The Evolution Of Speech Technology
The past several years represent some of the most exciting advancements in human history, with the degree of innovation increasingly exponentially relative to previous centuries.
Among the numerous innovations to make their way to the commercial space, text to speech converter is a software as a service (SaaS) has grown especially popular, particularly as society transitions into a predominantly oral, rather than written culture.
This particular SaaS has many benefits, including improved educational opportunities, accessibility options, and communication enhancements.
Education
One of the first major benefits of text to speech software that comes to mind is improved educational opportunities. Reading has been widely acknowledged as an important activity for stimulating cognitive development, but it is oftentimes an activity pursued by few. With the introduction of audiobooks, more individuals were able to enjoy reading in a different medium, including those who had long commutes otherwise filled with mindless music.
Additionally, since text to speech software has rapidly evolved over the past several years, numerous languages can now be converted from text to speech. Individuals curious about the pronunciation of particular words now have the chance to develop a stronger familiarity with foreign languages. For example, suppose a new resident in Florida wants to learn basic Spanish to communicate at various cafes and restaurants, and while they can physically read the menu, they do not have any idea of
Accessibility
In addition to the educational benefits offered by text to speech software, accessibility options have greatly improved, particularly for the visually impaired. Oftentimes, websites will have visitors complete a test proving that they are not a robot, and common tests include typing in a series of letters and numbers on the page that human eyes can easily see.
However, if someone is visually impaired, then it would be difficult, if not impossible, to complete this test. With text to speech software, someone who suffers from visual impairment can enjoy more accessibility options, and some web pages could embed the capability for text to be read out loud to them. In essence, text to speech software allows equal opportunity access to public websites.
Communication
Text to speech software is also quite useful for communications, particularly since texting has become far more commonplace than phone calls. Ironically, it is also more difficult for audiences to physically type out messages on a phone, due to small screen size, smaller keyboards, and fairly frequent movement that makes typing accurately difficult, which is why voice to text software has become increasingly popular. However, just as noted in the discussion on accessibility, visually impaired individuals will not be able to read a small text. Since text to speech software enables a typed message to convert to speech, they can enjoy optimal access to modern communication mediums.
Final Considerations
The gradual transition into a primarily oral culture is ironic, given that the origins of human history reveal society to be largely oral, rather than written, in nature. In fact, the advancement of Europe and other civilizations was often judged by the degree of literacy and written correspondence that began to pervade society and formalize higher education. Now, just a couple of centuries after the Age of Enlightenment, humanity is trending back towards a largely oral culture once more, illustrating a compelling case for the circularity of life.
