The comment i was replying to straight up claimed this was done with intent. I agree with you, the algorithm needs to have more context sensitivity as you say.

The comment i was replying to straight up claimed this was done with intent. I agree with you, the algorithm needs to have more context sensitivity as you say. But nobody at google is getting their rocks off making the AI mispronounce things on purpose. Especially since, as anyone who used Google Maps in multilingual areas will attest, the algorithm is awful at dealing with context in general. It mispronounces tons of things. In Belgium it will switch between dutch and french names for streets randomly. Google Maps canonicalizes my address in Dutch, so whenever i input it on a website i have to deal with it "helpfully" "correcting" it to dutch. Which makes things difficult when I have to deal with French speakers... Google Maps has a lot of problems that are causing real harm to non-us cultures, which would likely get fixed with diversity. But i would never claim these things are done on purpose.