The Challenge of Hebrew Writing

Vwls r nt prsnt n ths sntnc
Vowels are not present in this sentence

Unvocalized Hebrew

ספר

Multiple possible pronunciations

Same letters, different words

/sˈefer/ (book)
/sapˈar/ (barber)
/safˈar/   (he counted)
Hebrew writing is phonetically ambiguous, challenging TTS systems
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Phonikud: Adding Missing Phonetic Information

1

Unvocalized Hebrew

תרד

Ambiguous pronunciation

→
2

Vocalized Hebrew

תֶּרֶד

Vowels added, but stress unclear

→
3

Enhanced Vocalization

תֶּ֫רֶד
/tˈeʁed/

✓ Complete pronunciation

Phonikud adds stress & vocal shva for fully-specified IPA transcription for TTS