Replacements allow you to store pronunciation guidance for global reuse, streamlining your content creation process in Studio. We recommend adding Replacements for words or phrases you use often in your content but require a preferred pronunciation. Read below for more details and examples of how to take advantage of this feature!
What are Replacements?
Replacements allow you to substitute words, terms, or even abbreviations in your script with a replacement text. By storing a Replacement, you can easily reuse it over and over again. Multiple Replacements can be stored for the same original text, and individual Replacements can easily be turned on and off during clip creation.
In Studio, double-clicking or highlighting a word will display the Smart Toolbar. From there, you can preview existing Replacements, generate Smart Suggestions, choose a Respelling suggestion, or add a new Replacement.
When to Use Replacements
Verbalization Guidance
A straightforward way to enable your voices to consistently deliver content accurately when the pronunciation of a word, term, or phrase is otherwise ambiguous:
Names/Branding
- 6ix9ine, Music Artist
- Avatars will attempt to say “six ix nine ine” and speak gibberish
- Add a Replacement so Avatars know to say “six nine” or “6 9”
- P!nk, Music Artist
- Avatars will attempt to say “P nk” and speak gibberish
- Add a Replacement so Avatars will always say “Pink”
Reference Numbers
- 101, course reference number
- Avatars will assume this is a numerical value and pronounce it as “one hundred and one”
- Add a Replacement so Avatars will always say “one oh one”
- 1601, legal reference number
- Avatars will assume the intended pronunciation is “sixteen oh one”
- Add a Replacement so Avatars will always say “one six zero one” or “sixteen zero one”
Simplified URLs
Most URLs should vocalize correctly, but a Replacement can be particularly helpful if the URL domain (“ourproduct”) is difficult to parse. It can also be beneficial to vocalize only the important part of the URL
- http://www.ourproduct.com, full URL
- Avatars will vocalize the entire URL as “H T T P colon slash slash W W W dot ourproduct dot com”
- Add a Replacement so Avatars will say “our product dot com”
Shorthand
- e.g., Latin abbreviation
- Avatars will vocalize the letters as “E G”
- Add a Replacement so Avatars will always say “for example”
- 1099-MISC, tax form
- Avatars will vocalize as “ten ninety-nine M I S C”
- Add a Replacement so Avatars will always say “ten ninety-nine Miscellaneous”
Pronunciation Guidance
Studio's Respelling suggestions feature allows you to add accurate replacements for industry-specific, uncommon, and complex words, among others, that you'd find in the dictionary.
Additionally, you can create your own phonetic spelling using our Respelling system when you need to guide the Avatars to pronounce certain words in a very specific way.
Acronyms
- CAASD
- Avatars will assume this acronym is an initialism and will vocalize each letter as “C A A S D”
- Use a Respelling Replacement to specify pronunciation as KAZ-dee
Proper Names
- Beyoncé → always pronounced bee-YAHN-say
- La Jolla → always pronounced lah-HOY-uh
Regional preferences
- Kilometers
- specify pronunciation as KIHL-oh-MEE-durz or as kihl-AHM-eh-turz
- Aunt
- specify if aunt should be pronounced as AWNT or as ANT
Borrowed Words
Avatars will likely need guidance on words that are not native to their dialect.
- Edamame → always pronounced ed-uh-MAH-may
- Guacamole → always pronounced GWAH-kuh-MOH-lee
Heteronyms
The voice model may require support for accurately interpreting the correct pronunciation of words that are spelled the same way but pronounced differently depending on the context. Because Replacements can easily be switched on and off, it is helpful to store these pronunciations for rapid reuse. We recommend storing both pronunciations, but only turning one on as needed.
- Contract
- sometimes pronounced KAHN-trakt
- sometimes pronounced kuhn-TRAKT
- Live
- sometimes pronounced LIHV
- sometimes pronounced LYV
How to Add and Manage Replacements
There are two ways to use Replacements in your Studio editor.
From the Smart Toolbar
- In your WellSaid project, highlight the word you want to replace.
- If Replacements exist, select an option from the dropdown, including the option to generate Smart Suggestions for Respellings.
- Click the play icon or generate Smart Suggestions to preview any existing pronunciations, then select a Replacement to apply.
- To create a new Replacement, select +Replacement.
- The sidebar will open on the right. The Original text will populate automatically.
- Add your Respelling to the Replacement field, and click Save to Library.
From the Pronunciation Library
- In your WellSaid project, locate New replacement in the right-hand menu.
- Click the + icon.
- Enter the Original text you would like to replace in the top text box.
- Enter your Respelling in the Replacement field, or click See Suggestions to generate and apply a Respelling suggestion.
- Click Play to listen. If it sounds good, click Save to Library.
View and select between Replacements
When a Replacement has been applied, it will appear in bold.
To switch replacements, highlight the bolded text to display the smart toolbar.
Choose from the drop-down of saved replacements or toggle individual replacements off completely.
Editing and Deleting Replacements
To delete a Replacement:
- Highlight the word you wish to adjust. The Smart Toolbar will display with existing Replacement options.
- Click the dropdown to view all Replacements for the word.
- Choose the Replacement you want to delete.
- Click the trash can icon to delete the Replacement from the available options.
- Click Delete. The Replacement will be removed from your Pronunciation Library.
To edit a Replacement:
- In your WellSaid account, navigate to the Libraries in the left-hand menu.
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Locate the word you want to edit and select which Replacement you wish to update.
- The original text and Replacement can now be edited or deleted from the right-hand panel.
Tips and Tricks
- Add emphasis on a word: Every word in the English language has at least one emphasized syllable. Some words or acronyms might sound better with two stressed syllables.
- For consistent pronunciation across scripts: Use a Respelling for a more exact pronunciation.
- Use Respelling Suggestions by clicking See suggestions in the sidebar to find replacements.