Spoken Punctuation and Emoji

You can speak a phrase and get a symbol, an emoji or a line break instead of the words you said. Emoji and slash work by default. Spoken punctuation is off until you turn it on. The settings are under Dictation Settings > Engine.

Dictate an emoji

Say the name of the emoji followed directly by the word “emoji”. Saying “thumbs up emoji” inserts 👍.

The setting is Convert spoken emoji. It is on by default. If emoji stop appearing, check it is still on.

Ordinary sentences are left alone, because the conversion only fires when you say “emoji” right after the name. You can talk about emoji without triggering one, so “the heart emoji category” stays as words.

Dictate a slash command

Slash works without any setting. Say “slash clear” and you get /clear. Say “command is slash wfp” and you get command is /wfp, with the space kept before the command. Say “pros slash cons” and you get pros/cons.

Say “slash the budget” and the words stay words. Some verb uses, like “slash prices”, can still become a symbol, because the app cannot always tell the verb from a command name.

Dictate a comma, full stop or new line

Turn on Spoken punctuation in Dictation Settings > Engine. It is off by default. In English, with it on, you say the word on its own and it becomes a mark:

Say this	You get
comma	,
period	.
full stop	.
question mark	?
exclamation mark	!
exclamation point	!
colon	:
semicolon	;
backslash	\
new line	a line break
new paragraph	a blank line

Backslash joins the words on both sides, so “C colon backslash Users” becomes “C:\Users”.

Dictate punctuation in German, French, Spanish and Italian

In these four languages the command words are also everyday words. “Punkt” is a noun as well as a full stop. So you say a start word first, and then the command. “Diktiere Punkt” gives a full stop. “Punkt” on its own stays the word.

The default start words are:

• German: Diktiere
• French: Place
• Spanish: Añade
• Italian: Metti

Spoken punctuation must be on. It works when your dictation language is German, French, Spanish or Italian, whether you chose the language or EnviousWispr detected it. English works as it does today: say the word on its own. You can also give English a start word, see Choose your own start word below.

In French, a mark is written straight after the word before it, with no space. In Spanish, EnviousWispr writes only the closing question mark or exclamation mark, not the opening one.

Say the start word, then the command, in the language you dictate in. These tables list every command.

German

Say this	You get
Diktiere Punkt	.
Diktiere Komma	,
Diktiere Fragezeichen	?
Diktiere Ausrufezeichen	!
Diktiere Doppelpunkt	:
Diktiere Semikolon	;
Diktiere Strichpunkt	;
Diktiere neue Zeile	a line break
Diktiere neuer Absatz	a blank line
Diktiere neuen Absatz	a blank line
Diktiere Neuabsatz	a blank line

French

Say this	You get
Place point	.
Place virgule	,
Place point d’interrogation	?
Place point d’exclamation	!
Place deux points	:
Place point-virgule	;
Place nouvelle ligne	a line break
Place à la ligne	a line break
Place nouveau paragraphe	a blank line

Spanish

Say this	You get
Añade punto	.
Añade coma	,
Añade signo de interrogación	?
Añade signo de exclamación	!
Añade dos puntos	:
Añade punto y coma	;
Añade nueva línea	a line break
Añade nuevo párrafo	a blank line

Italian

Say this	You get
Metti punto	.
Metti virgola	,
Metti punto interrogativo	?
Metti punto esclamativo	!
Metti due punti	:
Metti punto e virgola	;
Metti nuova riga	a line break
Metti nuovo paragrafo	a blank line

Choose your own start word

Turn on Spoken punctuation. A Start word row appears under it.

1. Pick a language in Start word for.
2. Type your word and press Return.
3. Press Reset to bring back the default word for that language.

Picking a language here only chooses which start word you edit. It does not change your dictation language.

If your speech engine often writes a different word for your start word, pick another word. A word the engine hears clearly works best.

English has no start word by default, so its commands work on their own. To use a start word in English, pick English in Start word for and type a word, for example “Insert”. Then “insert period” gives a full stop, and “the grace period expires” stays words. A start word works with comma, period, full stop, question mark, exclamation mark, exclamation point, colon, semicolon, new line and new paragraph. Backslash is not one of them and is off while English has a start word. The spoken slash is not affected. Clear the field to go back to no start word.

To use no start word, clear the field and press Return. The field then shows No start word. Every command word of that language now becomes a mark wherever you say it, as English does. In German, “der springende Punkt” then becomes “der springende.” and “drei Komma fünf” becomes “drei, fünf”. Press Reset to bring back the default start word.

Pick a word you would not say in a normal sentence. A start word is one word of 2 to 20 letters. It cannot be a command word, or the first word of one. If your word does not fit, the field goes back to the old start word and tells you why.

When Remove filler words is on, sounds such as “uh”, “hmm”, “mm” and “ah” can be removed before the start word is read. Avoid choosing a filler sound as your start word. Removal depends on the dictation language: German keeps “um” and “er” because they are ordinary German words.

Spoken punctuation is meant for dictating with AI polish off. With AI polish on, polish can change the marks a command inserted.

If you do not see the Start word row, check that Spoken punctuation is on. If it is on and the row is still missing, update EnviousWispr to the latest version.

A punctuation word appears in the wrong place

In English with no start word, and Spoken punctuation on, EnviousWispr cannot tell when you meant the word itself. Saying “the grace period expires” puts a full stop in the middle of your sentence. Give English a start word to stop this.

In German, French, Spanish and Italian a command word stays a word unless the start word comes right before it. A start word of your own can still come up in a normal sentence, so choose one you would not say. If you chose no start word, a command word is a mark every time you say it.

EnviousWispr already punctuates for you, so spoken punctuation competes with that. Turn it on if you need exact control over your punctuation and do not mind fixing the occasional unintended symbol. If it gets in your way, switch Spoken punctuation off.

Type a backslash

In English, saying “backslash” types \ when Spoken punctuation is on and English has no start word. If you use Snippets, a saved snippet wins when its words follow your snippet keyword, which is backslash unless you changed it. A saved snippet wins over a start word command in the same way.