Text-to-Speech_(TTS)_Cleanup.txt

Here is a **practical Text-to-Speech (TTS) Cleanup Checklist** used for **audiobooks, narration, podcasts, and voice assistants**. It ensures text sounds **natural when spoken** instead of robotic.

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# Text-to-Speech (TTS) Cleanup Checklist

## 1. Expand Titles and Honorifics

Always convert **abbreviated titles** into full words.

| Original | TTS-Ready |
| -------- | --------- |
| Mr.      | Mister    |
| Mrs.     | Missus    |
| Ms.      | Miz       |
| Dr.      | Doctor    |
| Prof.    | Professor |

Example:
**Original:**
Mr. Johnson spoke to Dr. Smith.

**TTS-Ready:**
Mister Johnson spoke to Doctor Smith.

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## 2. Convert Abbreviations

Write the full word instead of the shortened form.

| Abbreviation | Spoken Form |
| ------------ | ----------- |
| etc.         | and so on   |
| e.g.         | for example |
| i.e.         | that is     |
| vs.          | versus      |

Example:
Original: *We sell apples, oranges, etc.*
TTS: *We sell apples, oranges, and so on.*

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## 3. Handle Initialisms (Letter-by-Letter)

If letters are spoken individually, **separate them with spaces**.

| Initialism | TTS     |
| ---------- | ------- |
| AI         | A I     |
| FBI        | F B I   |
| CPU        | C P U   |
| HTML       | H T M L |

Example:
Original: *AI is transforming technology.*
TTS: *A I is transforming technology.*

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## 4. Handle Acronyms (Spoken as Words)

If the abbreviation is pronounced as a word, leave it or expand it.

| Acronym | Spoken |
| ------- | ------ |
| NASA    | NASA   |
| NATO    | NATO   |
| UNESCO  | UNESCO |

Optional:
*N A S A, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.*

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## 5. Replace Symbols With Words

| Symbol | Replace With |
| ------ | ------------ |
| &      | and          |
| @      | at           |
| %      | percent      |
| $      | dollars      |
| +      | plus         |
| =      | equals       |

Example:
Original: *R&D increased by 15%.*
TTS: *Research and development increased by fifteen percent.*

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## 6. Spell Out Numbers

Numbers often sound better written as words.

| Number | Spoken                   |
| ------ | ------------------------ |
| 5      | five                     |
| 21     | twenty-one               |
| 2024   | two thousand twenty-four |

Example:
Original: *The meeting is at 3 PM.*
TTS: *The meeting is at three P M.*

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## 7. Improve Dates

Dates should be readable in natural speech.

Example:

Original:
*March 5, 2026*

TTS:
*March fifth, two thousand twenty-six*

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## 8. Clarify Units

| Original | TTS            |
| -------- | -------------- |
| km       | kilometers     |
| kg       | kilograms      |
| lb       | pounds         |
| mph      | miles per hour |

Example:
*The car travels at 120 km/h.*
→ *The car travels at one hundred twenty kilometers per hour.*

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## 9. Add Natural Pauses

Use punctuation to control speech rhythm.

| Symbol     | Effect         |
| ---------- | -------------- |
| ,          | short pause    |
| .          | full stop      |
| —          | dramatic pause |
| line break | longer pause   |

Example:

Instead of
*Today we will discuss artificial intelligence and its impact*

Write
*Today we will discuss artificial intelligence, and its impact.*

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## 10. Remove Difficult Formatting

Avoid things that confuse speech engines:

Remove:

* URLs
* hashtags
* excessive capitalization
* emojis (unless needed)

Example:

Original:
*Visit [https://example.com](https://example.com) for more info!*

TTS:
*Visit our website for more information.*

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# Example: Full Conversion

### Original

> Mr. Brown works in AI at NASA & manages 12 engineers. The team improved CPU speed by 25%.

### TTS-Ready

> Mister Brown works in A I at NASA and manages twelve engineers. The team improved C P U speed by twenty-five percent.