and off to the side a bit. If you have skinny 
fingers, you may need to go three fingertips away. When it is properly 
positioned, you should be able to take a drink from a normal-sized 
glass without touching the microphone or spilling the liquid. If you 
are a heavy breather, you may need to move the microphone further to 
the side, or possibly even a bit further away from your mouth.

2). Is there noise in your environment that wasn't there before? Turn 
off the microphone and just listen. If you think the environment is 
noiser than it was when you originally set up the microphone, run the 
Set Up My Microphone procedure again. Extraneous noise could come from 
obvious sources such as a TV or radio (or the kids in the other room), 
or less obvious sources such as an open window or a fan blowing an airs 
stream at or near the microphone. Even sounds you perceive to be in 
front of you may still be affecting recognition if you are sitting in 
front of a hard surface such as a wall or window. If you think that may 
be the problem, close the drapes (in the case of a window), or try 
putting a blanket or quilt on the wall temporarily to see if 
recognition improves.

3). If the two things above seem to be in order, try running the Setup 
My Microphone procedure again, but this time click the Manual Settings 
triangle towards the bottom of the screen. Increase the silence 
threshold by about 5%. Finish the procedure and try dictating again. Is 
it better or worse? Continue making small, 5% adjustments until you 
find the right placement. I wouldn't adjust it any more than that 
because it will make it difficult to determine the overall effect of 
the adjustment.

If a single word seems to be broken up into two (or more) 
mis-recognized words:

1). then try decreasing the silence threshold by 5% at a time.

2). Make sure you are not over-enunciating the last consonant. If you 
say "don TA" instead of "don't", you will most likely get "don't the" 
or "don't a" (it's hard to write the sound I am trying to convey, but I 
think you get the idea). In other words, if all else fails, try 
softening the consonants at the end of words and see if that helps. 
Overall, just keep in mind that one syllable words need to stay that 
way.



Best Regards,

Chuck Rogers, Chief Evangelist
MacSpeech, Inc.