Speech synthesizers installed on computers or mobile devices no longer seem to be such unusual programs as before. Thanks to modern technology, a regular desktop PC can reproduce the human voice.
How do speech synthesizers work? Where are they used? What is the best speech synthesizer? The answers to these and other questions are presented in this article.
General concept
Speech synthesizers are special programs consisting of a number of modules that provide the ability to translate typed texts into sentences spoken by a human voice. You should not think that the entire database of words and phrases was recorded by real people in professional studios. It is physically impossible to complete such a task. A library with such a large number of phrases cannot be installed on any modern computer, let alone mobile phones. For this purpose, the developers created Text-to-Speech technology.
Scope of application
Speech synthesizers are used in learning foreign languages, listening to texts on the pages of books, creating vocal parts, issuing search queries in the form of spoken phrases, etc.
What types of programs are there? Depending on the scope of application, utilities can be divided into 2 types: regular ones that convert typed text into speech, and special vocal modules used in music applications.
Advantages and Disadvantages
At the moment, the computer synthesizes human speech only approximately. In the simplest programs, you can observe problems with sound and the correct placement of stress in various words. Speech synthesizers installed on mobile devices consume a lot of energy. It is often possible to note unauthorized downloading of additional modules.
The advantages include ease of perception. Many users find it much easier to assimilate audio information than any other kind.
The best speech synthesizers with Russian voices
The RHVoice program was created by Olga Yakovleva. The standard version of the application includes 3 voices. The settings are very simple. The program can be used both as a stand-alone application, compatible with SAPI5, and as an additional screen module.
The Acapela speech synthesizer differs from its analogues in its ideal text pronunciation. The application supports more than 30 languages of the world. In the free version, only 1 female voice is available.
Vocalizer is often used in call centers. The user can adjust the emphasis, volume and reading speed. Additional dictionaries are loaded if necessary. There is 1 female voice in the application. The speech engine is automatically integrated into programs for reading books in electronic format.
The eSpeak utility supports over 50 languages. The disadvantage of the program is that it saves sound files only in WAV format, which requires a lot of space on your hard drive.
The Festival application is a powerful speech synthesis utility that even supports Finnish and Hindi.
Installing the program
How to use this type of application? First you need to install the program. Computer operating systems use a standard installer, in which the user only has to select the language module supported by the utility. The installer for mobile devices can be downloaded from the official website, Google Play, and the App Store. Installation of the application occurs automatically.
First launch of the program
At this stage, the user just needs to set the default language. Sometimes you need to note the sound quality. The standard version implies a sampling frequency of 4410 Hz, a depth of 16 bits and a bit rate of 128 kbps. In mobile OS, the figures may be lower. A specific voice is used as a basis.
Filters and equalizers help you achieve the desired sound. The user has three options for text translation. He can type sentences on the keyboard, turn on the audio of an existing file, or install a browser extension that converts content on web pages into speech. It is enough to note the required course of action, the timbre of the voice and the language in which the text will be spoken. To start the playback process, click on the “Start” button.
Working with complex programs
In music applications, settings are much more complex. In the speech module of the FL Studio program, the user can select several types of voices, as well as specify the tone and playback speed. Stresses are placed before syllables using the “_” symbol. With the help of such a speech synthesizer, you can only create a robotic voice.
Vocaloid is a professional type application. In addition to the usual parameters, the user can select articulation and glissando. The utility has a database with professional vocals. If desired, you can adjust entire sentences to fit the notes. The library with vocals alone takes up more than 4 GB in compressed form.
"Google Speech Synthesizer": what is this program?
In May 2014, the company provided users with the opportunity to try out a new free product. What is Google Speech Synthesizer on Android? This is a program that reads text on the screen of a mobile device or tablet. Now there is no need to install third-party utilities that require a license. "Google Speech Synthesizer" is used when reading e-books, listening to the correct pronunciation of words, and launching the TalkBack application.
The new version of the Google Speech Synthesizer 3.1 program now supports English, Italian, Spanish, Korean, German, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and French. Where can I find voice packs? They are downloaded from the application itself.
Advantages and disadvantages of the product from Google
The peculiarities of the Russian-speaking female voice are its clear, loud sound and smooth intonation. Playback speed can be adjusted in the program settings. Users using TalkBack and the Russian language localization of the Android OS should exercise caution when switching to the speech synthesizer if the application was previously set to a different voice by default. You may have trouble maintaining auditory control of your mobile device. Almost all voices, except Russian, are unable to process sentences in Cyrillic.
Among the disadvantages, one can note a delayed reaction to reading texts consisting of phrases in different languages. The Russian voice is distinguished by metallic notes of timbre. You may hear a rattling sound at low frequencies. The advantages include the stability of the application and acceptable quality of reading English words.
"Google Speech Synthesizer": how to use the program
In order for the utility to work as it should, you need to update it to the latest version. To activate the process of speaking text, you need to open the settings. In the “language and input” section, you need to check the “speech synthesis” box. The line “default system” should also be noted. Don't forget that the voice packages in the program itself also need to be updated.
Problems when working with the utility
If necessary, the user can disable the application. In the simplest utilities, the stop button is located in the program itself. Deactivating an extension installed in the browser is done by disabling the add-on or completely removing the plugin. Problems may also arise when using the program on a mobile phone. The fact is that the speech synthesizer automatically starts loading language modules that the user does not need.
This process takes a lot of time and significantly consumes traffic. How can I disable Google Speech Synthesizer on my mobile device and get rid of this problem? First you need to open the application settings. Then you need to select the “language and voice input” section. Next you need to mark the last line.
Having selected voice search, you should click on the cross next to the “offline speech recognition” item. Then it is recommended to delete the application cache. Next you need to restart your mobile phone. To completely disable the utility, you need to open the “applications” section in the settings, select a speech synthesizer from the list and click on the “stop” button.
Uninstalling a program
It happens that the user does not use Google Speech Synthesizer at all. Is it possible to remove the utility from a mobile device? To do this you need to open Google Play. Then you should select the speech synthesizer from the list of installed programs and click on the “delete” button.
Results
Applications with a simple interface are suitable for ordinary users and people with disabilities. This can be either RHVoice or Google Speech Synthesizer. A Russian voice will read the text displayed on the screen. The average user does not need more.
Musicians are recommended to give preference to the professional Vocaloid program. The application has additional voice libraries and many different options. The program will allow you to get a natural sounding voice. After all, it is so important for musicians that computer synthesis is not perceptible to the ear.
Here is a high-quality speech synthesizer that does its job perfectly. Thanks to a huge number of additional options, you can customize the program to your liking.
Characteristic
This is a high-quality utility that perfectly copes with its primary functions. It accurately recognizes any text and reproduces it. It is possible to customize the application in detail, as it provides many additional options.
The program uses third-party engines to reproduce speech. The utility not only recognizes the text, but also the language in which it is written. The voice with which a particular file will be read will depend on the installed engine. The latter, by the way, can be downloaded for free in the official store.
Peculiarities
The main advantage of this program, among others, is that it works very quickly and does not load the device at all. The application is easy to use thanks to its simplified interface. If you have any questions, you can always refer to the built-in help. Here is a brief summary of all the features and settings of the program. In addition, immediately after the first launch of the utility, a short training session will await you. The user can adjust the reading speed and many other parameters. You can pause playback at any time.
From our website you can download Speech synthesizer on Android for free without registration and SMS.
It is no longer news that mobile and computer technologies open up enormous opportunities for ordinary users. With the help of a navigator, we will never get lost in a foreign city, a special search engine will indicate the location of hotels, gyms and cafes, and an electronic notebook will remind us of business and meetings. Thanks to a smartphone and the right application, we are now not afraid to find ourselves even in another country, not knowing its language well. Do you know why? Because there is a program Speech synthesizer from Google.
Google's speech synthesizer is an assistant and teacher.
True or not?
Can he really help us, or is this just a nice publicity stunt? In fact, by installing this application, we have the opportunity to ask for the necessary information in the languages that are listed in the program. These are traditional English, German, Spanish, French, etc. (about 17 foreign options). The main feature and convenience is that there are different dialects. For example, English is presented separately in the American version (this also applies to Spanish).
How to properly use all the functions of the program. Install it, choose your language in which you will write phrases that require translation. This can be done by going to the menu and selecting Settings. Then – “language selection” and find the category – “speech synthesis”. Choose what you need. By the way, you can get version updates by following the same principle (settings, language selection, speech synthesis, updates).
Then everything is quite simple.
For example, you need to know how to find a train station. You must ask in English. Login to your cool app. Write in Russian words everything you want to know, select the language in which the question will be spoken, and press the speaker. After a couple of seconds, your smartphone will play English speech. The same principle with other languages. You can choose whether a male or female voice will broadcast from your phone.
If you are not planning to travel abroad in the near future, but want to learn a set of phrases that may be useful to you in the future, the synthesizer will be an excellent assistant for this. You will not only see what words look like in a sentence (visually learn new ones), but you will also know how to correctly pronounce what is written on the screen. So, we can safely call the program educational.
The phone will reproduce a lot of useful information.
In addition to the translation and its playback, we can listen to any other information that is shown on the screen. So, we can “read aloud” books from Google Play. Of course, all the features of the application are well used and work with the Play Market and everything that is on this resource.
For blind and visually impaired users of Android devices, the main source of information about what is happening on the screen is a speech synthesizer. Until support for haptic displays is fully developed and debugged, it is of great importance for users with special needs.
Many speech synthesizers have been released for the Android OS, but not all have support for the Russian language. The main problem is multilingual texts, which some voice engines find difficult to handle. Let's look at the main TTS systems.
Acapela TTS Voices
One of the most popular multilingual speech synthesizers from Acapela Group is also available for Android. Synthesized voices are characterized by high speech quality and good stability.
The Acapela TTS Voices engine can be easily found and installed from the Play Market. The program is free, but after its first launch you will be offered to buy and install the Russian voice “Alyona” costing 3.99 €.
SVOX Classic TTS
In second place among commercial engines is SVOX Classic TTS. The synthesized speech is of good quality, but the program sometimes does not recognize capital Latin letters. Questions also arise in reading numbers.
There is a free trial version of the Russian voice on the Play Market, which you can freely download and test for 2 weeks.
eSpeak
Thanks to the Eyes-Free Project group, the cross-platform Open-Source synthesizer eSpeak, which supports the Russian language, was ported to the Android OS, starting with version 1.6. Compared to commercial programs, the speed and quality of speech are not very high, but quite acceptable.
Initial setup
After installing TTS, you need to make its initial settings. We go in this sequence:
- "Settings";
- "Language and keyboard";
- "Speech synthesis".
Using Narrator
For Android version 3.2 and higher, Google developers have released the TalkBack utility, which is similar in functionality to “Screen Narrator” for Windows. Starting with Android Jelly Bean, the application is reinstalled on the system and activated from “Settings” - “Accessibility”. To start, move the slider to the “On” position.
TalkBack features:
- Listing of elements on the monitor with their simultaneous description;
- Voice notifications about ongoing events;
- Notification about calls and SMS messages;
- Audio and vibration feedback from the device.
In its work, the utility uses the TTS interface installed on the system by default. And although TalkBack is already a system program, it still has one drawback - visual control is required for initial activation, so make sure that a friend or family member is present when you first try out the application!
Control your Android device with TalkBack
For devices with Android 4.0 and older, control is possible by listening to screen elements that are directly under the finger when it moves. To do this, turn on the Explore by touch option in TalkBack settings.
After switching on, a demo video will start in two parts, allowing you to learn.
Google Speech Synthesizer for Android is a popular and useful program that speaks text on the device screen. You can download it for free in Russian below. This may be useful to you for the read-aloud function, which can be used in conjunction with Google Play Books. You can also learn foreign languages with this program. You will be able to voice unfamiliar words and understand their pronunciation. If you use the function TalkBack, or others similar to it, then with Google speech synthesizer for Android will voice your actions with your smartphone.
You can search the market for other applications that work with Google Text-to-Speech. To install the program, just download it for free below. After installation, go to "Settings" - the "Languages and input" tab - and "Speech synthesis". If it's enabled, then you can simply update it. The application supports a large number of languages, including Russian.
Features of Google Speech Synthesizer for Android:
- Convenient interface and settings;
- Voiceover of books in Russian voice;
- Voice selection: male/female voice;
- Easy setup;
- Support by third party applications;
- Constant updating and improvement;
- Large database of speech, including Russian.
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