Alexa puts accent on adapting to voices of users

BRITONS with regional accents are having to change the way they talk so they can use voice recognition devices such as Alexa.

A study found those fed up with repeating requests to devices – including Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa, and Siri on the iPhone – have to use a more ‘standard’ form of English instead.

Some 9 per cent of those with regional accents regularly alter the way they speak just to be understood by their devices, according to the poll by the Life Science Centre museum in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Of the 444 visitors who completed the survey, 33 per cent said they changed the way they spoke ‘a lot’, while 48 per cent expressed concern that use of voice recognition could ‘stamp out’ regional accents.

And many – 41 per cent – believe tech giants such as Amazon, Apple and Google ‘should do more’ to take accents into account in their products.

Linda Conlon, the centre’s chief executive, said: ‘The same people who decades ago were frustrated as teens trying to get cinema listings from an automated telephone system are now having the same issues with their smartphones or smart speakers – the technology has moved forward, but the inclusivity to cater for regional accents has not.’

Dr Laurence White, a lecturer in speech sciences at Newcastle University, said our speech would only be altered in the longer term ‘if we only ever spoke to our devices’ and never talked to humans around us.

Amazon and Google said their Alexa and Home devices would continue to improve sensitivity to regional accents every day.

A spokesman for Amazon said: ‘We’ve worked hard to ensure Alexa can understand multiple accents, and Alexa is designed to get smarter every day. As more people speak to Alexa, with various different accents, the more she adapts.’

‘Designed to get smarter’