London PA Voice Fired for Slamming Tube
November 26, 2007 12:39 PM EST

LONDON - The woman behind the gentle, even voice which warns London's subway
commuters to "Mind the gap" was fired after telling a newspaper she thought
the transit network was dreadful.

Emma Clarke has been recording messages for London's sprawling subway
network, popularly known as the Tube, since 1999. In addition to warning
passengers to watch their step in walking between subway cars and the
platform, she also reads the trains' stops, tells Londoners how long they
have to wait until their next ride, and delivers service updates.

Transport for London, the body responsible for running the subway, said
Monday that Clarke, 36, was fired for telling The Mail on Sunday she avoided
using the subway whenever possible.

"The thought of being stuck in the Tube with strangers for minutes on end
and having to listen to endless repeated messages of my own voice fills me
with horror," she told the paper.

She said using the service every day had been "dreadful."

The paper also featured Clarke's Web site, which hosts a series of spoof
Tube announcements, including one warning a passenger not to stare at a
woman's chest and another telling American tourists, "You are almost
certainly talking too loud."

Transport for London noted that some of the spoof announcements were quite
funny, but spokesman Dan Hodges said Clarke's attack on the subway itself
had crossed the line.

"We wouldn't employ somebody to promote our services who simultaneously
criticizes those services," Hodges said.

Clarke's voice will continue to fill London's subway cars until a
replacement is needed, he said.


--
Arguing on the internet is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if you
win, you're still retarded. -- Anon.

"Rev. CMOT TMPV" wrote in message
t
London PA Voice Fired for Slamming Tube
November 26, 2007 12:39 PM EST

LONDON - The woman behind the gentle, even voice which warns London's
subway commuters to "Mind the gap" was fired after telling a
newspaper she thought the transit network was dreadful.

Emma Clarke has been recording messages for London's sprawling subway
network, popularly known as the Tube, since 1999. In addition to
warning passengers to watch their step in walking between subway cars
and the platform, she also reads the trains' stops, tells Londoners
how long they have to wait until their next ride, and delivers
service updates.

Transport for London, the body responsible for running the subway,
said Monday that Clarke, 36, was fired for telling The Mail on Sunday
she avoided using the subway whenever possible.

"The thought of being stuck in the Tube with strangers for minutes on
end and having to listen to endless repeated messages of my own voice
fills me with horror," she told the paper.

She said using the service every day had been "dreadful."

The paper also featured Clarke's Web site, which hosts a series of
spoof Tube announcements, including one warning a passenger not to
stare at a woman's chest and another telling American tourists, "You
are almost certainly talking too loud."

Transport for London noted that some of the spoof announcements were
quite funny, but spokesman Dan Hodges said Clarke's attack on the
subway itself had crossed the line.

"We wouldn't employ somebody to promote our services who
simultaneously criticizes those services," Hodges said.

Clarke's voice will continue to fill London's subway cars until a
replacement is needed, he said.

It was interesting hearing her being interviewed last night on TV using
her real voice, which is quite different to the voice we all know.

On Nov 26, 11:21 pm, "Rev. CMOT TMPV"
wrote:
London PA Voice Fired for Slamming Tube
November 26, 2007 12:39 PM EST

LONDON - The woman behind the gentle, even voice which warns London's subway
commuters to "Mind the gap" was fired after telling a newspaper she thought
the transit network was dreadful.

Not many people could get away with publically slagging off the
company they do contract work for, even if in jest, and not get the
boot. She was rather naive IMO.

What I don't understand is why companies bother using recordings when
speech synthesizers cost buttons, are about the size of one and can
say anything you want - you don't have to pay some actor to record new
phrases if things change , you just type it in. Even in the 70s Texas
Instruments could do a 1 chip version and they sound a lot better
these days.

B2003

"Boltar" wrote in message
...
On Nov 26, 11:21 pm, "Rev. CMOT TMPV"
wrote:
London PA Voice Fired for Slamming Tube
November 26, 2007 12:39 PM EST

LONDON - The woman behind the gentle, even voice which warns London's
subway
commuters to "Mind the gap" was fired after telling a newspaper she
thought
the transit network was dreadful.

Not many people could get away with publically slagging off the
company they do contract work for, even if in jest, and not get the
boot. She was rather naive IMO.

What I don't understand is why companies bother using recordings when
speech synthesizers cost buttons, are about the size of one and can
say anything you want - you don't have to pay some actor to record new
phrases if things change , you just type it in. Even in the 70s Texas
Instruments could do a 1 chip version and they sound a lot better
these days.

because better is still crap

tim

Boltar wrote:

What I don't understand is why companies bother using recordings when
speech synthesizers cost buttons, are about the size of one and can
say anything you want - you don't have to pay some actor to record new
phrases if things change , you just type it in. Even in the 70s Texas
Instruments could do a 1 chip version and they sound a lot better
these days.

Because 99% of the time speech synthesisers are utter crap. Take the one
at King's Cross St. Pancras for example, which used to announce a Good
service on the Pick-addle-y Line when first installed. (Though that's
now been fixed).

The main problems being either mispronunciation or a complete lack of
inflection where you'd normally expect it. At least where there's a
(human) automated announcer it generally sounds more "natural"...Though
you can't beat a *properly trained* "live" announcer.

Cheers,

Barry

On Nov 28, 1:37 am, Barry Salter wrote:
Boltar wrote:
What I don't understand is why companies bother using recordings when
speech synthesizers cost buttons, are about the size of one and can
say anything you want - you don't have to pay some actor to record new
phrases if things change , you just type it in. Even in the 70s Texas
Instruments could do a 1 chip version and they sound a lot better
these days.

Because 99% of the time speech synthesisers are utter crap. Take the one
at King's Cross St. Pancras for example, which used to announce a Good
service on the Pick-addle-y Line when first installed. (Though that's
now been fixed).

The main problems being either mispronunciation or a complete lack of
inflection where you'd normally expect it. At least where there's a
(human) automated announcer it generally sounds more "natural"...Though
you can't beat a *properly trained* "live" announcer.


A bizarre thing I heard on Southern recently was an obviously
synthesised voice saying "London Underground have informed me ...".

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:37:41 +0000, Barry Salter
wrote:

The main problems being either mispronunciation or a complete lack of
inflection where you'd normally expect it. At least where there's a
(human) automated announcer it generally sounds more "natural"...Though
you can't beat a *properly trained* "live" announcer.

Right. The recorded announcements on the Tube have major inflectional
problems.

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:37:00 -0800 (PST), MIG
wrote:

On Nov 28, 1:37 am, Barry Salter wrote:
Boltar wrote:
What I don't understand is why companies bother using recordings when
speech synthesizers cost buttons, are about the size of one and can
say anything you want - you don't have to pay some actor to record new
phrases if things change , you just type it in. Even in the 70s Texas
Instruments could do a 1 chip version and they sound a lot better
these days.

Because 99% of the time speech synthesisers are utter crap. Take the one
at King's Cross St. Pancras for example, which used to announce a Good
service on the Pick-addle-y Line when first installed. (Though that's
now been fixed).

The main problems being either mispronunciation or a complete lack of
inflection where you'd normally expect it. At least where there's a
(human) automated announcer it generally sounds more "natural"...Though
you can't beat a *properly trained* "live" announcer.


A bizarre thing I heard on Southern recently was an obviously
synthesised voice saying "London Underground have informed me ...".

Oh, that winds me up, along with "I am sorry for the delay to this
service". You can't be sorry, you're a computer. "We are sorry" would
be far better.

James Farrar (James Farrar ) gurgled happily,
sounding much like they were saying:

A bizarre thing I heard on Southern recently was an obviously
synthesised voice saying "London Underground have informed me ...".

Oh, that winds me up, along with "I am sorry for the delay to this
service". You can't be sorry, you're a computer. "We are sorry" would be
far better.

"On behalf of all the computers in this server room..."

On 28 Nov 2007 09:50:28 GMT, Adrian wrote:

James Farrar (James Farrar ) gurgled happily,
sounding much like they were saying:

A bizarre thing I heard on Southern recently was an obviously
synthesised voice saying "London Underground have informed me ...".

Oh, that winds me up, along with "I am sorry for the delay to this
service". You can't be sorry, you're a computer. "We are sorry" would be
far better.

"On behalf of all the computers in this server room..."

ISWYM... but the computer is the company's representative, and is
programmed to speak for the company. It doesn't speak for itself!