When Speech Impairment and Text-to-Speech Software Collide
Today I am busily working on my presentation entitled “How POUR is Your Blog†for SOBCon 09: Biz School for Bloggers. It is a long, tedious process.
One step in the process into convert my typed text into synthesized speech. I use the TextAloud software and the voice of Kate. For the most part, Kate is amazing – for a computerized voice.
But, there are times when I need to kate-ize the text. For example, for the past tense of “readâ€, I change the text to “redâ€. Recently I discovered “refreshable†needed to be “refrshbleâ€; otherwise, Kate spoke it as “refreeshableâ€.
This morning Kate stumbled on “navigableâ€. With my speech impairment, I repeatedly said the word aloud, trying to determine the correct pronunciation. Kate just couldn’t get it!
I began laughing so hard at the ridiculousness of the situation that I couldn’t hear what Kate was saying anyway.
If Kate mangles a few words during my presentation, you’ll understand why.
If you enjoyed this post, consider buying me a chai tea latte. Thanks kindly.