Customizing Pronunciation with the Dictionary

The dictionary allows words to be spelled phonetically so that AlertFind can pronounce it correctly. A dictionary file for each language pack the organization has purchased can be customized.

To customize a dictionary, identify a word that the text-to-speech (TTS) engine mispronounces, then add it as a dictionary entry along with its phonetic pronunciation.

The dictionary file is an XML file, which is a different format than the other properties files. While other properties files contain fields and value pairs, the dictionary contains XML entries that provide the mispronounced word and the phonetic override, such as these examples:

<entry>

<text>AlertFind</text>

<override>Uhlert Find</override>

<entry>

<entry>

<text>Ángel Leiva</text>

<override>Ahnhel Layvuh</override>

</entry>

To add a custom dictionary to AlertFind:

1. Download the dictionary file to customize. Follow the instructions under Downloading a Properties File.

• If you have never customized the dictionary file before, or if you want to work with the original defaults provisioned for your organization, choose to Download the Default file.
• If you have previously customized and uploaded a custom dictionary file and want to change it, choose to Download the Customized file.
• If your organization uses multiple languages, specify the language file to customize from the Locale drop-down list.

2. Important! Rename the downloaded file with the following naming convention to indicate that the file is a custom file, the download date, language and locale version. For example: Dictionary_Custom_2009_12_08_en_US.xml.
3. Open the renamed dictionary file in a text editor that displays and saves the file correctly, such as WordPad.

4. Edit the dictionary file by adding a full <entry> for each item, including both the <text> sub-entry that defines the word AlertFind mispronounces and the <override> sub-entry that provides the phonetic pronunciation. Format each element with opening and ending tags, as in this example:

<entry>

<text>www.override.com</text>

<override>W W W dot over ride dot com</override>

</entry>

5. Save the custom dictionary file.
6. Return to the AlertFind web interface and validate the custom dictionary file. See Validating a Custom Properties File.
7. When the custom dictionary file passes validation, upload it. See Uploading a Custom Properties File.

At any time, the customizations can be removed by deleting the custom dictionary file. AlertFind reverts to using the default dictionary originally provisioned for your organization. See Deleting a Custom Properties File.