TTS Verbalization Guide & Specifications for en-CA

Product: en-CA
Release Date: October 2026
TTS Engine version: 3.4.0

Introduction

This document describes how specific series of strings are read by the TTS Engine for the EN language in the CA domain. The readings are the engine's current output for the version above: when a reading is not what is wanted, this document still shows what the engine does.

Convention: every example table has separate Lexis and Odi voices output columns. If Odi matches Lexis exactly, the symbol ↔ is used instead of repeating the text. A 🆕 marker next to an example means the reading changed in the current version vs the previous one (3.3.0). Missing support is always written as "unsupported". Numeric ranges in formats are written [a-b] (for example [1-99] means any number from 1 to 99).

Readings are shown in lower case with punctuation as the engine returns it. Two markers appear in the readings: [pause] is a 0.025 s pause the Lexis voice puts between groups of digits, and [pause 0.2 s] is a fixed pause of 0.2 s.

Numbers

Integers

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[1-9][0-9]`	`25`	twenty five	↔
`[1-9][0-9]…[0-9]`	`159` 🆕	one hundred and fifty nine	↔
`<dash>[1-9]…[0-9]`	`-58`	minus fifty eight	↔
`[1-9][0-9]…[0-9][0-9] (>999)`	`2824` 🆕	two thousand eight hundred and twenty four	↔
`20[0-9][0-9]`	`2012`	twenty twelve	↔
`[1-9][0-9]{0,2}<comma>[0-9]{3}`	`2,824` 🆕	two thousand eight hundred and twenty four	two thousand eight hundred and twenty four

Allowed thousands delimiter: comma only. A space delimiter reads as two separate number groups ("2 824" is "two eight hundred and twenty four"). Max supported value: 999,999,999,999 (999 billion and below), read as "nine hundred and ninety nine billion nine hundred and ninety nine million nine hundred and ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine". Beyond that, digits are spelled one by one. Integers are read with "and" after hundreds and thousands. A four-digit number close to the current year is read as a year.

Ordinal numbers

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[1-9]…[0-9]{st,nd,rd,th}`	`1st`	first	↔

Decimals

Decimal separator: dot. Digits after the dot are spelled individually.

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[1-9]…[0-9]<dot>[0-9]…[0-9]`	`2.4527`	two point four five two seven	↔
`<dash>[1-9]…[0-9]<dot>[0-9]…[0-9]`	`-25.78`	minus twenty five point seven eight	↔

Fractions and units

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[1-99]<slash>[1-99]`	`13/16`	thirteen sixteenths	↔
`[1-99]<slash>[1-99]`	`45/2`	forty five halves	↔

A fraction that complies with the date format, thus [1-31]<slash>[1-12] and [1-12]<slash>[1-31], is read as a date of the year if no supported unit is provided. E.g. "5/12" is read as "may twelfth" while "5/12 km" is read as "five twelfths kilometre". A date-like fraction without a unit (for example 1/2 or 3/4) is therefore read as a date, month first.

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[1-12]<slash>[1-31] <unit>`	`5/12 km`	five twelfths kilometre	↔
`[1-12]<slash>[1-31]`	`1/2`	january second	↔
`[1-12]<slash>[1-31]`	`3/4`	march fourth	↔
`{vulgar fraction} <unit>`	`½ cup`	½ cup	↔
`[1-99]/[1-99] <unit>`	`3/4 mile`	march fourth mile	march fourth mile

A vulgar fraction such as ½ is not converted: the text passes through unchanged in both voices. For Lexis, this reading is done by the Lexis model, not by the input processor.

Digit-by-digit spelling

The dash notation can be used to spell the digit sequence digit by digit. The behaviour differs for Lexis and Odi voices:

For Lexis, the digits are read in groups of three, counted across the whole sequence, with a short pause ([pause], 0.025 s) between the groups. A comma stays where the input has a space.
For Odi, the dashes are used to spell the numbers digit by digit as well, but without pauses: the comma is placed where the space is.

Example input	Lexis	Odi
`4-2-1-4 2-3-4 7-5-3`	four two one [pause] four, two three [pause] four, seven five [pause] three	four two one four, two three four, seven five three

Note: this notation can be used for digit sequences with more than 2 digits. Otherwise it will be verbalized as an interval. E.g. "2-3" is "two to three".

16-digit card numbers

Dash notation can be used to spell out the card numbers:

Example input	Lexis	Odi
`5-8-9-6 4-2-6-5 1-2-3-4 7-4-6-8`	five eight nine [pause] six, four two [pause] six five, one [pause] two three four, [pause] seven four six [pause] eight	five eight nine six, four two six five, one two three four, seven four six eight
`5-8-9-6-4-2-6-5 1-2-3-4-7-4-6-8`	five eight nine [pause] six four two [pause] six five, one [pause] two three four [pause] seven four six [pause] eight	five eight nine six four two six five, one two three four seven four six eight

Counter examples

The numbers in between the dashes are read as integers and the dash is pronounced as "dash" if the dash is used more than once. Unlike plain integers, these numbers are read with a comma after "thousand".
If only one dash is used, then the digit sequence is handled as an interval.
If no dash is used, the numbers are read as integers.

Example input	Lexis	Odi
`4532-1234-5678-9012` 🆕	four thousand, five hundred and thirty two dash one thousand, two hundred and thirty four dash five thousand, six hundred and seventy eight dash nine thousand and twelve	↔
`4532 1234 5678 9012` 🆕	four thousand five hundred and thirty two one thousand two hundred and thirty four five thousand six hundred and seventy eight nine thousand and twelve	↔
`4532-1234-5678`	four thousand, five hundred and thirty two dash one thousand, two hundred and thirty four dash five thousand, six hundred and seventy eight	↔
`4532-1234` 🆕	four thousand five hundred and thirty two to one thousand two hundred and thirty four	↔

Telephone numbers

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`<bracket>[0-9][0-9][0-9]<bracket> [0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]`	`(416) 555-1234` 🆕	four one six, five five five, one two three four	↔
`[0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]`	`416-555-1234` 🆕	four one six, five five five, one two three four	↔
`1<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]`	`1-800-555-1234` 🆕	one eight hundred, five five five, one two three four	↔
`<bracket>[01][0-9][0-9]<bracket> [0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]`	`(016) 555-0123` 🆕	( sixteen ) five hundred and fifty five to one hundred and twenty three	↔
`<bracket>[0-9][0-9][0-9]<bracket> [01][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]`	`(416) 155-1234` 🆕	( four hundred and sixteen ) one hundred and fifty five to one thousand two hundred and thirty four	↔
`+1<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]`	`+1-613-555-0199` 🆕	one six one three, five five five, zero one nine nine	↔
`+1 <bracket>[0-9][0-9][0-9]<bracket> [0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]`	`+1 (613) 555-0199` 🆕	one six one three, five five five, zero one nine nine	↔
`<bracket>[0-9]{1,3}<bracket> [0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9]<dash>[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]`	`(57) 611-403-2312` 🆕	five seven, six one one, four zero three, two three one two	↔

An area code or an office code that starts with 0 or 1 is rejected: the groups are read as numbers, as in the (016) 555-0123 and (416) 155-1234 rows.

Postal codes and addresses

A Canadian postal code is read letter by letter and digit by digit, each letter as a word, including "zed". A two-letter province or territory code before it is read in full. A postal code written without the space is not read as one. Canada Post street types written in capitals without a full stop are expanded: AVE, BLVD, CRES, CRT, CONC, CIRCT, CDS, GDNS, HWY, PKY, TERR and RD. St and Dr are left as written. 🆕

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[A-Z][0-9][A-Z] [0-9][A-Z][0-9]`	`H2X 1Y4` 🆕	aitch two ex one why four	↔
`[A-Z][0-9][A-Z] [0-9][A-Z][0-9]`	`K1A 0B1`	kay one ay zero bee one	kay one ay zero bee one
`[A-Z][0-9][A-Z] [0-9][A-Z][0-9]`	`H2Z 1Z1` 🆕	aitch two zed one zed one	↔
`{province} [A-Z][0-9][A-Z] [0-9][A-Z][0-9]`	`QC H2X 1Y4` 🆕	quebec aitch two ex one why four	↔
`[A-Z][0-9][A-Z][0-9][A-Z][0-9]`	`H2X1Y4`	h2x1y4	↔
`{number} {word} {STREET TYPE}`	`123 Main AVE` 🆕	one hundred and twenty three main avenue	↔
`{number} {word} {STREET TYPE}`	`45 King BLVD` 🆕	forty five king boulevard	↔
`{number} {word} {STREET TYPE}`	`9 Elm CRES` 🆕	nine elm crescent	↔
`{number} {word} St`	`12 Oak St`	twelve oak st	↔

Note: the postal code rule needs the code to reach it as it is written. When the voice's unit table has a unit that directly follows a digit in the code, such as A in K1A 0B1 or V in M5V 3L9, the code is split at the unit and read as text ("K1A 0B1" is "k1 a 0b1", "M5V 3L9" is "m5 v 3l9"). Without a unit table every code in the table is read as a postal code.

Combination of numbers and words

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[0-9]…[0-9]<dash>{word}`	`16-digit`	sixteen digit	↔
`{word}<dash>[0-9]…[0-9]`	`COVID-19`	covid nineteen	↔

A space around a dash between a number and a word verbalizes the dash as the word "dash" (e.g. "16 - digit" becomes "sixteen dash digit"), applicable to both Lexis and Odi voices. A spaced dash between two words is read as a pause (see Dashed words).

Ratio and intervals

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[0-9]…[0-9]<colon>[0-9]…[0-9]`	`16:9`	sixteen to nine	↔
`[0-9]…[0-9]<dash>[0-9]…[0-9]`	`16-9`	sixteen to nine	↔
`[0-9]…[0-9]<dash>[0-9]…[0-9] {word}`	`3-5 days`	three to five days	↔

If the ratio values overlap with the time format, the time will be announced. E.g. "24:00" is verbalized as "twenty four hours" while "25:00" is "twenty five to zero".

Percentage

Example input	Lexis	Odi
`15%`	fifteen percent	↔

Time

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[00-24]<colon>[00-59]<colon>[00-59]`	`12:11:01`	twelve hours eleven minutes and one second	↔
`[00-24]<colon>[00-59]`	`23:15`	twenty three fifteen	↔
`[00-24]<colon>00`	`24:00`	twenty four hours	↔
`[1-12] {PM,AM}`	`2 PM`	two p m	↔
`[01-12]<colon>[00-59] {PM,AM}`	`02:20 PM`	two twenty p m	↔
`00<colon>00`	`00:00`	midnight	↔

Date

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[1-31] {month} [0-9]{4}`	`14 May 2022`	may fourteenth, twenty twenty two	↔
`{month} [1-31], [0-9]{4}`	`June 6, 2020`	june sixth, twenty twenty	↔
`[00-31]/[00-12]/[0-9][0-9]`	`31/12/19`	december thirty first, nineteen	↔
`[00-31].[00-12].[0-9]{4}`	`27.05.2021`	may twenty seventh, twenty twenty one	↔
`[0-9]{4}-[00-12]-[00-31]`	`2022-11-02`	november second, twenty twenty two	↔
`{month} [1-31]{st,nd,rd,th}`	`October 21st`	october twenty first	↔
`[1-31]/[00-12]`	`23/5`	may twenty third	↔
`[00-12]/[1-31]`	`5/12`	may twelfth	↔

Note: Same as en-US: slash dates are read month first, and a first number above 12 is the day. A two-digit year is read as a number ("nineteen").

Units

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`{amount}{unit}`	`2.5GB`	2. 5gb	2. 5gb
`{amount}<space>{unit}`	`1.5 GB`	one point five gb	one point five g b
`{amount}<space>{unit}`	`3 m`	three metres	↔
`{amount}{unit}/{unit}`	`1500MB/s`	one, five, zero, [pause] zero mb slash s	1500mb slash s
`{amount}<space>{unit}/{unit}`	`1400 MB/s`	one thousand four hundred mb slash s	one thousand four hundred m b slash s

Supported unit abbreviations

Each reading shows the singular / the plural form: the unit is read after "1" and after "2". This table is the voice-package unit table; the readings below come from the en-GB table. Without it the engine reads only cm, m, km, Km, m², m2, ", ', h, s and l, with British spelling: "3 km" is "three kilometres" and "2 mm" is "two mm".

Abbreviation	Lexis	Odi
`mm`	mm	mm
`cm`	centimetre / centimetres	↔
`m`	metre / metres	↔
`km`	kilometre / kilometres	↔
`Km`	kilometre / kilometres	↔
`m²`	square metre / square metres	square metre / square metres
`m2`	square metre / square metres	square metre / square metres
`m³`	m³	m³
`m3`	m3	m3
`"`	inch / inches	inch / inches
`in`	in	in
`'`	foot / feet	foot / feet
`ft`	ft	ft
`yd`	yd	yd
`mi`	mi	mi
`mph`	mph	mph
`MPH`	mph	m p h
`h`	hour / hours	hour / hours
`hr`	hr	hr
`min`	min	min
`mins`	mins	mins
`s`	second / seconds	↔
`g`	g	g
`gm`	gm	gm
`kg`	kg	kg
`Kg`	kg	kg
`oz`	oz	oz
`lb`	lb	lb
`lbs`	lbs	lbs
`ml`	ml	ml
`mL`	ml	ml
`l`	litre / litres	↔
`L`	l	l
`gal`	gal	gal
`cup`	cup	cup
`Hz`	hz	hz
`hz`	hz	hz
`kHz`	khz	khz
`MHz`	mhz	mhz
`GHz`	ghz	ghz
`W`	w	w
`kW`	kw	kw
`MW`	mw	m w
`GW`	gw	g w
`V`	v	v
`mA`	ma	ma
`A`	a	a
`dB`	db	db
`kb`	kb	kb
`mb`	mb	mb
`gb`	gb	gb
`tb`	tb	tb
`pb`	pb	pb
`kB`	kb	kb
`MB`	mb	m b
`GB`	gb	g b
`TB`	tb	t b
`PB`	pb	p b
`bps`	bps	bps
`Kbps`	kbps	kbps
`Mbps`	mbps	mbps
`Gbps`	gbps	gbps
`Tbps`	tbps	tbps
`kBps`	kbps	kbps
`MBps`	mbps	mbps
`GBps`	gbps	gbps
`TBps`	tbps	tbps
`PBps`	pbps	pbps
`°C`	° c	° c
`°c`	° c	° c
`°F`	° f	° f
`°f`	° f	° f

Note: Short abbreviations that are also words or letters (in, min, h, m, A, s) are read as units only when they follow a number: "I live in London" is "i live in london" while "5 in the box" is "five inches the box".

Words

Abbreviations and spelling

Odi spells all the words in capital letters letter by letter.

Lexis passes words in capital letters through unchanged and the Lexis model reads them (e.g. ABC, JOHN). Dotted capital abbreviations keep their dots (e.g. B.C.).

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`[A-Z]…[A-Z]`	`ABC`	abc	a b c
`[A-Z]…[A-Z]`	`JOHN`	john	j o h n
`[A-Z]<dot>[A-Z]<dot>`	`B.C.`	b. c	b c
`[a-z]<dot>[a-z]<dot>`	`e.g.`	for example	↔
`Ph<dot>D<dot>`	`Ph.D.` 🆕	p. h. d	p h d
`[A-Z]&[A-Z]`	`R&D`	r&d	r-n-d

Between capital letters, "&" is passed through for Lexis and read as "n" by Odi. Between words, "&" is read as "and". Ph.D. is rewritten to P.H.D. so that it is spelled.

For Lexis, these readings are done by the Lexis model, not by the input processor.

Common abbreviations

Example input	Lexis	Odi
`Prof.`	professor	↔
`Dr.`	doctor	↔
`etc.`	and so on	↔
`Prof`	prof	↔
`Dr`	dr	↔
`Mr`	mr	↔
`Mrs`	mrs	↔
`Ms`	ms	↔
`Ave` 🆕	avenue	↔

Dashed words

Example input	Lexis	Odi
`E-mail`	e-mail	↔
`Paris - Texas`	paris [pause 0.2 s] texas	↔
`Paris-Texas`	`paris-texas`	↔

URLs and e-mails

URLs

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`(www)<dot>{word}<dot>{domain}`	`www.google.com/` 🆕	w w w, dot google, dot com	↔
`http(s)://{word}<dot>{domain}`	`https://google.com/`	h t t p s, colon, double slash google, dot com	↔
`http(s)://www<dot>{word}<dot>{domain}`	`https://www.google.com/` 🆕	h t t p s, colon, double slash w w w, dot google, dot com	↔
`(http(s)://)(www)<dot>{word}<dot>{domain}<slash>{sequence}`	`https://www.google.com/news=123` 🆕	h t t p s, colon, double slash w w w, dot google, dot com, slash news, equal sign one hundred and twenty three	↔
`(http(s)://)(www)<dot>{non-word}<dot>{domain}`	`www.123.com` 🆕	w w w, dot one hundred and twenty three, dot com	↔

E-mails

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`{word}@{word}<dot>{domain}`	`info@omilia.com`	i n f o, at omilia, dot com	↔
`{word}!={symbol}!={number}@{word}<dot>{domain}`	`omilia_19@omilia.com` 🆕	omilia, underscore one nine, at omilia, dot com	↔
`{word}!={symbol}!={number}@{word}<dot>{domain}`	`john.smith42@example.com` 🆕	john, dot smith four two, at example, dot com	↔
`uppercase{word}@{word}<dot>{domain}`	`SALES@EXAMPLE.COM` 🆕	sales, at example, dot com	↔
`uppercase{word}!={symbol}!={number}@{word}<dot>{domain}`	`FFI.SHDFI.GM@MARRIOTT.COM` 🆕	f f i, dot s h d f i, dot g m, at marriott, dot com	↔

Note: digits are read one by one, _ reads "underscore", and short code-like parts are spelled letter by letter.

Currency

Format	Example input	Lexis	Odi
`{symbol}{amount}`	`$25.10`	twenty five dollars and ten cents	↔
`{amount}{symbol}`	`25.10€`	twenty five euros and ten cents	↔
`{amount} {code}`	`25 USD`	twenty five u s dollars	↔
`{amount} {quantity} {code}`	`1.3 million USD`	one point three million u s dollars	↔
`{symbol}{amount} {quantity}`	`$1.3 million`	one point three million dollars	↔
`{symbol}{amount} {code}`	`$5 CAD` 🆕	five canadian dollars	↔

Note: in en-CA the symbol $ is read "dollar(s)" and the cents are "cents". A CAD written after the amount is read once ("$5 CAD" is "five canadian dollars"). The US dollar is written USD; US$ is not expanded ("US$5" is "us$ five").

Currency codes and symbols

Each reading shows the singular / the plural form. The subdivision is read after "and" when the amount has decimals ("1.01" and "2.50").

Code	Lexis	Odi	Subdivision
`USD`	u s dollar / u s dollars	↔	cent / cents
`EUR`	euro / euros	↔	cent / cents
`GBP`	pound sterling / pounds sterling	↔	penny / pence
`AUD`	australian dollar / australian dollars	↔	cent / cents
`CAD`	canadian dollar / canadian dollars	↔	cent / cents
`JPY`	japanese yen / japan yen	↔	none: `1.50 JPY` reads one point five japanese yen

Symbol	Lexis	Odi	Subdivision
`$`	dollar / dollars	↔	cent / cents
`€`	euro / euros	↔	cent / cents
`£`	pound / pounds	↔	penny / pence
`¥` 🆕	japanese yen / japan yen	↔	none

Punctuation and character processing

Supported characters

Char	Description	Used as/in	Lexis	Odi
`.`	period	sentence end / decimal separator	✅	↔
`,`	comma	sentence break / thousands separator	✅	↔
`-`	dash	number group / minus sign	✅	↔
`@`	at sign	email address	✅	↔
`%`	percent	percentage value, in URLs	✅	↔
`&`	ampersand	"and" (between capital letters it is passed through for Lexis and read as "n" by Odi)	✅	↔
`$ € £ ¥`	currency signs	part of currency	✅	↔
`=`	equal sign	in URLs	✅	↔
`;`	semicolon	in URLs	✅	↔
`? !`	question mark, exclamation mark	sentence end (see intonation)	✅	↔
`: / ( )`	colon, slash, brackets	time, ratio, URLs, fractions, dates	✅	↔
`° ² ³ " '`	degree, superscripts, quotes	units	✅	↔

The slash is read "slash". Other symbols are read by name in both voices: \ "backslash", ^ "caret", _ "underscore", + "plus", # "pound", * "asterisk" and ~ "tilde". Outside times, ratios and URLs a colon or semicolon is replaced by a full stop, and brackets are passed on unchanged. The vulgar fraction ½ is not converted.

Any other character is removed and does not affect the voice, in both engines. The trademark (™), service mark (℠), registered (®) and copyright (©) signs are removed earlier, by the engine's request pre-processing, before the text reaches the verbalizer. The verbalizer itself does not process them.

Example: Design Hotels™ welcomes you → design hotels welcomes you.

Punctuation intonation

Char	Lexis effect	Odi effect
`.`	falling intonation	↔
`?`	rising intonation (en-US question-type rules: yes/no, wh-, multiple choice)	↔
`,`	falling intonation	↔
`!`	a lone exclamation mark is rewritten as a full stop (falling intonation)	increased intensity
space / dash	short pause (a spaced dash is a fixed pause of 0.2 s)	↔
no punctuation at the end of a sentence	a period is added automatically	↔