Vikster

Emancipate, thx for that suggestion. The reason I would prefer 02 is that it may be a stronger indication that you are referring to 2 in the middle of the night as opposed to the afternoon. For unusual return time settings such as those (may be used for people working night shifts or in other time zones), there may be some more ambiguity without the first "null" in there, even if it sounds better for most cases. 

Great Bruker - I fixed the first one so that it is a bit better (attached the new version). The TTS really can't say "føsrte" that well though, so I think we will have to live with the second problem. 

In general, these Text To Speech-based systems will never be even close "perfect". The organizations who want it perfect, or who have their own voice they want to use, will record the phrases themselves with real voices. 

The really important part is the structure and grammar at this point. 

Thanks a lot for listening! 

004_Test_No.wav

Argh, this is too much fun to not tinker further with! I also added weekdays now. Does this still look OK in a sentence:

"Personen du søker er på ferie, men vil være tilbake tirsdag syttende desember klokken null åtte femten"

?

Yea, that one is a "last resort" thing and should never happen toth.

We have it this way since we don't want any ambiguity regarding the fact that in this unusual case - the system will actually hang up on them since there are no agents.

So, if it is correct, it is better to have it be a bit harsh, but make it absolutely clear there is no point in waiting further. 

I have attach a couple actual phrases from the prototype in this post. I took the voice you liked better, and they are actual composites of snippets made in the system according to the rules. If someone has time to listen and let me know if they sound reasonably OK, I would be super grateful as the prototype is now completed with your help.  

001_Test_Composit_No.wav

003_Test_Composit_No.wav

004_Test_Composit_No.wav

002_Test_Composit_No.wav

I saw that I made a duplicate of one of the sentences above. This is what was supposed to be #6:

Alle våre operatører er dessverre fortsatt opptatt. Vennligst legg på og prøv igjen senere.

Does that look ok? 

Great Emancipate! Thx!

Thanks for these thoughtful replies. 

Tom, Good point. These are just the standard absences. It is up to the organizations which alternatives they actually offer when they deploy, they can decide to just make their own as well and not use any of these. The organization also decide if it just information to the switchboard operators, to the internal staff, or something that all callers will hear.

Most importantly, it is always the user who sets absence themselves in their calendars (that's how you close the phone), so it is the person themselves who decides what they share, and that will probably depend on whether it is only info to their secretary, to their switchboard operator, to other colleagues - or even to external callers. It all depends on the company policy for the service. If the last is the case, most of the time, then just use busy, not available and meeting. 

toth and Emancipate, I will go for "operatør" or "medarbeider", and maybe mix it up a little since these are similar alternatives to pick from. 

Emancipate, I will use "for øyeblikket", instead of "för tiden", and maybe omit that part completely in some of the alternatives. 

Thanks again everyone!   

Actually, I just remembered I also have the example sentences below, that can be used as alternative sample phrases for people waiting (or when there are no agents available).

I have been wondering about the word “agenter” is that the right general term for someone in a contact center or manning a switchboard in Norwegian? Do you have better suggestions? I put some alternatives in the first phrase, but I don’t think they are better.

Does anything else seem awkward or wrong?

1) Alle våre agenter/operatører/konsulenter/servicemedarbeidere er for tiden opptatt. Vennligst vent, så vil vi hjelpe deg så raskt som mulig.

2) Alle våre agenter er for tiden opptatt. Samtalen din er viktig for oss. Vennligst fortsett å vente, din samtale vil bli besvart av den neste ledige agenten.

3) Takk for tålmodigheten din. Alle våre agenter er for tiden opptatt. Du står forsatt i kø, din samtale vil bli besvart av den neste ledige agenten.

4) Alle våre agenter er for tiden opptatt.  Vennligst besøk vår nettside for mer informasjon, eller fortsett å vente, din samtale vil bli besvart av den neste tilgjengelige agenten.

5) Takk for at du venter. Samtalen din er viktig for oss. Vennligst fortsett å vente, din samtale vil bli besvart av den neste ledige agenten.

6) Takk for tålmodigheten din. Alle våre agenter er fortsatt opptatt. Du står forsatt i kø, din samtale vil bli besvart av den neste ledige agenten.

 

OK, I have attached two mockup test voices saying a phrase based on the help I have gotten here. 

 

Do they sound OK for a system of this kind (it is TTS so it will not be perfect)?

 

Which voice is better (first or second)?

They're both good, though I like the second one slightly better because of the added "emotion" in "i et møte".

Cool, thanks a lot for taking the time to listen and to help out! I feel I am all set for a prototype without having to do any more language checks thanks to the great assistance from the team here.

OK, I have attached two mockup test voices saying a phrase based on the help I have gotten here. 

Do they sound OK for a system of this kind (it is TTS so it will not be perfect)?

Which voice is better (first or second)?

2_Test_Phrases.wav

I see Emancipate - good point. I should probably change from "og" to "men" for all of them then (might be hard to switch for different absences). 

Brilliant tooth - thanks! 

Just one follow-up, you put "tjuefire" in there, is that better than "null null" for midnight?

 

No, I would say tjueen førtien.

 

Thank you for taking time to reply and sort things out! But you would agree that my TTS engine is wrong and that "null ett null ett" is right for 01:01 am, rather than "null en null en"?

I'll also check these absence statuses:

1. er i et møte

2. har gått for dagen

3. er ikke på kontoret for øyeblikket

4. er på ferie

5. er syk

6. er ikke tilgjengelig

7. er på lunsj

8. er opptatt

9. har omsorg for sykt barn

10. er på tjenestereise 

They will be used on the format: "Personen du søker XXXX, men vil være tilbake syttende desember klokken null åtte femten", eller "Liza XXXX, men vil være tilbake i morgen klokken seksten ti". 

Do they all sound pretty natural and not too strange? 

Another follow-up, it it "tjueen førtien" for 9:41 pm, or is it also "tjueett førtiett"?

Thank you very much toth - very grateful for that!

"Halv to" is not an option here since that would take too much recoding to divert from the general pattern.

Is it also "null ett null ett" för 01:01 AM? That is "ett" for minutes as well? Strange, as professional text-to-speech engines with automated time tellers for Norwegian which I have tested says null en null en. Really happy you pointed that out! And this is true for nynorsk as well as bokmål (which is what I am going for here)?

Oh, and what do you think is best (for phone/cell phone numpad application) "trykk" or "tast"?

Is it specifically for real estate? In that case it would be the Listing Price/Asking Price if you mean what you advertise property for. The Offer Price is what the buyer initially wants to pay. Based on that, you have the negotiation.  

If it is more general, as in a suggested price for retailers, see the most commonly used alternatives (like MSRP, RRP or SRP) here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_price

If you are after something even more general, a Price Indication, or Indicative Price, is a more informal price estimate, that may be offered without an actual negotiation being under way, or even expected to take place. Note that in some industries, E.G. Finance, these terms may have a more formal meaning, even though they typically still indicate a non-binding nature. 

Hi! We are making a Norwegian prototype for a voice-robot for calls. I would be very grateful for anyone having time to look over the expressions below and let me know if the Norwegian is OK. If anything is wrong or sounds awkward, I would be very grateful for better suggestions. I am particularly interested in the 8 bold terms/expressions sounding OK.

A) Ukjent abonnent = Unknown subscriber

B) Personen du ønsker å snakke med = The person you are trying to reach

C) i morgen = tomorrow

D) klokken = as in ”klocken femten trettito”.

E) og vil være tilbake = and will return

F) er opptatt i telefonen = is busy in a call

G) For å legge igjen en melding, taste 1 eller si talepost = to leave a voicemail, press one, or say voicemail

H) For å bli koblet til sentralbord, taste 2 eller si sentralbord = to be connected to the switchboard, press 2, or say switchboard

I) Du vil nå bli koblet til sentralbord = you will now be connected to the switchboard

J) Takk for samtalen og velkommen tilbake = Thank you for calling and welcome back

K) Ugyldig valg = That option is not valid

L) For norsk, taste 9 eller si norsk. = For Norwegian, press 9, or say Norwegian.

Also, when stating a time with an automated system, is it better/more natural to say "klokken null en tretti" or "klokken null en og tretti" for 1:30 am? If the latter is better (with "og") how would you say 01:05, would that still be just "null en null fem" or also "null en og null fem"?

Thanks in advance for any help on this!