This is great, and I would love to pursue it. But for the initial implementation on SC I would like to focus on just getting the suttas there. One step at a time! None of us have any real experience with audio, and when you start dealing with segments things get much more complicated. Nevertheless, as a long term goal, great!
Well, I think the main thing is that the files are freely available. There are different approaches to implementation, and over time these will evolve. It’s not a bad thing to try different ways. Both the sites use a very simple implementation of the actual website itself, so there is no great drama in duplicating this, or using the resources elsewhere. I did recommend to David that they back up their files on archive .org, which I think has a much better chance of lasting than Dropbox (I don’t really trust Dropbox for long term storage).
In the long term, I don’t really think a website is the best place for audio. The interface should be audio, and you should be able to say, “Computer, read me the Kalama Sutta”. Anyone want to make that happen?
fixed 4.12, by cutting and pasting “dependent” from previous sentence. However, the result is it slurs slightly, it’s not a perfect splice. But probably better than inserting a new recorded sentence that doesn’t match audio around it. uploaded and changed to PASS
i listened to 4.11 at the spot you marked (without reading the text), reading free verse has a strange cadence anyway, do you think the long pause changes the meaning? If not lets pass it.
We would be delighted to work with others to record the suttas and avoid duplication.
One of the issues I wanted to address with our recordings was how elisions were dealt with, our policy is to generally include full expansion of elisions when they relate to teaching points.
I need help on 3.2, can’t figure out if Ven. Thanissaro meant “live” as in the verb , or “live” as in the adjective “live event”. If no one has a definite answer I’ll have to look at Bodhi, pali, and other translations and figure out what he meant. cryptic poetry verse.
snp vagga 3,
uploaded 2 more, will be finished with vagga after tomorrow.
note about PL on 3.10, my pronunciation of “crores”, it’s correct. So you don’t need to search on the internet to verify. I had to stop my recording, go look up the word and pronunciation, record the ending of the sutta, then splice it an and match audio levels for the two recordings. That one word cost me more than 30 minutes of extra time and energy. I’m guessing Ven. T used that word to get a rhyme in the verse? I doubt anyone will know what the word means.
A crore is a large number that SNA calculates as equal to ten million.
Crore is a very common term in Indian finances, denoting 10 million units of currency - e.g. one crore rupees (INR) is currently equivalent to USD 146 k.
So is it a common non-American English word? A British word exported to colonial India? I’ve never seen that word used in American finance contexts or American English in any context.
vagga 3 , 12 suttas, done recording and ready for PL.
There are a few large suttas in here, some of them seem to be long as the entire 4th or 5th vagga. They seem like they belong more in DN or MN collection, especially snp3.12, which ends with 60 monks becoming arahants. 60 arahant grand finales only happens a handful of suttas, such as MN 148. And they are a Theravada fabrication most likely, since the agama parallels of those suttas are identical, but without the 60 monks becoming arahants at the end.
I think to have a choice of readings is really important. There are a considerable amount of variables which will give each set of readings a unique quality.
When we were discussing the project we considered various issues including choice of translation, reading style, readers voice, how to introduce and end the sutta’s, how to deal with elisions and pronunciation of Pali words.
I agree. The more the better! That said, since there is a very limited number of producers, it would be great if the order in which the suttas are produced tend not to be redundant so we can try to make a first pass through getting at least one human voice audio recording for all the important suttas. Also if we can try to follow consistent standards in the metadata, the suttas from different producers could sort together properly in mp3 and media players. We can continue discussion in the other thread.
3.1: fixed, sounds a little jarring, but not a big deal in the overall scheme of things. uploaded, verified that change is there.
3.2: i’ll trust you on this, i chose the version you recommended, uploaded, verified that change is there.
5 down, 7 more suttas to go and Snp will be complete!
on 4.3, I listened to it, I’m going to pass it. I agree with the point you’re making, it can dangle and make it seem like it’s attaching to the next sentence when it should be the previous.
I’m going to pass it because even if I fix it, it’s still not so easy to comprehend (verses in poetry can be inherently difficult that way). And the process of fixing it, while not hard, involves the risk I make a mistake somewhere and cause much worse problems. The process involves I have to delete the flac and mp3 on archive.org, fix the changes on my source flac and mp3, reupload it, and verify that subtle change I made survived. Not worth the risk reward profile IMO. Yes, I’m also just lazy.
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Yes, I’m also just lazy.