A recurring abbreviation or technical name can become tiring to interpret when a speech synthesiser pronounces it poorly. Orca's pronunciation dictionary lets you choose a clearer spoken replacement while keeping the source text available for normal reading and editing.

Choose one term and a short sample sentence first. Ask the person using the screen reader how they prefer to hear it; an expansion that helps one workflow can be confusing in another. Keep literal product codes and numbers distinguishable rather than replacing several different codes with the same spoken phrase.

Choose the scope before adding the entry

Orca's Pronunciation preferences support global and application-specific entries. Open general preferences with Orca Modifier+Space, or preferences for the focused application with Ctrl+Orca Modifier+Space. Confirm the intended application is focused when choosing the latter.

On the Pronunciation page, choose New Entry. Enter the actual text and press Return to finish that cell. Move to Replacement String, press Return to edit it, enter the desired spoken wording and press Return again. Apply the preference using the dialog's controls.

For example, a specialised abbreviation in one inventory application might be clearer as a short expanded phrase there, while the same letters in another document should remain literal. Begin with the narrow application scope when that reflects the need.

Compare speech with the underlying text

Read the sample sentence and listen to the result. Inspect or spell the original term separately to confirm the document itself still contains the intended characters. A clearer pronunciation is a reading preference, not a correction to a customer's name or a stored identifier.

Test another sentence containing the term and a nearby similar word. If the replacement creates ambiguity, revise it rather than adding several overlapping rules without testing them.

GNOME documents editing a dictionary cell with Return and removing an entry with the Delete button or Alt+D. Keep the original term and chosen scope in your note so a confusing substitution can be found later. Finish when the spoken term is clear in the intended context and the original written information remains accurately understood.

Sources: GNOME documentation, GNOME documentation.