PronounceLab - Experiment 1

2025-07-08 (Mod: 2025-09-14)  |   6 minutes

In my continuing quest for creative ways to drill my language skills, the one area I struggle with most is finding ways to evaluate my speech.

I listen to lots of Norwegian audio, and I’ve started reading books and film scripts aloud, so I’m getting plenty of practice at both listening and speaking, but I don’t get any feedback on my pronunciation and diction.

One day soon, AI will be able to converse with me on random topics and gently correct my norsk as we go, the way a native speaker might do, but we’re not there yet. I do intend to make use of live human coaches online, but not until I feel I’ve gone as far as I can with my own crazy methods first. Speaking of which…

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Setup

For this first experiment, I wanted to see if I could use GBoard’s voice dictation tool to gauge my pronunciation. I set up my keyboard in dual language mode with both English and Norwegian and wrote 20 simple norsk sentences. Each day I tried to dictate them in Norwegian, curious to see whether GBoard would transcribe my speech as decent Norwegian or as garbled English.

And just to be clear, in this drill, I did not allow myself to check a pronunciation example first. It was supposed to measure my ability to speak Norwegian, not to parrot a recording.

Results

If you want to see the details, I’ve included the transcriptions at the bottom of this article. But the results were somehow both encouraging and humiliating.

On the first day, I passed my GBoard Norsk test on exactly half of the sentences, scoring 10/20. That improved to 12/20 on the second day, but fell back to 10/20 on the third, and the forth day was a low of only 8/20.

On the one hand, I should be pleased that, after one year of study, I can now speak Norwegian with a good enough accent to convince Google half the time. And of all twenty sentences, only three shut me out completely. (I managed to pass the test at least once on the other seventeen.)

But in the moment, while actually doing these, it’s hard not to feel humiliated as you’re very best attempt at a simple sentence like “Barna leker ute i hagen,” gets transcribed into nonsense like, “Burn the electric utihagen.”

Obviously, when you examine it, you can see that it’s actually pretty close, phonetically. But that’s little comfort to the little boy in my head who is standing at the front of the room, knees shaking, as he tries to deliver his speech to the class and is getting laughed at.

So I think this testing method is excellent as an occasional progress check, but for me at least, it’s too stressful to endure as an everyday exercise.

For daily practice, I think I need a drill with shorter phrases, so I can zero in on specific words and phonemes; and a lot more repetitions, so I can use the transcription feedback as a hint to help me better shape the sounds.

Transcription Journal

Jeg liker å drikke kaffe om morgenen.

• 2025-07-08: Jeg liker å drikke kaffe om morgenen.

• 2025-07-09: yeah liquor Cafe all morning.

• 2025-07-10: yeah liquor rodriga Cafe on morning

• 2025-07-12: yeah liquor or drink a coffee in the morning

Kan du vise meg veien til butikken?

• 2025-07-08: Kan du vise meg veien til butikken?

• 2025-07-09: Kan du vise meg veien til butikken

• 2025-07-10: come to visit my vinyl beautician

• 2025-07-12: come to visit my vinyl Boutique

Jeg forstår litt norsk, men ikke alt.

• 2025-07-08: Jeg forstår litt norsk men ikke alt.

• 2025-07-09: Jeg forstår litt norsk men ikke alt

• 2025-07-10: Jeg forstår litt norsk men ikke alt.

• 2025-07-12: Jeg forstår litt norsk men ikke alt

Hun jobber på et sykehus i byen.

• 2025-07-08: when your report sequencing.

• 2025-07-09: can you over the poeticusi being

• 2025-07-10: Hun jobber på et sykehus i byen.

• 2025-07-12: whom your poeticus ebien

Det regner mye her om høsten.

• 2025-07-08: the line of me hot on Houston

• 2025-07-09: the Rain On me Harlem Houston

• 2025-07-10: defined me a heart on Houston

• 2025-07-12: the line on me Harlem Houston

Vi skal spise middag klokka seks.

• 2025-07-08: Vi skal spise middag 6:00

• 2025-07-09: Vi skal spise middag klokken 6:00

• 2025-07-10: Vi skal spise middag 6:00.

• 2025-07-12: Vi skal spise middag 6:00

Jeg har ikke sett den filmen ennå.

• 2025-07-08: Jeg har ikke sett den filmen ennå

• 2025-07-09: Jeg har ikke sett den filmen ennå

• 2025-07-10: Jeg har ikke sett den filmen ennå.

• 2025-07-12: Jeg har ikke sett den filmen ennå.

Han kjøpte nye sko i går.

• 2025-07-08: Han kjøpte nye sko igår

• 2025-07-09: Han kjøpte nye sko i går

• 2025-07-10: Han kjøpte nye sko i går

• 2025-07-12: Han kjøpte nye sko i går

Hva gjør du i helgene?

• 2025-07-08: hva gjør du i helgene

• 2025-07-09: hva gjør du i helgene*/

• 2025-07-10: what year do you have going to

• 2025-07-12: the value of the hill going to

Jeg må stå opp tidlig i morgen.

• 2025-07-08: yeah I must throw up Tilly morning

• 2025-07-09: Jeg må stå opp tidlig i morgen

• 2025-07-10: Jeg må stå opp tidlig i morgen

• 2025-07-12: Jeg må stå opp tidlig i morgen

Barna leker ute i hagen.

• 2025-07-08: barnacle utagen

• 2025-07-09: barna leker ute i hagen

• 2025-07-10: burn the liquor

• 2025-07-12: burn the electric utihagen

Vi har bodd her i tre år.

• 2025-07-08: we have both Harley trailer

• 2025-07-09: Vi har bodd her i 3 år

• 2025-07-10: Vi har bodd her i 3 år

• 2025-07-12: Vi har bodd her i 3 år

Det er kaldt, så jeg tar på meg jakke.

• 2025-07-08: they’re called soya tarpal made Yucca

• 2025-07-09: Det er kaldt så jeg tar på meg jakke

• 2025-07-10: they are caught so your tarp on my locker

• 2025-07-12: they are called so your thought for my locker

Jeg trenger hjelp med leksene mine.

• 2025-07-08: yeah thank you Netflix and Amina

• 2025-07-09: Jeg trenger hjelp med leksene mine

• 2025-07-10: yeah I triangle here medlaxon Amina

• 2025-07-12: yeah triangular Medical

Hun kan spille gitar veldig bra.

• 2025-07-08: pumpkin spill guitar veldebra

• 2025-07-09: kuncan Spiller guitar preva

• 2025-07-10: who can spell guitar weldebra

• 2025-07-12: hun kan spille gitar veldig bra

Vi går en tur etter frokost.

• 2025-07-08: Vi går en tur etter frokost

• 2025-07-09: the garden tour at the forecast

• 2025-07-10: the garden tour at the forecast

• 2025-07-12: the garden tour at the forecast

Bussen kommer ikke før klokka åtte.

• 2025-07-08: do some commercial

• 2025-07-09: Busan Comerica Auto

• 2025-07-10: person Comerica Auto

• 2025-07-12: listen camera 84 clerk of photo

Jeg liker best å lese på kvelden.

• 2025-07-08: Jeg liker best å lese på kvelden

• 2025-07-09: yeah liquor best or less a pokémon

• 2025-07-10: Jeg liker best å lese på kvelden

• 2025-07-12: yeah liquor the best or less a pokémon

Kan jeg få en kopp te, takk?

• 2025-07-08: Kan jeg få en kopp te takk

• 2025-07-09: Kan jeg få en kopp te takk

• 2025-07-10: Kan jeg få en kopp te takk

• 2025-07-12: Kan jeg få en kopp te takk

Han snakker sakte og tydelig.

• 2025-07-08: and snucker suck though Tilly

• 2025-07-09: Han snakker sakte og tydelig

• 2025-07-10: Han snakker sakte og tidlig

• 2025-07-12: on snucker suck the artillery