10.0

Performing Audio Checks and Acoustic Training

You already know that personalizing Dragon’s vocabulary is a small investment of time that makes a big

difference in how accurately the software can work for you. You also know that using proper correction

technique to fix misrecognitions allows Dragon to learn from its mistakes.

In certain cases—if you are adding a new word with an unusual pronunciation, if a certain word is consistently

misrecognized, or if your overall accuracy is lower than you expect, you can also perform additional acoustic

training to improve accuracy.

This lesson presents how to use the Train Words window and how to bring up a supplemental training text. You

also learn to run the Audio Check, a short but important process!

Training Words from the Vocabulary Editor

You have learned to add new words to the vocabulary, as well as to create Spoken Forms for items pronounced

differently from their spelling. Spoken Forms are often the most efficient way to ensure accurate recognition.

If you suspect that Dragon needs help recognizing a tricky word (particularly a foreign word whose sounds you

cannot represent in a Spoken Form), you can acoustically “train” that word's pronunciation.

Step 1: In the Vocabulary Editor, locate the word you wish to train by entering it in the W

ritten Form field. (If

you have just added the word, this will not be necessary, as the word will already be displayed at the

top of the list.)

Step 2: Click the word in the list so it is highlighted, then say or click T

rain. The Train Words window opens.

Are you ready? (If you need to clear you throat, do it first!) Click G

o, and read the prompt in your

normal speaking voice, as if you were saying this word in the middle of a sentence.

Step 3: You may have to wait a second for this

acoustic information to be incorporated. Be

patient! Then, you can say or click D

one to

close the Train Words window.

IMPORTANT: When giving Dragon acoustic training, be sure to use your natural dictation voice: relax, and

speak clearly but not louder or slower than you would when dictating normally. If you over-enunciate in the

Train Words window, you give the software acoustic data that isn’t representative of how you usually dictate.

Remember, when you are training software to recognize your speech, you must represent your speech

accurately!

Training While Correcting

If Dragon misrecognizes what you said, correcting the mistake contributes to the overall accuracy and makes it

unlikely that this mistake will happen again. As you know, adding a Spoken Form is often a quick solution.

To help the recognition of a word, you can provide acoustic training right as you correct it in the Spell dialog

box, since it contains a button labeled Train.