Valuable Programming Tips for the Vantage Lite! Working with Numbers, Abbreviations, and Acronyms
Here are some great tips for getting the text you entered to speak correctly:
Producing a Long “A” in the Middle of a Sentence:
Usually an “A” by itself in the middle of a sentence is pronounced as “uh,” but there may be times when you want it to be pronounced as a long “A” (“ayee”). To achieve this, type in the capital letter “A” and then add a punctuation mark immediately following it:
A, A? A! (A A;
This will change the inflection of the sentence somewhat, but it will produce a long “A”.
For example: Give me an A! Give me a B.
RealSpeak and Numbers
Most numbers are pronounced as you think they should be.
Cardinal Numbers
Cardinal numbers up to 15 digits are pronounced as full numbers. Numbers with more than 15 digits are pronounced digit by digit.
For example: 2,345,789 is pronounced as two million three-hundred-forty-five thousand, seven-hundred-eighty-nine. 005 is pronounced as zero zero five.
Numbers from 1,100 through 9,999 are pronounced as full numbers when a comma is used. When no comma is used, the number is treated as a year.
For example: the number, 1,999, is pronounced one-thousand-nine-hundred and ninety-nine. The year 1999 is pronounced nineteen-ninety-nine.
Exception: The years 2000-2029 are pronounced as cardinal numbers, (e. g., two-thousand-sixteen). At 2030 they begin to be pronounced as years (e.g., twenty-thirty).
Telephone Numbers
Telephone numbers are pronounced digit by digit. To have the numbers pronounced as groups, add a space, a slash or a hyphen between the groups. Area Codes must be in parentheses.
For Example: (330) 262 1984 or (330)/262/1984. Both of these are spoken as: Area Code 330, two six two, one nine eight four.
International and mobile (or cell) numbers are usually read correctly assuming you have used the correct spacing.
For example: +22 (1343) 465-586 is pronounced: plus twenty two one three four three four six five five eight six; 011 44 (1733) 370 470 is pronounced: zero one one forty-four one seven three three three seven zero four seven zero.
Entering Math Problems
For math problems to be pronounced correctly, you must space the numbers correctly.
For example: 5 – 3 = 2 must be entered as:
5 –3 = 2 (5space –no space3space=space2)
4 + 5 = 9 is entered as
4 +5 = 9 (4space +no space5space=space9)
With multiplication, use the “x” or the * .
For Example: 2*8 = 16 or 2x8 = 16. In either case your device will speak “x” or “asterisk”, not “times”. Do not put spaces between the multiplication sign and the numbers. Add a space before and after the “equals” sign.
Division is not available unless you have a “division” sign that you can assign to a key or sequence; otherwise, you must enter the words “divided by “ with spaces, as in: 4 divided by 2 = 2.
Fractions are usually spoken correctly.
For example: 5/9 is spoken as five ninths; 3/2 is spoken as three over two; 223/845 is spoken as two hundred twenty three over eight hundred forty five.
Bank Account, Social Security, Credit Card Numbers
In order to have these types of numbers pronounced correctly, use hyphens between groups of numbers. Do not put spaces before or after the hyphen.
For example: 1234-5678-9123-4004 is pronounced as: one two three four (pause) five six seven eight (pause) nine one two three (pause) four zero zero four.
Dates
Depending on your country, dates are read as month/day/year (America) or day/month/year (Britain, Australia). Separate numbers with the date with slashes or hyphens. Do not add spaces.
For example: 5/15/06 is pronounced as: May fifteenth two-thousand-six in American English. 15-5-06 is pronounced: the fifteenth May two-thousand six in British and Australian English.
Currencies
RealSpeak correctly handles the currency symbols $, £, ¥, and the most common currency abbreviations. The Euro symbol is also supported. You can find this symbol on the QWERTY spell page. Press the Ext. Chars. key to find the Euro symbol.
For example: $40.00 is pronounced Forty dollars. £125 is pronounced One hundred twenty five pounds. ¥60 is pronounced 60 yen. €
20 is pronounced Twenty Euros.
Abbreviations
The RealSpeak dictionary contains most common abbreviations. Some abbreviations can be spoken in more than one way, so RealSpeak looks for the context in which they are written. The abbreviation, “St.” could be pronounced as Saint or Street. If “St.” is followed by a capital letter, it is pronounced as Saint. If not, it is pronounced as street. Similarly, the abbreviation “Dr.” could be pronounced as Doctor or Drive. If it is followed by a capital letter, it’s pronounced Doctor. If not, it is pronounced, Drive.
For example: Dr. Johnson’s St. is pronounced, Doctor Johnson’s Street. St. John’s Dr. is pronounced Saint John’s Drive. Dr. Johnson lives on St. Peter’s St. is pronounced, Doctor Johnson lives on Saint Peter’s Street.
Acronyms and Initialisims
Acronyms are abbreviations formed by combining the first letters of a group of words. They are pronounced as words.
For example: NATO ( nay toe), UNESCO (you ness coe)
Initialisms are abbreviations formed by combining the first letter of each part of a group of words. Initialisms are spelled.
For example: API (ay pee eye), FBI (eff bee eye), EC (ee cee)