13.0

CAUTION When adding an entry to the Vocabulary, be sure to spell and capitalize it correctly! Otherwise, it will

appear misspelled in your documents every time you dictate it.

Some of the "words" in the Vocabulary Editor aren't single words. Of course is listed. So is as well as. There are

also names of people, places, products, and institutions: Mother Teresa, Madison Square Garden, KitchenAid,

Brigham and Women's Hospital, Marine Corps, Library of Congress, Babe Ruth, Accounts Payable, George

Washington, Johnson & Johnson, Division I, LAN Server…

These help the software resolve spelling and capitalization ambiguities: if the Vocabulary didn’t contain the phrase

Mother Teresa, dictating it would probably produce the transcription "mother Theresa"—because the word mother

is usually not capitalized and Theresa is the more common spelling of the name. Having the phrase in its

Vocabulary helps Dragon know that the words “Mother” and “Teresa” are likely to occur together, and hence helps

Dragon choose the desired capitalization and spelling.

Also, recognizing long sounds is easier than very short sounds. A and the are acoustically very similar, as are in

and an. Longer words, like chrysanthemum, contain more acoustic information.

We strongly recommend adding personal phrases; this will later save you time since you will not have to adjust

their spelling and capitalization after transcription.

Exercise 1: In the Vocabulary Editor, search for a few familiar names such as your own first and last names, your

town, company, colleagues or relatives; if necessary, add them using the Add button.

TIP: When adding names of people, consider nicknames and diminutives as well as formal names, particularly

for names that are very short or that can be spelled different ways: for instance, one might add Liz Jansen, Lizzie

Jansen, Elizabeth McGee Jansen, Jennifer B. Wolff, Jennifer Wolff, Jenny Wolff, Jenn Wolff, Judge Wolff, Scooter

Wolff…

This idea applies to more than just names. Whenever you add an item to the Vocabulary, think of its possible

variations: singular/plural for nouns, conjugated forms for verbs… Remember, if something is not in the

Vocabulary, the software cannot recognize it, so don’t hesitate to add items even if you think you will not dictate

them very often!

Exercise 2: Open a word processor (such as DragonPad, available from the DragonBar’s Tools menu or from the

command “open DragonPad”) and start a list of Vocabulary entries relevant to you; some suggestions are

below. (Soon you will learn how to import these entries all at once.)

 jargon and phrases specific to your profession (such as distro, site visit and non-State)

 names of places, facilities or organizations (such as Building 52, or County Adoption Center)

 names of products (such as MicroPore tape or Latex Exterior Semi-Gloss)

 acronyms, part numbers, codes (such as FICA, 501c(3) or RX-70y)

 names of people (coworkers, clients, friends, relatives…) including full combinations for names

that could be spelled differently (Kristin, Gene, Steven, McGregor, Wolfe…) or are very short (Kip, Kit,

Dee…) since this helps Dragon resolve acoustic ambiguities.

TIP: If you are using Dragon for work, your employer may be able to give you some lists that could save you

time, particularly if they are already in electronic form: lists of staff or clients, departments, units or divisions,