SpinVox Shares Voxgeist* of Spoken Slang

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New additions to the English language and multiple meanings used for everyday words are increasingly more common. Each year, new slang terms are added, others dropped and some permanently folded into the lexicon of approximately 1 million words (source: Global Language Monitor, 2007).

While Basque is acknowledged to be the most difficult to learn out of the 2,700 languages in the world, the constant evolution of English with the daily addition of slang words and phrases can make learning the language a very difficult task. Even for the 500 million people throughout the world that use English as a first language, keeping up with slang can be quite a challenge (source: Information Please, Ethnologue, 2007).

D2, the multilingual system behind the SpinVox pioneering voice-to-text conversion service, has ‘learned’ to understand these regional variations in the English language so that voicemail message sent via SpinVox can be accurately converted to text and sent either as SMS text messages emails, memos, blog posts, or even social network sites.

The Voxgeist list of Most Referenced Slang Words and Phrases with Translations:

• Diesel = a muscular man/women
• Hot Mess = person is a disaster
• Spun = crazed
• Busted/Hurt = extremely unattractive
• Ice/Bling = diamonds
• Shady = untrustworthy
• Woot/Stoked = excited
• One = I’m out; leaving
• Peace out = goodbye
• Props = respect
• Newbie = beginner, new kid on the block
• Blasted = to get in serious trouble.
• Scheisty = secretive amongst others
• Bluetool = someone who always wears a Bluetooth earpiece, even when they're not on the phone
• Baller = wealthy
• Crunk = crazy drunk
• Celebutante = famous just for being wealthy
• Schlumpadinka = women who let their style go
• Multislacking = having two or more non-work related web pages open on your work computer at one time.
• Hola = greetings; hello

“The convergence of voice and screen is a thoroughly fascinating moment in the progression of the way we communicate and what we choose to say,” commented SpinVox co-founder and CEO Christina Domecq. “Language is an ever changing beast and at SpinVox we witness this on a daily basis, whether it’s French, Spanish, German or English. D2 is learning new words and expressions every day. In fact only 30 percent of D2’s vast vocabulary can be found in standard English language dictionaries. The rest have been collated as a result of its amazing ability to learn new words at an average of 150 words a week. D2 is constantly updating the SpinVox system to build the world’s largest dictionary of spoken language in the messages that we convert right now. We call this the ‘Voxgeist.’”

SpinVox voicemail-to-text technology allows users to receive their voicemails as SMS text messages, e-mails or both, offering time-savings, efficiency and convenience over calling in to retrieve voicemails. In addition, SpinVox provides other groundbreaking and innovative voice-to-screen services, such as

SpinVox Social Networks– Update your Facebook, Twitter or Jaiku page by speaking into your phone!

SpinVox Blog– Speak into your phone and SpinVox will convert it to text and post it right to your blog!

SpinVox Memo– Dictate memos and reminders into your phone and SpinVox will convert them to text and e-mail them to your inbox.

SpinVox Text– Dictate a message that SpinVox converts to text and sends to one or multiple mobile phones as SMS text messages.

John Truscott, an advertising executive from California and a SpinVox user has been using the service to help manage his calls, increase productivity and keep organized. Plus, he enjoys reading three minute voice mails in a tenth of the time it takes to listen to them.

“I am an avid SpinVox user and am constantly impressed by the way it is able to convert any word I choose to use,” says Truscott. “I think it is one of those major, life-changing services right up there with Tivo(R). As a result of SpinVox, I never listen to voicemail and can check for recent voicemails discretely during meetings.”

For more information, visit www.spinvox.com.

About the SpinVox Voxgeist: For SpinVox, becoming the global leader in a new way of communicating has not happened overnight. But in less than two years, SpinVox has automatically converted from voice to text over 50 million messages in four languages, delivering them as SMS texts, emails, blogs or posts on social network walls and spaces.

To achieve these conversions, SpinVox uses dictionaries built from the ever-changing local language and vernacular that people use every day when leaving messages. This we call the `Voxgeist`.

The dictionaries are contained in the SpinVox Voice Message Conversion System (VMCS), known as `D2`. The system is the most advanced of its kind, having already been selected by 12 telecommunications carriers worldwide and millions of users.

VMCS works by combining state-of-the-art speech technologies with human intelligence and learning. A fully automated system, it `knows what it doesn't know` and is able to call for assistance when required. VMCS is continually evolving and currently converts messages in English, French, Spanish and German. In compiling Voxgeist lists, no individual user's information is available or accessible to us. What they reveal is a cumulative snapshot of new language that VMCS is learning over time, that perhaps tell us something of the human condition as we go about our daily lives.

This information is free for your use, with the appropriate attribution to SpinVox.

About SpinVox:

SpinVox® brought together the two most popular methods of communication – voice and text – and created a new category of messaging called Voice-to-Screen™. Its award-winning service is now making everyday communication simpler and more powerful, creating new recurring revenues for wireless, landline, cable and VOIP carriers as well as service providers and web partners. SpinVox has already launched its service with Alltel, Cincinnati Bell, Rogers Wireless, Sasktel, Telus, Telstra, Vodacom South Africa, Vodafone Spain and LiveJournal and announced a deal with Skype. As a managed service provider any network or service can rapidly and cost-effectively implement SpinVox.

At the heart of SpinVox is its Voice Message Conversion System™ (VMCS), which works by combining state-of-the-art speech technologies with a live-learning language process. VMCS is being rolled-out across four continents in four languages - English, French, Spanish and German.

www.spinvox.com