The Writer's Toolbox - Speakonia

Click to enlarge screen shot.

This is the first in a series of posts about tools that are helpful to writers - and I don't just mean the standard stuff like word processors. I mean any kind of tool; everything from computer software to electronic equipment to writers' guidebooks. This particular post is about a freeware computer program that has helped me out a lot. It's called Speakonia.

Back in 1993, I took a job as an office assistant at the county recycling and waste management agency. One of my duties was to proofread all of my boss's official correspondence, including letters to municipal recycling coordinators, press releases, and agency documentation. It was the first time I proofread someone else's writing, and I saw how easy it was for even the best technical writers to make mistakes and not catch them.

Today's word processors can do a lot when it comes to error detection. They can catch misspellings and check our grammar. But few word processors can catch other typographical errors like repeated words, and no word processor can detect accidentally omitted words, unless the omission trips the grammar checker. That's where Speakonia comes in handy.

Speakonia is a text-to-speech (TTS) reader. You copy and paste text into the program's window, click the Play button, and a computerized voice reads the text aloud to you. The program's controls allow you to adjust the voice's pitch, reading speed, and volume. You can export text to .WAV format sound files for burning audio CDs. (To unlock this feature, you have to register the program; registration is free.) You can also convert the WAVs to MP3s with a third party sound file converter. I use CDex, which is also freeware.

Another interesting feature automatically reads any text copied to the clipboard while Speakonia is active or minimized, which is useful for reading e-mails and web page text. Speakonia comes bundled with the freeware Lernout & Hauspie TTS speech engine. It's also compatible with other speech engines such as Microsoft's, which may or may not be already installed as part of your Windows operating system. If the Microsoft voices (Sam, Mary, Mike, etc.) are in Speakonia's voice selection list, then the engine is installed. If not, you can download it free from Microsoft's web site. There are other TTS voice engines available, like AT&T's Natural Voice, NeoSpeech, and Cepstral, but they aren't free.

The most useful feature of Speakonia is its Lexicon feature. Should one of the computerized voices mispronounce a word, you can use Lexicon to teach it the correct pronounciation.

While having your text read by a computerized voice may not be the same as a name actor reading text for an audiobook, it can be very handy to help you catch mistakes that your word processor can't detect. It can also give you a feel for the sound and rhythm of your text, which is handy for the purposes of editing and rewriting.

I recommend the freeware text-to-speech program Speakonia. With its handy features, it belongs in every writer's toolbox. You can download it here.

Is there something you'd like to see in a future Writer's Toolbox post? E-mail me and I'll put it up and give you credit.