Dictation: Can't disable automatic punctuation

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Dictation: Can't disable automatic punctuation

MBAir M2, Sonoma 14.5

On this web page: Dictate messages and documents on Mac - Apple Support

It says the following: "Note: In supported languages, Dictation automatically inserts

commas, periods, and question marks for you as you dictate. To turn this feature off, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.) Go to Dictation on the right, then turn off Auto-punctuation."

This is what I see in my System Settings. Note that the scroll bar is at the bottom, there are no other settings. I don't have the option to turn off auto-punctuation.

I really need to turn it off. Every time I pause, it enters a comma or a period.

Help, please.

MacBook Air (M2, 2022)

Posted on Jun 10, 2024 8:22 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Laurie Author

Level 1

68 points

Jun 19, 2024 10:16 AM in response to Barney-15E

So it's a bug. A very deep bug.

I chatted with Divine at Apple Support just now. They suggested that I change the Language to Canadian or UK (English). I had tried that before, with no success, but this time I left U.S. (English) checked as well. As soon as I did that, the Auto-punctuation slider appeared. I turned off Canadian, leaving U.S. and the slider is still there.

Success.

For reference, I transcribe historical documents by reading them aloud into my computer. The auto-punctuation was adding commas when I paused or periods when I wasn't done with a sentence. This is a new feature in Sonoma that wasn't in older versions of MacOS.

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