[PL1]

"Attention all passengers on the Bloor-Danforth Line - we are currently experiencing a delay at our Summerhill Station ..."

I mean the people who input the text for this system must be still sleeping at 8:00 am. This whole thing needs some tinkering.

I heard the same thing. You'd think that using this alert system would involve the person selecting in a computer window one box for the station, and the appropriate additional messages. The line name should be automatic based on the station. Still, I find these messages are much clearer than the human ones.

 

[TransitPolicyChanger]

I heard the same thing. You'd think that using this alert system would involve the person selecting in a computer window one box for the station, and the appropriate additional messages. The line name should be automatic based on the station. Still, I find these messages are much clearer than the human ones.

it is vastly better than the people who are clearly just trying to spit out the information as fast as possible and not slowly and clearly. But if those are the same people operating this system, we are in trouble.

 

[victord66]

Service Announcements

The new announcements are certainly a good idea, but my experience in the past few weeks indicates that everything in the announcement is clear, EXCEPT the name of the station. It always comes out very garbled and definately not understandable. So in this case, either fix the system or go back to the old style. At least then we could make out the name of the station. Without that, these announcements are absolutely useless.

 

[nfitz]

Yeah, I've had a real hard time understanding the station names in announcements in the last couple of weeks.

 

[TransitPolicyChanger]

Yeah, I've had a real hard time understanding the station names in announcements in the last couple of weeks.

My bet would be if they just had it set up that when they type the word Bloor, it gets read as Blue-or. The computer cannot pronounce things the way most people would, but if they programed it to type in how it would be said, it may get better. (maybe add a few more pauses too, its like the computer is nervous and just wants to say it and get it over with)

 

[chriskayTO]

One thing I do really appreciate about the new announcements is that it's a consistent tone of voice. With this specific voice tone, people may be more likely to listen, because they know it will be a special service announcement, instead of the "stand back" or "don't rush the doors" announcements.

 

[nfitz]

My bet would be if they just had it set up that when they type the word Bloor, it gets read as Blue-or. The computer cannot pronounce things the way most people would, but if they programed it to type in how it would be said, it may get better. (maybe add a few more pauses too, its like the computer is nervous and just wants to say it and get it over with)

I think what they need to do is simply pre-record the 69 station names. Or perhaps add some kind of index for when unknown or certain words are used, to use certain pre-programmed phonetic pronunciations.

 

[Johnny Au]

I believe that there should be an option to modify the pronunciation of the subway stations. Spadina seems tricky to correct. However, it pronounces Yonge correctly.

 

[junctionist]

I find the automated messages aimed at staff annoying, since they repeat the same thing several times in quick succession: 506 Kennedy...506 Kennedy...506 Kennedy, please call control. What's annoying is that it's always in the same tone and with exact same pauses, unlike when it was a human voice. With a human voice, the subsequent repetitions are done in a slightly different tone of voice with pauses that vary in length. It's so unnatural, now.

 

[PL1]

From yesterday's Toronto Star, "The Fixer: I say Spa-dinah, you say Spa-deenah"

Computers are always supposed to get it right, but the TTC’s computer-generated voice always gets Spadina wrong.

TTC riders have probably noticed that announcements over the public address system are being made by a well-spoken fellow who does not sound quite human.

For years, people complained that TTC service announcements were garbled and undecipherable. An important message about a service interruption, for instance, could not be understood, leaving riders guessing about its intent.

The TTC listened, and last month replaced real voices with “text-to-voice messaging software,” in which a typed message is converted to language spoken by a disembodied, computerized voice.

The feedback from riders has been almost entirely positive, the TTC says, with many saying it is much easier to hear and understand than the old system.

But we’ve had a half-dozen emails about the inability of the robo-voice to properly say Spadina, which it insists on pronouncing Spa-dee-na.

“What can be done about fixing the computerized TTC alert voice they’ve started using?” asked Jeremy Greenberg.

“I’m already sick of hearing Yonge-University-SpadEEna line. How could they let that mispronunciation go unnoticed? A simple phonetic fix would get the program reading that text properly.”

Jason Cahill says he loves “the new automated-sounding male voice that loudly and clearly announces delays throughout the system, but rather gratingly says Spa-DEE-na.

“An organization like the TTC should have caught this long before now.”

STATUS: Jessica Martin, who deals with media for the TTC, said the new software had problems pronouncing a few words, which was resolved by typing the word phonetically. But no matter which way Spadina is entered, the voice says Spa-dee-na, said Martin. A software upgrade should take care of it, she said, noting the overall response to the new system is so positive the TTC is willing to live with the mistaken pronunciation. Brad Ross, who’s in charge of TTC communications, later told us the software should be upgraded before the end of next week.

 

[Dan416]

From yesterday's Toronto Star, "The Fixer: I say Spa-dinah, you say Spa-deenah"

Computers are always supposed to get it right, but the TTC’s computer-generated voice always gets Spadina wrong.

TTC riders have probably noticed that announcements over the public address system are being made by a well-spoken fellow who does not sound quite human.

For years, people complained that TTC service announcements were garbled and undecipherable. An important message about a service interruption, for instance, could not be understood, leaving riders guessing about its intent.

The TTC listened, and last month replaced real voices with “text-to-voice messaging software,” in which a typed message is converted to language spoken by a disembodied, computerized voice.

The feedback from riders has been almost entirely positive, the TTC says, with many saying it is much easier to hear and understand than the old system.

But we’ve had a half-dozen emails about the inability of the robo-voice to properly say Spadina, which it insists on pronouncing Spa-dee-na.

“What can be done about fixing the computerized TTC alert voice they’ve started using?” asked Jeremy Greenberg.

“I’m already sick of hearing Yonge-University-SpadEEna line. How could they let that mispronunciation go unnoticed? A simple phonetic fix would get the program reading that text properly.”

Jason Cahill says he loves “the new automated-sounding male voice that loudly and clearly announces delays throughout the system, but rather gratingly says Spa-DEE-na.

“An organization like the TTC should have caught this long before now.”

STATUS: Jessica Martin, who deals with media for the TTC, said the new software had problems pronouncing a few words, which was resolved by typing the word phonetically. But no matter which way Spadina is entered, the voice says Spa-dee-na, said Martin. A software upgrade should take care of it, she said, noting the overall response to the new system is so positive the TTC is willing to live with the mistaken pronunciation. Brad Ross, who’s in charge of TTC communications, later told us the software should be upgraded before the end of next week.

Couldn't they have spelled Spadina as "Spa die nah" or "Spad eye nah"? I find it hard to believe that spelling it a different way wouldn't have resulted in a change in pronunciation by this computer.

 

[jeffreym]

I just tested the voice out on my computer... they must have intentionally not have told the computer to pronounce 'Spadina' since it's pronounced SpAdina (i.e. Spa (with an emphasis on the A) and then dina) by default. I figured out how to get it to pronounce Spadina though.... 'Spuh-Dina' does the trick.

Link to MP3

 

[erikyow]

This could tie in nicely with the thread about renaming the YUS line. Maybe it's time to drop the 'Spadina' bit since the computer can't say it right. *stirs pot*

 

[PL1]

Couldn't they have spelled Spadina as "Spa die nah" or "Spad eye nah"? I find it hard to believe that spelling it a different way wouldn't have resulted in a change in pronunciation by this computer.

I figured out how to get it to pronounce Spadina though.... 'Spuh-Dina' does the trick.

That's what I was thinking: either they didn't try terribly hard, or they have specially designed software that makes it difficult to get Spadina pronounced correctly. Maybe jeffrem can charge them a consulting fee and show them how to do it.

Figure out how to do it, then they can have a read-only Word file with appropriate templates that they can paste into the test-to-voice software. Anyway, it's still a simple, good idea.

 

[jeffreym]

That's what I was thinking: either they didn't try terribly hard, or they have specially designed software that makes it difficult to get Spadina pronounced correctly.

There's nothing special about their software.. like joeclark said, it's just the voice Alex from Mac OS X.