Speech changes to a more robotic feel if I use certain phonemes

[Jeppe-learning]

I am using phonemes for some speaks, to make them sound more natural, but some phonemes change the rest of the sentence feel. I have made a demo here.

Using these settings:

• English
• EN-GB-Wavenet-F
• speed 0.95
• pitch 0

In the speak below I have two identical speaks, where one word is replaced with a phoneme. Notice how the end of the sentence changes to a more robotic feel in the first.

How do I avoid this?

<speak>
In this training, you will learn more about how you sell <phoneme alphabet="ipa" ph="kɑːd">placeholder</phoneme> as a solution for companies that want to minimize out-of-pocket spending and have better control of company spending by employees.

In this training, you will learn more about how you sell card as a solution for companies that want to minimize out-of-pocket spending and have better control of company spending by employees.
</speak>

[clementbellido]

Hi! I see there is an issue already open regarding this. I’ve tested your SSML and I understand what the issue is and it seems like unintended behavior. I tried to workaround it but I didn’t find a way to do so. Any updates regarding your issue will be on the issue tracker

[Jeppe-learning]

Yes. I created the issue. Thx for the reply