Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. It has already proven its value as an assistive technology for people who have difficulty reading.
Voice quality
Speech synthesis voices have improved substantially in recent years. Here you can hear some samples.
Language learning tool
If speech synthesis voices get even better, speech synthesis can be a valuable tool for learning languages. That way you could hear how any word or sentence is pronounced in a certain language.
Study tool
Speech synthesis could be useful to have your study materials or your own notes read aloud to you, so you read and hear. Generally speaking, the more senses you involve while studying, the better you remember.
Reading your notes over and over to remember them, soon gets dull. In this case replaying a speech synthesised audio version a few times can be more pleasant.
Productivity tool
Speech synthesis is sometimes marketed as a productivity tool. For instance, you could let it read aloud your email or news site. I wonder if people use it that way and whether it really works as a productivity-boosting tool.
What do you think speech synthesis is valuable for? You can leave a comment.
