Google Voice Input special characters and symbols no longer working?

Question

I use Google's default voice input all the time, for texting and navigation and searching and such. Previously, if a scenario arose when I needed to include a symbol (such as an exclamation point!) or a special case, like a smiley face ":-)", I simply said these into the voice input:

text mom i love you exclamation point smiley face

used to yield

Text to: Mom 
Message: I love you! :-)

now yields:

Text to: Mom
Message: i love you exclamation point smiley face

I noticed the change after upgrading to ICS (AOKP, latest builds) but realized the issue now happens across OS usage, which I would attribute to Google's interpretation methods changing. Does anyone else have this problem or know how to fix it? I loved this feature!

Answer 1

This was fixed somehow after switching back to Cyanogenmod 7.1. Sorry I don't know exactly what caused it, but for anyone with the problem, I'd suggest flashing a more stable ROM (if you're rooted).

Answer 2

The keywords "period" "comma" "exclamation mark" and "question mark" have always worked for me using Gboard voice typing. These can be fluently integrated into your dictation and Google should insert the appropriate symbols.

However, I have found this to not be the case for other functions like "new line" and "new paragraph". I am now on Android 12 on my OnePlus 7T pro and when I hit the mic button (top right corner of gboard), the word 'Initializing' briefly appears (directly to the left of the mic button) followed by 'Speak now'. The moment I start speaking, this changes to 'Listening...'. Once I pause my speech, Google types what I said and the status returns to 'Speak now', but the microphone remains active for another second or two.

Now here's the trick: Once you start speaking and the status changes to 'Listening...', you must pause and wait for it to change back to 'Speak now' before saying 'new line' or 'new paragraph'. You must also say these by themselves without other following words. If you say these along with your speech without pausing, Google will just write them out as words. If you wait for 'Speak now', the action takes place.

I have experimented a bit and found that "enter" also works the same as "new line". It also looks like this is global so this works regardless what app you are speaking into. For example, it works in Google Keep when I want to