Mac Dictation2 min read
Dictation
Dictation is a speech-to-text workflow where spoken words are converted into written text.
Read term
Glossary
Mallo glossary
Clear definitions for Mac dictation, voice typing, speech recognition, cleanup passes, and the workflow language around using Mallo well.
Start here
Core terms for the Mallo workflow
Speech Recognition2 min read
Local-First Speech Recognition
Local-first speech recognition keeps audio processing on your device by default instead of sending every utterance to a remote server.
Read term
Speech Recognition2 min read
Speech Recognition
Speech recognition is the system that turns spoken audio into text tokens a computer can work with.
Read term
Mac Dictation2 min read
Voice Typing
Voice typing means speaking instead of pressing keys so spoken words become typed text inside an app.
Read term
All terms
Vocabulary for setup, typing, and cleanup
26 published terms
A
Mac Dictation1 min read
Accessibility Permission
Accessibility permission lets a macOS app interact with interface elements, which can be necessary for reliable cross-app text insertion.
Read term
C
Voice Workflow2 min read
Cursor Insertion
Cursor insertion means generated text lands directly at the active caret position inside the app you are already using.
Read term
D
Mac Dictation2 min read
Dictation
Dictation is a speech-to-text workflow where spoken words are converted into written text.
Read term
Text Cleanup1 min read
Dictation History
Dictation history is the record of recent voice input results that users can revisit, copy, or recover later.
Read term
Voice Workflow1 min read
Dictation HUD
A dictation HUD is the on-screen status layer that shows whether the app is listening, processing, or ready to insert text.
Read term
Text Cleanup2 min read
Dictionary Replacement
Dictionary replacement is a rule-based text cleanup step that swaps known terms into the forms you want after speech is recognized.
Read term
F
Voice Workflow1 min read
Focus-Safe Insertion
Focus-safe insertion means inserting dictated text only when the app is confident about the active target field.
Read term
Voice Workflow1 min read
Fullscreen Overlay
A fullscreen overlay is UI that can remain visible and useful even when the user is working inside a fullscreen app.
Read term
G
Voice Workflow1 min read
Global Hotkey
A global hotkey is a shortcut that works across apps, so dictation can start without focusing a specific window first.
Read term
H
Text Cleanup1 min read
History Retention
History retention is the rule that decides how long past dictation results remain stored and accessible.
Read term
Voice Workflow1 min read
Hold-to-Talk
Hold-to-Talk means dictation runs only while you keep a shortcut pressed, giving you tight start-and-stop control.
Read term
I
Mac Dictation1 min read
Input Monitoring
Input Monitoring is the macOS permission that can allow an app to observe keyboard input for features like global shortcuts.
Read term
L
Speech Recognition2 min read
Local-First Speech Recognition
Local-first speech recognition keeps audio processing on your device by default instead of sending every utterance to a remote server.
Read term
M
Mac Dictation1 min read
Microphone Permission
Microphone permission is the macOS privacy permission that allows an app to capture audio input from the user’s mic.
Read term
Speech Recognition1 min read
Model Selection
Model selection is the product decision of choosing which speech model should handle the current dictation job.
Read term
Voice Workflow1 min read
Modifier-Only Hotkey
A modifier-only hotkey starts dictation with keys like Command or Control alone instead of a full key combination.
Read term
Mac Dictation2 min read
Multilingual Dictation
Multilingual dictation means a speech-to-text workflow can handle more than one language in real writing use.
Read term
P
Speech Recognition1 min read
Parakeet
Parakeet is NVIDIA’s ASR model family, often discussed as a high-performance speech recognition option in modern model lineups.
Read term
Q
Speech Recognition1 min read
Qwen ASR
Qwen ASR refers to the Qwen-family automatic speech recognition path used for multilingual and modern open-model dictation setups.
Read term
S
Speech Recognition2 min read
Speech Recognition
Speech recognition is the system that turns spoken audio into text tokens a computer can work with.
Read term
Speech Recognition1 min read
Speech Model
A speech model is the engine that predicts text from audio and largely determines speed, language fit, and accuracy tradeoffs.
Read term
Speech Recognition1 min read
Speech-to-Text
Speech-to-text is the process of converting spoken audio into written text.
Read term
T
Voice Workflow1 min read
Toggle Dictation
Toggle dictation starts with one shortcut press and keeps listening until the user stops it with another action.
Read term
V
Mac Dictation2 min read
Voice Typing
Voice typing means speaking instead of pressing keys so spoken words become typed text inside an app.
Read term
Mac Dictation1 min read
Voice Input
Voice input is the broad idea of using speech as an input method instead of typing by hand.
Read term
W
Speech Recognition1 min read
whisper.cpp
whisper.cpp is an on-device inference runtime used to run Whisper-family speech models locally.
Read term