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I would like to get rid of all proper nouns, and just add the few that I actually use.

The best I have found so far is to display only words containing capitals letters as the screenshot below shows but it also selects like many abbreviations (e.g. DNA), demonyms (e.g. American), etc.

vocabulary list editor

"are you sure?" prompt

Is there any better way to remove all proper nouns from the dictionary than my current method?

killermist
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Franck Dernoncourt
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    Can the dictionary be exported and imported? If so, export it and use the tools in another application, like find/replace in Word using wildcards, Excel using text functions, etc. to clean it up. Then delete the dictionary in Dragon and import the cleaned version. – fixer1234 Dec 18 '14 at 23:27
  • One problem you're going to have here, is that some of the words you want to keep are also ones you want to remove. For example - "New Yorker" is both a proper noun, and a demonym. It looks like the Dragon vocabulary (.voc) files are in some kind of binary format, so not easily editable outside of the software itself. Custom vocab can be exported, but I'm guessing it's not just your custom additions you want to edit, but all the built-in vocab, too? – Adam Thompson Dec 19 '14 at 10:31
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    The built-in vocab is the main problem. Half the time Dragon misinterprets a string of 3-4 common English words as a random city in the Middle East. Removing those would improve recognition considerably since I rarely discuss the Middle East ;) The capital letters trick goes a long way though, that might be good enough. – Joseph Garvin Dec 19 '14 at 22:24

1 Answers1

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What version of Dragon are you currently using?

This is an extract from the Dragon 13 User Guide.

Instead of deleting all of the proper nouns from the dictionary, you might be able to use the "Don't Recognize that word" feature.

I haven't been able to find a way to specifically delete all of the proper nouns but you may be able to do if via this method.

This will also mean that you can add the words back at a later date if needed.

Using the Don't Recognize That Word Command

Dragon lets you to turn off recognition of words using the Correction menu and the "Don't recognize that word" command.

Don't Recognize That Word removes the selected word from your active Vocabulary, so that Dragon won't recognize it again. This can save you time if Dragon repeatedly replaces words you dictate with words you don't use.

For example, if you dictate the name "Cassity" often and Dragon always hears "Cassidy", you could use Don't Recognize That Word from the Correction menu to turn off recognition of Cassidy. If you decide later that you do need to use the word, you can add it back using the Vocabulary Editor.

When you use the "Don't recognize that word" command or Don't Recognize That Word from the Correction menu to turn off recognition of a word, you will be presented with one of the following messages to confirm a deletion of the word:

Are you sure you want to delete the following word from the Vocabulary? This message is displayed when you use the "Don't Recognize That Word" command to delete a word or phrase from the Vocabulary.

The following word can only be removed from the Vocabulary using the Vocabulary Editor. This message is displayed when you use the "Don't Recognize That Word" command to try to delete a custom word or frequently used word such as "the" from the Vocabulary. You can use the Vocabulary Editor to delete the word.

The following word can't be deleted because it does not exist in the Vocabulary. This message is displayed when you use the Don't Recognize That Word command to try to delete a word or phrase that is not in the Vocabulary.

For more information, see the Correction menu.

Link to User Guide

JPM
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  • Thanks. I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12.5 professional. The "don't recognize that word” command" [was introduced in Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11](http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/products/product-matrix_11.asp), but it's a pain to have to do it for all proper nouns that pop up :( – Franck Dernoncourt Dec 23 '14 at 16:38