I strongly recommend that we make one or more simple basic filters
and ship them with the beta test (if possible) and certainly with
the initial V2.0. It is not just the nicety of having "the"
pronounced properly in front of vowels, but we need a filter that
puts in some default punctuation where punctuation is lacking.
For example, try reading the average newsgroup posting using
BigMouth. Another possible cure is to keep track of the pitch,
and reset it from time to time. Without punctuation, the system
sounds increasingly stressed, even if you accept the lack of
phrasing, as the pitch goes ever higher.
I agree we need to have filters. However, we agreed not to
include them in this release. To do a proper job means spending
a few weeks on the problem, so we can't add these features
at the last moment before a beta test.
If the problem is mostly the result of runaway pitch contours, maybe
Craig can implement a simple fix to avoid the "stressed" speech.
Len