In-depth architectural comparison of the MCP Server Pronunciation and TinyCTO MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
MCP Server Pronunciation
Education · Local stdio
Quality: 57/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
TinyCTO
Education · Local stdio
Quality: 43/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose MCP Server Pronunciation if you need specialized Education tools running via a local process. Choose TinyCTO if your workspace requires Education integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.
Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
M
Choose MCP Server Pronunciation when:
You need dedicated capabilities in the Education domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Local MCP voice coach with English pronunciation, grammar, fluency, phoneme-level feedback, practice drills, and learner-profile hints. Install via uvx mcp-server-pronunciation@0.3.0.
A free curriculum for CTOs and engineering leaders: 9 tracks, 81 lessons, sorted by company size. Also available as an MCP server for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or ChatGPT.
Record the user speaking, transcribe it, and return the transcript plus quick
English feedback. This is the primary tool for voice conversations: call it,
read the transcript + feedback, then respond conversationally in your own
words — weaving the feedback in naturally or mentioning it only if it matters.
Recording auto-stops when the user finishes speaking (silence detection).
Use this tool when:
- The user wants to chat with you by voice instead of typing
- The user wants casual English feedback while talking with you
- You want to hear what the user said rather than read a typed message
For a focused drill where the user reads a specific sentence, use `practice`
instead.
Args:
target_hint: Optional. Only set this if the user is explicitly trying
to say a specific sentence (e.g. they asked "how do I say X?" and
you told them X). Leave blank for free-form conversation.
duration: Maximum recording duration in seconds (default 30, max 120).
Auto-stops earlier on silence.
Returns:
Markdown report containing the user's transcript, brief English feedback
(pronunciation + grammar + fluency), and a 'For Claude' section with
guidance on how to respond.
practice
Drill mode: the user reads a specific sentence aloud and gets a detailed
pronunciation assessment. Use this when the user explicitly wants to
practice reading a particular sentence, not for free-form chat.
For voice conversation with casual feedback, use `converse` instead.
Recording auto-stops when the user finishes speaking.
Args:
reference_text: The sentence the user will read aloud.
duration: Maximum recording duration in seconds (default 15, max 120).
Returns:
Detailed pronunciation assessment report.
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
MCP Server Pronunciation is categorized under Education and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, TinyCTO belongs to Education using local stdio subprocess. Select MCP Server Pronunciation when you need capabilities focused on education and TinyCTO when you require tools for education.
Retry the last sentence the user was practicing.
Re-records and re-assesses using the same reference text from the previous
`practice` or `converse` call. Use this to let the user try again after
getting feedback.
Args:
duration: Maximum recording duration in seconds (default 15, max 120).
Returns:
Pronunciation assessment report for the new attempt.
quick_practice
Pick a random practice sentence and drill it immediately.
Combines `suggest_sentence` + `practice` into one step: picks a sentence
matching the criteria, then records and assesses.
Args:
focus: Phoneme focus area. Options: "th", "f_v", "r_l", "vowels", "general".
If not specified, picks randomly.
difficulty: Difficulty level. Options: "beginner", "intermediate", "advanced".
If not specified, picks randomly.
duration: Maximum recording duration in seconds (default 15, max 120).
Returns:
The sentence to read, followed by the pronunciation assessment.
suggest_sentence
Suggest a practice sentence the user can read aloud.
Args:
focus: Phoneme focus area. Options: "th", "f_v", "r_l", "vowels", "general".
If not specified, picks randomly.
difficulty: Difficulty level. Options: "beginner", "intermediate", "advanced".
If not specified, picks randomly.
Returns:
A practice sentence with its focus area and difficulty.
record
Record audio from the microphone without assessing it.
Recording auto-stops when the user finishes speaking (silence detection).
The duration is the maximum time — you don't have to wait the full duration.
Most of the time prefer `converse` or `practice`, which record AND analyze
in one step. Only use `record` alone if you want the raw WAV file.
Args:
duration: Maximum recording duration in seconds (default 10, max 120).
Returns:
Path to the recorded WAV file.
assess
Assess the last recording (or a specific audio file) without re-recording.
When `reference_text` is provided, the assessor:
- Aligns the user's speech to the reference word-by-word (Needleman-Wunsch;
single deletions/insertions no longer cascade into phantom substitutions).
- Runs wav2vec2 CTC forced alignment to verify which reference words the
user actually produced — mitigates Whisper-bias mistranscriptions on
rare proper nouns and domain terms by checking acoustic evidence
against the reference directly.
- Surfaces per-word phoneme-level feedback (expected vs produced IPA,
weak phonemes) from CMUdict.
- Surfaces optional learner-profile pronunciation hints and drills when
a rule pack matches. The bundled profile includes Korean-L1 patterns
such as r/l, th→s, final cluster deletion, and intrusive onset vowel.
- Adds prosody notes: word-stress placement, sentence-final rising
intonation on declaratives, intra-clause hesitation pauses.
Without a reference, only the transcript and prosody run.
Args:
reference_text: Expected text the user was trying to say (optional).
audio_path: Path to a WAV file. Uses the last recording if not specified.
Returns:
Detailed pronunciation assessment report (markdown).
check_mic
List available audio input devices and verify microphone access.
Use this if the user reports recording problems — it shows which devices
are available and which one is the default.
Returns:
List of available microphone devices.
TinyCTO Tools (0)
No explicit tool names declared in metadata yet. Check project README on main listing page.