Abbreviations and acronyms

This page is being developed for use with the Jane voice in the USA; it is also applicable to any country where TTS voices are in use. A few of the listed abbreviations are specific to the USA, but most will work with any English-speaking TTS voice from any country.

This new page is currently undergoing modifications. The information and guidance is currently considered accurate enough to be followed now. Content is being prepared by one or more users. Do not make any changes before you send a private message to this user.

This article discusses the application and use of abbreviations and acronyms in segment and place names for Waze, and their impact on the TTS engine. In the interest of preserving screen real-estate wherever reasonable we prefer to use fewer characters while still achieving the same result. For consistency these guidelines should be followed everywhere so users have a seamless experience.

For information on abbreviations and acronyms used in the various communication platforms among Waze editors, please see the Glossary.

Standard suffix abbreviations

Waze convention is to use suffix abbreviations in street names. ("Main Rd" instead of "Main Road").

Notes:

1. Abbreviate only suffixes (except as indicated below).
   • "The Avenue", "The Green", etc. should not be abbreviated.
   • "Circuit Avenue Road" is abbreviated "Circuit Avenue Rd", not "Cct Ave Rd".
   • A road named "Service Road" should not be abbreviated, while "Pipeline Service Road" should be (as "Pipeline Service Rd").
   • Prefixes should be abbreviated only when they appear abbreviated on signage.
     • If the signage says "Ave A", then it should be "Ave A" in Waze.
     • If the signage says "Avenue A", then it should say "Avenue A" in Waze.
2. Suffix abbreviations do not contain any punctuation, such as "." (Full-stops) or "-" (Hyphens).
3. In the event that the original suffix is a plural (ends in s) and only its singular form is present as an abbreviation, simply adding an "s" to the end of the abbreviation may or may not work as expected unless specified below.
4. When the letters N, S, E, or W should NOT be pronounced as compass cardinal directions, the letter should be followed with a . (period).
   • George W. Bush Blvd
   • West W. Lee Ave

   If the cardinal letter is part of a larger name, (when it is not alone) it does not require any modification at all.

   • CR-N will be read as County Road en.

5. Numbered street names which appear on signs as digits should be followed with an ordinal.
   • 8 Ave. should be written as 8th Ave in Waze.
   • East 207 St. should be written as E 207th St in Waze.

Recommended abbreviations and acronyms

The abbreviations and acronyms in this following table have been tested and are recommended to be used wherever applicable in Waze. The only exceptions to their usage should be when the big green sign (BGS) uses a different abbreviation, and the abbreviation used on the BGS is supported by the TTS engine.

This list is not yet complete, there are other recommended abbreviations from the main Abbreviations and acronyms page which do work, but have not yet been added to this list. They will be added soon.

NOTE: Pay special attention to any punctuation in the abbreviation column. These abbreviations are case sensitive, and require any punctuation shown to be used in order for them to work.

The TTS results from the test button in WME are not always customized by Waze. To ensure you get localized TTS results in WME you must first click Apply, and then open the address editor again to play the TTS. Otherwise the TTS may not recognize the abbreviations in this list. These abbreviations all still work in the client. Please do not "fix" street names because the TTS seems broken when testing it in WME; test in the client first to confirm.

More information

Other localities

Other countries may have differing guidance; refer to the main Abbreviations & acronyms article to see a list the country-specific pages for any local guidance.

Discussion

Use the following forum thread for discussions and requests related to TTS and abbreviations or acronyms. To report an abbreviation, acronym, or other TTS name which is not working as it should. To request a new abbreviation or acronym be added to the list. If you have any further questions on this topic. To view the current "Work in progress" list of abbreviations that are being tested, currently available, and proposed. When reporting an issue please make sure to include: The exact spelling of the full segment name as it appears in WME What is wrong about how it is said How it should be said A permalink to the segment in WME Forum Thread: Test of Text-to-Speech (TTS) Abbreviations in Waze Clients

Pronunciation fixes

Some names and words are not pronounced properly by the TTS engine, in these cases we can work to fix them. These should be reported via this form. Please add your username in the Comments block in case there are followup questions. Once they are reported the TTS team will review them, and work on finding a proper solution. All the names which have been reported to have their pronunciation fixed will be added to a working spreadsheet for tracking.

Click Expand for details on the list of all the requested pronunciation fixes, and their current status.

Glossary

Refer to the Glossary page for definitions of many terms used in Waze.