Definition: text-to-speech

Converting text into voice output using speech synthesis techniques. Although initially used by the blind to listen to written material, it is now used extensively to convey financial data, email messages and other information via telephone for everyone. Text-to-speech is also used by GPS navigation systems to announce the next turn when giving directions.

Early text-to-speech (TTS) systems had a very robotic sound; however, with the advent of high-speed chips and advanced software techniques, text-to-speech has become very natural. See screen reader, IVR and sign-to-speech.

Text-to-Speech in the Microsoft Edge Browser

Edge's Read Aloud feature allows the user to right click into the text of any Web page and listen to the content. The highlighted word in yellow is the current word being spoken. The red arrow points to a Pause button that appears immediately after Read Aloud begins. See Edge browser.