How to Fix Pronunciation in AI Voices

Nothing breaks the spell of a good voiceover like a word said wrong. Your brand name comes out strangely. A city sounds like nothing anyone has heard. "2024" is read as "two zero two four".

This happens to every text to speech tool, and it is not a sign of a bad voice. The software has to guess how to say a word it may never have seen. Fortunately, you can teach it. This guide covers the fixes from simplest to most powerful, with examples you can use in Musa TTS today.

Why AI voices get words wrong

A voice model learns from text and speech. It does well with common words. It struggles with:

Names of people and places, especially from other languages
Brand and product names, which are often made up
Acronyms, because some are spelled out and some are read as words
Words with two readings, like "read", "lead" and "live"
Numbers, dates and symbols, which can be read in many ways

Each has its own fix.

Fix 1: Respell the word

The fastest fix is to spell the word the way it sounds. You do not need any special symbols. Just write it as if you were helping a friend say it.

"Siobhan" becomes "Shiv-awn"
"Nguyen" becomes "Win"
"Acai" becomes "ah-sigh-ee"
"Worcester" becomes "Wuster"

Hyphens help split the word into parts. If one spelling does not work, try another. Often you will have the answer in two or three tries.

Only use this in the text you send to the voice. Keep the correct spelling in your subtitles and video description.

Fix 2: Handle words with two readings

Words such as "read" or "lead" change with the meaning. A voice normally gets these right from context, but not always. If it fails, rewrite the sentence or use a different word.

Tricky: "I read the report."

Clearer: "I finished reading the report yesterday."

Small rewrites give the model a stronger clue about what you mean.

Fix 3: Control acronyms

Some acronyms are spelled out, such as "FBI". Others are read as words, such as "NASA". Others depend on who you ask, such as "SQL".

To force letters, add spaces or hyphens: "F-B-I".

To force a word, respell it: "nah-sah", or "sequel" for SQL.

Musa TTS also has a spelled-out letters option in its say-as markers, which we will come to next.

Fix 4: Use say-as markers

This is where Smart Text Controls really help. A say-as marker tells the voice what kind of thing it is reading. You do not need to learn any code, as the buttons above the editor add the markers for you.

Here is what it looks like:

The meeting is on [12/31/2024](as: date) at [14:30](as: time).
Call us at [555-0142](as: telephone).
It weighs [5kg](as: unit).

Say-as works for dates, times, phone numbers, units, fractions, ordinals and spelled-out letters. So you can keep your text tidy and still get a perfect reading.

This is cleaner than spelling out every number by hand, especially in technical scripts.

Fix 5: Rewrite numbers and symbols

For simple cases, plain words are often enough.

"$20" can become "twenty dollars"
"50%" can become "fifty percent"
"Dr." can become "Doctor"
"St." can become "Street" or "Saint"
"&" can become "and"

Be careful with years. "1999" can be read as "one thousand nine hundred ninety nine" or "nineteen ninety nine". Writing "nineteen ninety-nine" removes all doubt.

Fix 6: Teach it once with the Pronunciation Lexicon

Respelling works well for a single script. But what if you say your brand name in every video? Doing it by hand each time is tiring, and sooner or later you will forget.

That is what the Pronunciation Lexicon is for. You add a word, write how it should sound, and Musa reads it that way from then on, in every script:

NASA    nah-sah
SQL     sequel
GIF     jiff

You can search your entries as the list grows, and edit or clear them whenever you need to. It is included in paid plans, and it quickly pays for itself if you work with names or technical terms. For a business, it means your brand name is said the same way by every voice, every time.

Build your lexicon as you go. Each time you fix a word, add it to the list. After a few weeks, you will rarely need to fix anything.

Fix 7: Try another voice or engine

Sometimes the problem is the voice. Some voices handle foreign names better than others, especially voices trained in that language.

If an English voice struggles with a French name, try a French voice for that one line, or use a multi-language engine. In Musa TTS, Musa Chorus speaks 23 languages and Musa Sona 600 reaches 646, so you can often find a voice that says the word natively.

For a tricky line, you can also say it yourself and use Audio Clone. Your pronunciation stays exactly as you said it, and only the voice changes.

A simple workflow for fixing words

Here is a routine that keeps this quick.

Generate the whole script once.
Listen through and note any word that sounds off.
Fix each one with the simplest method that works.
Generate only the lines that changed.
Add repeat offenders to your lexicon.

Do not try to predict every problem in advance. Most words will be fine. Fix what you actually hear.

Check names before you publish

Mispronouncing a person's name can feel disrespectful, so take special care with these. If you are reading a real name, ask how they say it. Many people will happily send you a voice note. For place names, sites with audio pronunciation guides are helpful, and so are local videos on YouTube.

Better pronunciation without the cost

On many online tools, each fix means generating audio again and using up more credits. In Musa TTS, you can retry a word as often as you like. Paid plans have no daily limit, the lexicon carries across your projects, and the work happens on your own computer.

It takes only a few minutes to see how it works. Download the free version of Musa TTS, try the say-as markers on your trickiest line, and hear the difference. When you need the lexicon for your whole brand, have a look at the paid plans.