TTS - What is Text-to-Speech?

Text-to-speech can be simply defined as the ability of the computer to convert text into spoken words. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal language text into speech. Any text that is available in a digital format can be translated in to text-to-speech. The quality of a speech synthesizer is often judged by its similarity to the human voice, and by its ability to be understood. With the advent of advanced software, the quality of text-to-speech has become more natural.

Initially, text-to-speech was used by the blind to listen to print materials. Today, speech synthesis is used extensively in the general population, to convey financial data, email messages, and other information over the telephone. Within the educational setting, text-to-speech provides a support to the conventional reading process.