### Answer Pronunciation inconsistencies with certain words are a known challenge. Retell AI does support a

pronunciation_dictionary

setting that allows you to specify custom pronunciations using IPA phonemes. [(1) ]() Here's the expected format for the pronunciation dictionary:

json
"pronunciation_dictionary": [
  {
    "word": "actually",
    "alphabet": "ipa",
    "phoneme": "ˈæktʃuəli"
  }
]

For "Reno," you'd want to add an entry with the correct IPA phoneme (something like

ˈriːnoʊ

for "REE-noh") . A few things to verify: 1. Correct IPA notation – Make sure the phoneme you're using accurately represents the desired pronunciation. 2. Voice compatibility – The pronunciation dictionary is currently only supported for English and 11labs voices. 3. Spelling match – The

word

field must exactly match how "Reno" appears in your prompts/responses. If you've configured it correctly and it's still inconsistent, this may be related to how the TTS model interprets context. A community member reported a similar issue where pronunciation modifiers weren't fully consistent, and the suggestion was that locking pronunciation at the audio/SSML level (rather than just text prompt) can help achieve 100% consistency. [(2) ]() Could you share what IPA phoneme you're currently using for "Reno" so I can help verify it's correct?

Feel free to tag @AI Evy with additional questions. I also appreciate feedback, it helps me improve.

​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Update Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/update-agent) [[2] Discord message from @grumbledor1991 on 2026-01-03](https://discord.com/channels/1186424376300679209/1186462578310910112/1457106369437241414) ​

### Answer No, the

pronunciation_dictionary

is not intended to go in the prompt. It's a separate agent-level configuration field that you can set either through the dashboard (which you're already using) or via the API. [(1) ]() The API format looks like this:

json
"pronunciation_dictionary": [
  {
    "word": "actually",
    "alphabet": "ipa",
    "phoneme": "ˈæktʃuəli"
  }
]

If you've already configured pronunciation in the dashboard control panel, that should be the same setting. A few important limitations to note: - This feature only works with English agents using 11labs voices that have the *eleven turbo v2 (English only) * voice model selected. [(2) ]() - One community member reported that pronunciation settings weren't carrying over to voicemails even when working correctly for regular calls. [(3) ]() If your dashboard setting looks correct but "Reno" is still inconsistent, double-check that: 1. Your voice model is set to eleven turbo v2 2. The IPA phoneme accurately represents the pronunciation you want Could you confirm which voice model you're using?

​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Update Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/update-agent) [[2] Pronunciation](https://discord.com/channels/1186424376300679209/1350295512984588329) [[3] pronunciations issues](https://discord.com/channels/1186424376300679209/1231651289201508502) ​

Feel free to tag @AI Evy with additional questions. I also appreciate feedback, it helps me improve.

It seems like it may be working now. I added a few extra spellings to cover my bases, and I think that defeated the odd mispronounciation it was dropping in

### Answer Great to hear that adding multiple spelling variations resolved the inconsistent pronunciation! That's a solid approach—since the

pronunciation_dictionary

matches against the exact

word

field, covering different ways "Reno" might appear in your agent's responses helps ensure the IPA phoneme gets applied consistently. [(1) ]() If you run into any other pronunciation edge cases, the same strategy of adding variations should help. Let me know if anything else comes up!

​ To learn more, see the sources I considered: [[1] Update Voice Agent](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/update-agent) ​

Feel free to tag @AI Evy with additional questions. I also appreciate feedback, it helps me improve.