Why Text-to-Speech Technology for Blind Screen Reader Users Hasn't Changed in 30 Years
By
tuukkao
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Summary
The article discusses how text-to-speech (TTS) technology for blind screen reader users has remained largely unchanged for 30 years, contrasting with the rapid advancement of TTS for sighted users. It explains that this stagnation is intentional because blind users have different needs: they prioritize speed, clarity, predictability, and efficiency over natural-sounding voices. Blind users often prefer robotic-sounding voices that can be understood at extremely high speeds (800-900 words per minute), compared to the average speaking rate of 200-250 words per minute. The article explores the reasons behind these different requirements and the implications for TTS development.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledIf you're not a screen reader user yourself, you might be surprised to learn that the text to speech technology used by most blind people hasn't changed in the last 30 years.
The needs of a blind text to speech user are vastly different than those of a sighted user.
While sighted users prefer voices that are natural, conversational, and as human-like as possible, blind users tend to prefer voices that are fast, clear, predictable, and efficient.
This results in a preference among blind users for voices that sound somewhat robotic, but can be understood at high rates of speed, often upwards of 800 to 900 words per minute.
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