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Overview

Custom Pronunciations allow you to control exactly how your AI agent pronounces specific words, names, or phrases. This ensures brand names, technical terms, and proper nouns are spoken correctly during calls.
Set phonetic spellings to guide the AI’s text-to-speech engine for accurate pronunciation.

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How It Works

You create a pronunciation dictionary where:
  • Word: The text as it appears (what the agent sees)
  • Pronunciation: How it should be spoken (phonetic spelling)
When the agent encounters the word in conversation, it uses your phonetic spelling for pronunciation. Example: 
Word: "Callkaro"
Pronunciation: "Call-kah-ro"

Agent sees: "Welcome to Callkaro"
Agent says: "Welcome to Call-kah-ro"

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When to Use

Ensure your company or product name is pronounced correctlyExamples:
  • Nike → Ny-kee
  • Adidas → Ah-dee-dahs
  • Xiaomi → Shao-mee
Help agent pronounce people’s names correctlyExamples:
  • Saoirse → Ser-sha
  • Niamh → Neev
  • Siobhan → Shi-vawn
Clarify pronunciation of industry jargon or technical wordsExamples:
  • SQL → S-Q-L or Sequel
  • GitHub → Git-Hub
  • OAuth → O-Auth
Control how acronyms are readExamples:
  • API → A-P-I
  • CEO → C-E-O
  • FAQ → F-A-Q
Match local pronunciation preferencesExamples:
  • Mumbai → Mum-buy (not “Mum-bye”)
  • Delhi → Dil-lee (not “Del-high”)

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Configuration

1

Navigate to Custom Pronunciations

In your agent configuration, scroll to the Custom Pronunciations section
2

Click Add Button

Click the ”+” button to add a new pronunciation
3

Enter Word

Key: Type the exact word as it appears in your contentExample: Callkaro
This should match exactly how the word appears in your system prompt or conversations.
4

Enter Pronunciation

Value: Write how the word should be pronouncedExample: Call-kah-roUse hyphens to separate syllables and emphasize the stressed syllable.
5

Save

Click “Add” to save the pronunciation

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Best Practices

Break words into clear syllables using hyphensGood:
  • Mercedes → Mer-say-deez
  • Hyundai → Hun-day
Avoid:
  • Mercedes → Mersaydeez (unclear syllables)
Emphasize which syllable should be stressedExamples:
  • Amazon → AM-uh-zon
  • Google → GOO-gul
  • Microsoft → MY-kro-soft
Use common English sounds that TTS engines understandGood:
  • Nguyen → Win
  • Queue → Kyoo
Avoid:
  • Complex phonetic symbols like IPA
  • Overly technical notation
Use Test Call to hear how your pronunciations soundProcess:
  1. Add pronunciation
  2. Run test call
  3. Listen carefully
  4. Adjust if needed
  5. Test again
If a word appears in multiple forms, add all variantsExample:
Callkaro → Call-kah-ro
Callkaro's → Call-kah-roz

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Examples by Category

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Company & Brand Names

Nike → Ny-kee
Adidas → Ah-dee-dahs
Xiaomi → Shao-mee
IKEA → Eye-KEE-uh
Huawei → Wah-way
Louis Vuitton → Loo-ee Vwee-ton
Hermes → Air-mez
Porsche → Por-shuh

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Indian Names

Rajesh → Rah-jesh
Priya → Pree-yah
Aditya → Ah-dit-yah
Shreya → Shray-ah
Vignesh → Vig-nesh
Kavya → Kav-yah

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Technical Terms

API → A-P-I
SQL → S-Q-L
AWS → A-W-S
OAuth → O-auth
GitHub → Git-hub
PostgreSQL → Post-gres-Q-L
Kubernetes → Koo-ber-net-eez

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Product Names

iPhone → Eye-fone
MacBook → Mac-book
PlayStation → Play-stay-shun
Xbox → Ecks-box

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Place Names (Indian Cities)

Mumbai → Mum-buy
Bengaluru → Ben-guh-loo-roo
Hyderabad → High-der-uh-bad
Ahmedabad → Ah-med-uh-bad
Thiruvananthapuram → Thi-roo-vuh-nun-thuh-poo-rum

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Advanced Techniques

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Numbers & Codes

For reference numbers or IDs that should be spelled out: 
A1234 → A one two three four
#5678 → Hash five six seven eight

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Emphasis & Pauses

Some TTS engines respond to punctuation: 
URGENT! → UR-jent (pause)
Important → im-POR-tant

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Alternative Pronunciations

For words with regional variations: US English: 
Schedule → SKED-jool
British English: 
Schedule → SHED-yool
Indian English: 
Schedule → SHED-yool

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

Wrong:
Nguyen → /ŋʷɪ̃ˀən/
Right:
Nguyen → Win
TTS engines don’t understand IPA symbols. Use simple English sounds.
Incomplete:
Call → Kawl
Complete:
Call → Kawl
Calls → Kawlz
Calling → Kawl-ing
Called → Kawld
Inconsistent:
Google → GOO-gul
Facebook → facebook
Consistent:
Google → GOO-gul
Facebook → FACE-book
Use the same style (hyphens, caps) for all entries.

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Testing Your Pronunciations

1

Add Pronunciations

Configure all the words you want to customize
2

Include in System Prompt

Make sure the words appear in your agent’s system prompt or will be used in conversations
3

Run Test Call

Use the Test Call feature to hear your agent speak
4

Listen Carefully

Pay attention to how each customized word is pronounced
5

Adjust as Needed

Edit pronunciations that don’t sound quite rightExample Iterations:
Attempt 1: Callkaro → Call-ka-ro (sounds too clipped)
Attempt 2: Callkaro → Call-kah-roh (better, but "roh" sounds odd)
Final: Callkaro → Call-kah-ro (perfect!)

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Troubleshooting

Possible Causes:
  • Word doesn’t appear in conversations
  • TTS engine ignoring the guidance
  • Spelling mismatch
Solutions:
  1. Verify the word appears exactly as entered in your content
  2. Try different phonetic spellings
  3. Test with a simpler pronunciation
  4. Check if word is part of a compound phrase
Issue: Pronunciation sounds unnatural or incorrectSolutions:
  • Try different syllable breaks
  • Experiment with capitalization for emphasis
  • Use more common sound approximations
  • Listen to how native speakers say it and approximate that
Example:
Try 1: Hyundai → High-un-die (too literal)
Try 2: Hyundai → Hun-dye (better but rushed)
Final: Hyundai → Hun-day (natural!)
Issue: Word is pronounced correctly inconsistentlyCause: The word might appear in different contexts or formsSolution: Add all possible variations:
API → A-P-I
APIs → A-P-I-z
API's → A-P-I-z
Possible Causes:
  • Voice provider doesn’t support SSML modifications
  • TTS engine limitations
Workaround: Try replacing the word entirely in your system prompt:Instead of:
"Welcome to Nguyen Restaurant"
+ Custom Pronunciation: Nguyen → Win
Use:
"Welcome to Win Restaurant" (in system prompt)

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Managing Pronunciations

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Editing

  1. Click the Edit icon next to any pronunciation
  2. Modify the word or pronunciation
  3. Click Save

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Deleting

  1. Click the Delete icon next to any pronunciation
  2. Pronunciation is immediately removed

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Language-Specific Tips

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Hindi/Indian Languages

For transliterated words: 
Namaste → Nuh-muh-stay
Dhanyavaad → Dhan-yuh-vaad
Aadhaar → Aah-daar

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Technical Products

For tech products with unique names: 
Redis → REH-dis
Nginx → Engine-X
Apache → Uh-PATCH-ee
PostgreSQL → POST-gres-Q-L

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Getting Help

Test Pronunciations

Use Test Call feature to verify custom pronunciations sound natural

Contact Support

Our team can help optimize pronunciations for your industry or language