APPENDIX O: DECtalk SPEECH TIPS
ECO Manual
365
How DECtalk Speech Handles Numbers
1998 is a year. 1,998 is a big number. 1998 (no comma) is spoken as "nineteen-ninety-eight."
1,998 (with a comma) is spoken as "one-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-eight." Any four-
digit number is spoken as a year unless you add a comma after the first digit. Commas are not
necessary if a number contains more than four digits (e.g., 10,375). Numbers containing up to 9
digits are pronounced correctly.
Examples of Entering Math Problems:
When you enter math problems, they must be spaced correctly for DECtalk speech and your
device to pronounce them correctly.
For example: 5 - 3 = 2
Enter this problem in the following manner:
5 (space) -3(no space between "-" and "3" but add a space after "3") =(space) 2.
The problem looks like this when it is entered:
5_-3_=_2 ("_" indicates a space)
Examples of Spacing for Other Math Problems:
2*8_=_16; 1*2_=_2 ("*" indicates "times" but your device speaks "asterisk".)
2_+8_=_10
1 1/2 must be entered as 1&_1/2
(1/2 can be entered by activating "1" "slash" "2".)
At this time DECtalk speech and your device cannot speak division problems correctly.
Examples of Entering Dates:
DECtalk speech does not recognize dates if you enter them the way they are normally written,
e.g.,
6-8-1990 or 11/20/95
Enter dates in the following manner for them to be spoken correctly:
6-Aug-1990 or 20-Nov-1995
These dates are spoken as "August 6, 1990" and "November 20, 1995".
Example of Entering a Phone Number:
Phone numbers must be entered by placing spaces and commas as shown below:
1_1_6,_2_6_2,_1_9_8_4 or 2_6_2,_1_9_3_3
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