# Adjusting Period and Comma Pause Durations

At the default speaking rate of 180 WPM, DECtalk Software pauses about half a second after a period in the text and about a sixth of a second after a comma. When you change the speaking rate, the pause durations are automatically adjusted.

In some situations, you might prefer to change the pause after a period or a comma without changing the speaking rate. For example, to get DECtalk Software to read a list of words with a longer pause after each (to allow the listener to write them down), use the Period Pause command or the Comma Pause command.

· [:pp 4500] apple. banana. strawberry.

This command adds a period pause of 4,500 ms (4.5 seconds) to the standard half-second pause that occurs after a period in text. The total pause between words is about five seconds. The accepted range for the period pause parameter is -380 to 30,000 ms. A negative value shortens the standard period pause.

· [:cp 4800] apple, banana, strawberry,

This command adds a comma pause of 4,800 ms (4.8 seconds) to the standard sixth of a second pause that occurs after a comma in the text at normal speaking rate. The total pause between words separated by a comma is about five seconds. The accepted range for the comma pause parameter is -40 to 30,000 ms. Values specified outside this range are limited to the nearest legal value.

· [:pp 0][:cp 0]

This command resets the period pause and comma pause to their normal default values.

Related topics