Text to Speech

Have your text read aloud using your browser's built-in speech engine.

Text to Speech speeds up a small but time-consuming task that comes up often when working with text. Text to Speech completes this text task in seconds, without the manual back-and-forth. Everything runs in your browser — your file or text is never uploaded to a server.

Step-by-step

Type or paste the text you want to hear into the 'Text' box. Start with a couple of sentences the first time so you can quickly judge whether the voice works for you.
Make sure your device volume is up and your headphones or speakers are the active output.
Click 'Run'. The text is read aloud by your browser's own speech engine.
If you hear nothing, try another browser. The available voices depend on both the browser and the operating system.

Example

You've written the script for a talk you're giving tomorrow. Listening to it read back makes long, breathless sentences obvious in a way silent reading often doesn't. Repeated words and the odd typo also tend to jump out when you hear them rather than see them.

Another use is getting a rough idea of how a passage in another language sounds. Voice quality depends on your browser, so treat it as a quick check, not a replacement for a teacher or a pronunciation dictionary.

Using text-to-speech effectively

Proofreading: Hearing text read aloud catches long sentences, repetition and typos more easily than seeing them.
Presentation rehearsal: Gauge the length and flow of your script by listening.
Accessibility: Helpful for users who find reading hard or want to rest their eyes.
Language practice: Gives an idea of pronunciation, but as a computer voice it does not replace a teacher.

Why do the voices differ?

The tool uses your browser's built-in speech engine (the Web Speech API). Available voices depend on the browser, the operating system and installed language packs, so the same text can sound different on a computer and a phone. If a voice for your language is missing, try adding one in your device's language and speech settings.

Tips

Split long texts into sections; some browsers may pause on very long text.
Writing abbreviations and numbers out in words can improve pronunciation.
Listen once to hard-to-pronounce words and rephrase them if needed.

The text is processed in your browser and not sent to DigiKitApp servers. Because speech is produced by the browser, some browsers may fetch voices from a cloud service; check your browser vendor's privacy terms.

Things to keep in mind

If no voice for the text's language is installed, the text may be read with the wrong accent. Check the language and speech settings of your operating system to add one.
Abbreviations, numbers and dates are not always read the way you expect. Spell them out in a text where it matters.
The voice is noticeably less natural than a human narrator. For a video, an ad or anything you'll publish, use proper voice-over.
On phones, silent mode can mute the playback. Check that before assuming the tool isn't working.