10.0

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

the multi-words are 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, the dictation would probably appear as "mother Theresa"—because the word mother is

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

Vocabulary 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 multi-words; they will save you time—you will not have to adjust

spelling and capitalization after transcription.

Exercise 1: In the Vocabulary Editor, look for a few familiar names such as your own, the names of your town,

company, colleagues or relatives; if necessary, add them.

TIP Consider adding nicknames (alone or in combination) and diminutives as well as formal names,

particularly for names that can be spelled different ways: for instance, one might add Liz Hansen, Elizabeth

McGee Hansen, Jennifer B. Addams, Jennifer Addams, Jenny Addams, Jenn Addams, Judge Addams, Scooter

Addams…

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, present/past/gerund for verbs… Remember, if something is not in the

Vocabulary, the software cannot recognize it, so don’t hesitate to add!

Exercise 2: 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 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, products, trademarks,

building names, as well as glossaries of terms and acronyms. Starting from such lists doesn’t just save time, it

may also help add these items with their official, correct spelling!

The importance of Spoken Forms

Radio programs tell their callers “let us know how to pronounce your name”; a reason is that some names

could be pronounced in several ways, and some are not pronounced “the way they are written”, because of

silent letters for instance. Acronyms are often pronounced letter by letter, but not always: ASAP is pronounced

"ay sap" by many people. These facts are addressed by an important Dragon feature: Spoken Forms.

From the Display drop-down list of the Vocabulary Editor, choose “Words with spoken forms only”. Take a

moment to scroll through and look at existing spoken forms—you will get ideas for what kinds of entries

warrant them and how they can be written.