Glossary
Automatic punctuation
Automatic punctuation is when speech software infers commas, periods and question marks from your speech and inserts them without a spoken command. It can be switched on or off, and it works only in supported languages.
Updated October 16, 20264 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called auto punctuation, auto-punctuation.
Automatic punctuation is when the software adds marks such as commas, periods and question marks for you, using the sound of your speech and the words around it. You do not say the marks at all. The feature is a setting that you can check and change on each device.
Google's speech API shows the default plainly
Automatic punctuation is an option in developer tools too. Google Cloud's Speech-to-Text API infers periods, commas and question marks from audio and adds them to the transcript when automatic punctuation is on 1. By default, though, it leaves punctuation marks out of recognition results, so you must request automatic punctuation 2.
Each platform has a setting for it
- Mac: In supported languages, Mac Dictation inserts commas, periods and question marks automatically, and you can switch this off with the Auto-punctuation setting in Keyboard settings 3.
- Windows: The Windows voice typing settings include Automatic punctuation, which inserts punctuation based on what you say 4.
The menu names differ, so search for the exact label in your own settings before you assume the feature is missing.
The software guesses, so check the marks
Automatic punctuation depends on inference. The software has to decide where a sentence ends and whether a pause marks a comma, and it can guess wrong. The classic example is "Let's eat grandma" against "Let's eat, grandma": the same words with a different comma mean very different things. Automatic punctuation reads the speech, not your intent, so proofread the marks in any text where a misplaced comma changes the meaning.
Choose automatic or spoken punctuation for each text
Automatic punctuation is quick for messages and notes. Spoken punctuation gives you exact control when the marks matter, and many people use both: they let the software add the common marks and say the rest. Our guide on dictation punctuation shows the mix, and the question on whether voice typing adds punctuation automatically covers the setting on each device.
Related terms
- Spoken punctuation: saying the name of each mark yourself.
- Dictation: speaking so that software writes your words as you say them.
- Voice typing: the built-in dictation on Windows and in Google Docs, which can use this setting.
Guides that cover it
Evidence
Every number on this page, with where it comes from. Open a fact to see the exact words in its source.
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
Related terms
- Dictation and Voice Typing: How to Talk Instead of TypeThe topic this term belongs to
- DictaphoneA Dictaphone is a machine that records a speaker's voice so that another person can play it back and type it later. The name began as a brand, and it became the everyday word for dictation machines.
- DictationDictation is speaking your words so that software writes them as text, usually into the app that has the cursor. Phones and computers now include it, and people also call it voice dictation or voice typing.
- Dictation foot pedalA dictation foot pedal is a footswitch that controls playback of a recording, so a typist can start, pause and rewind audio without using their hands. It is the traditional control for transcribing dictation.
- Digital dictationDigital dictation is recording speech as digital audio, then sending the file to a typist or to speech recognition software for transcription. It replaced tape with files that can be encrypted, uploaded or routed for processing.
- Filler wordsFiller words are sounds and words such as um, uh, like and you know that speakers produce while they plan what to say next, without adding content. Many dictation tools can remove them automatically, and research on transcripts found they can be deleted without compromising meaning.
- HomophoneA homophone is a word pronounced the same as another word but different in meaning, spelling or both, such as to, too and two. Dictation software has to choose the right spelling from context, so homophones are one of the most common errors in dictated text.
- Noise-canceling microphoneA noise-canceling microphone is designed to filter ambient noise, so it picks up mainly the speaker's voice. It can help dictation in noisy rooms, but it does not remove all noise, and it is different from the active noise cancellation in headphones.
- Oral compositionOral composition is working out and shaping a text by speaking it, whether to a dictation tool, to a recorder or silently in thought. Research on letters finds that planning takes most of the time, however the text is produced, so speaking mainly changes how the words get onto the page.
- Push-to-talkPush-to-talk is a dictation mode in which you hold a key while you speak and release it to stop, so the software writes only the speech made while the key is down. Some tools also offer tap-to-start and tap-to-stop.
- ShorthandShorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases the speed of writing compared with longhand. Trained writers used it to take dictation before recording machines, and it still underpins court reporting.
- Spoken punctuationSpoken punctuation is saying the name of a punctuation mark, such as comma or question mark, so that dictation software writes that mark into the text. It is the manual alternative to automatic punctuation.
- Voice commandA voice command is a spoken instruction that the software carries out, such as delete or stop listening, rather than writing the words as text. Dictation tools must separate commands from dictated words, and the rules differ by product.
Pages that use this term
- Dictation and Voice Typing: How to Talk Instead of TypeTopic
- How to Use Dictation on iPhone (Voice to Text)Guide
- What Is Dictation? Voice Typing and Talk to Text ExplainedGuide
- Windows Voice Typing: How to Dictate with Win+HGuide
- Writing a Book by Dictation: Software and WorkflowGuide
- AI Cleanup for Dictation: Fillers, Punctuation, RewritesGuide
- How to Dictate: Techniques for Clean, Usable TextGuide
- Voice Typing on Android: How to Use Talk to TextGuide
- Mac Dictation Commands and Punctuation: Full ListGuide
- Talk to Text on Samsung Galaxy: How to Use ItGuide
- Dictation Punctuation: How to Say Commas, Periods and MoreGuide
- Dictation Commands: How to Edit and Format by VoiceGuide
- Dictation Mistakes and How to Make Voice Typing AccurateGuide
- iPhone Dictation Commands: Punctuation, Emoji, EditingGuide
- Spanish Speech to Text and Talk to TextGuide
- Windows Voice Typing Commands and PunctuationGuide
- Japanese, Chinese and Korean Speech to TextGuide
- Dictation for Journalists and Content CreatorsGuide
- Does Mac dictation add punctuation automatically?Question
- Does voice typing add punctuation automatically?Question
- How do you add punctuation with Chromebook dictation?Question
- How do you dictate a blog post?Question
- How do you dictate a book or long document on iPhone?Question
- How do you dictate a letter?Question