Duolingo - New voices in Norwegian course
Oct. 10th, 2020 09:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yuuagoAha, Duolingo has added two new voices into its system for the Norwegian course!
I have the audio comprehension lessons turned off, but I still get the text read out to me by the robot voices on many of the lessons. The new voices sound so much more natural. Still obviously not real people, but the pronounciation is better, and the flow sounds more like actual Norwegian.
People were commenting on that flow, and I find the reactions/surprise to it kind of funny. Obviously, real people don't talk quite exactly like that, but... Yes, that's close to how it is.
I've heard Norwegian language described as sounding "sprightly", and I think that's a good word for it. It's springy, kind of bouncy, and the effect can make it sound oddly cheerful even when the subject isn't, or like someone's asking a question even when they aren't. It's one of the things that I like about the way it sounds (and one of the things in speech that I'd never be able to do myself if I actually tried speaking it).
Anyway, it's almost enough for me to turn on the audio comprehensions. Not quite, though. ;) But it is a reminder that I should seek out more audio-centric sources, because my current listening abilities are uh, not good.
I have the audio comprehension lessons turned off, but I still get the text read out to me by the robot voices on many of the lessons. The new voices sound so much more natural. Still obviously not real people, but the pronounciation is better, and the flow sounds more like actual Norwegian.
People were commenting on that flow, and I find the reactions/surprise to it kind of funny. Obviously, real people don't talk quite exactly like that, but... Yes, that's close to how it is.
I've heard Norwegian language described as sounding "sprightly", and I think that's a good word for it. It's springy, kind of bouncy, and the effect can make it sound oddly cheerful even when the subject isn't, or like someone's asking a question even when they aren't. It's one of the things that I like about the way it sounds (and one of the things in speech that I'd never be able to do myself if I actually tried speaking it).
Anyway, it's almost enough for me to turn on the audio comprehensions. Not quite, though. ;) But it is a reminder that I should seek out more audio-centric sources, because my current listening abilities are uh, not good.
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.