Incorrect Grammar Case for Dates in Microsoft TTS

Question

Hello,

I have noticed an issue with how Microsoft TTS (Text-to-Speech) handles dates in German, specifically regarding grammatical cases. When a date includes the month spelled out, the pronunciation is correct (dative case):

✅ zum 23. November 2025 → zum dreiundzwanzigsten November zweitausendfünfundzwanzig

However, when the same date is written with digits only, the case is incorrect (nominative instead of dative):

❌ zum 23.11.2025 → zum dreiundzwanzigste November zweitausendfünfundzwanzig (incorrect)

Expected pronunciation for both formats: zum dreiundzwanzigsten November zweitausendfünfundzwanzig

Could you confirm whether this is a known issue or if there are any workarounds? I appreciate your help in ensuring correct grammar in TTS output.

Best regards,
Dimitris Arampatzoglou

Answer 1

Hello @Dimitrios Arampatzoglou,

Greetings and Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

I understand that Microsoft's Text-to-Speech (TTS) service may not consistently interpret numerical date formats in German, leading to incorrect grammatical cases in pronunciation, here are few work arounds that you can try,

Implementing the Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML) <say-as> tag, which helps guide the TTS engine in interpreting and pronouncing dates correctly. By specifying interpret-as="date" with the appropriate format, you can improve pronunciation accuracy. For example, using <say-as interpret-as="date" format="dmy">23.11.2025</say-as> instructs the engine to read the date in a structured way, though it may not fully resolve the grammatical case issue in German.

Please refer this say-as element.

Also use Explicit text formatting, where you write out dates in full rather than using numerical formats. For instance, instead of "23.11.2025," writing "23. November 2025" ensures the correct dative case pronunciation.

I Hope this helps. Do let me know if you have any further queries.

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