Teach Siri How To Pronounce Tricky Names [iOS Tips]

By

Pronounce

I’ve grown up with this last name, so I’m fairly used to people butchering it. I’m surprised at the amazing number of pronunciations given to my last name over the past several decades, with people adding all sorts of weird consonants that just aren’t there.

Siri isn’t much different, though she does manage to say my name phonetically, but my family doesn’t say “Luh-Feb- Vree.” We say, “Luh-Fay” with an accent on the second syllable.

Turns out, it’s easier than you’d think to teach Siri how to say names correctly.

I launched Siri, and said, “Pronounce my name” which made Siri bring up my contact information. She pronounced my name incorrectly here.

Then, I tapped the little microphone icon at the bottom and said, “That’s not how you pronounce that.”

Siri said, “OK, how do you pronounce the name (Rob)? I pronounced it in the usual way, and Siri gave me a couple of different audio examples of how she would pronounce it, and I hit Select next to the one that sounded the best.

Next, she asked, “OK, how do you pronounce the name (LeFebvre)?” I pronounced it correctly, as Luh-FAY. She gave me three pronunciation options, one of which was the old Luh-Feb-Vree option, but there was one that sounded right. I tapped Select next to that option.

Siri thanked me, saying, “Great, I’ll pronounce it ‘Rob LeFebvre’ from now on.” And she has.

Via: Mashable

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.