Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!sun-barr!apple!olivea!oliveb!bunker!wtm
From: mattioli@took.dec.com (John R. Mattioli)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: DECtalk and Vocal-Eyes
Message-ID: <15073@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 19 Oct 90 04:27:54 GMT
Sender: news@bunker.UUCP
Reply-To: mattioli@took.dec.com (John R. Mattioli)
Distribution: misc
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Lines: 41
Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP
Fidonet: Blink Talk Conference

Index Number: 11203

In article <14870@bunker.UUCP>, Doug.Geoffray@f8.n369.z1.fidonet.org (Doug Geoffray) writes...
> 
>I have noticed that the DECtalk will on its own
>spell words that have punctuation mixed in with them.  I am going from
>memory but I believe something like 'DOS.SET' would be spelled out because
>of the DEC not because of Vocal-Eyes.  I looked all over to see if there
>was a way to disable this so called feature.  I could not find anything.
>

First a small disclaimer...  I work for Digital Equipment Corp. but
I am not part of the DECtalk team and very rarely use the device
myself because I use braille instead of speeech.  This note should
NOT be read as any official company position, but as a fellow blind
guys observations!

DECtalk will spell words with punctuation in them and I don't
believe that it can be disabled.  I don't actually know if it will
spell a word with the punctuation on the end (as in words at the
ends of sentences), that seems unlikely but I suppose it's
possible.

One way around this problem might be to have the screen reader do
some preprocessing of the words.  For example, the screen reader
could send "dos.set" to the DECtalk as if it were "dos . set" or,
alternatively "dos dot set".  This is a very simplistic explanation
of the solution, but the idea is there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 John Mattioli
         Most improved skier (american blind skiers association 1989)
                                and humble to!

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