Speak It light - Text to speech & accents

Voice creation and text-to-speech functionality.

This is a powerful tool, though it is often utilized in unconventional ways.

Explore various English accents as well as an extensive selection of other languages.

Quickly load a foreign language engine without needing to restart the app. However, an Internet connection is required (only once for each new language).

A redesigned Bottom App Bar allows you to operate the app using one hand.

Includes an option to clear text (credit to David Garza for this idea!).

The application supports the following languages: Bengali (Bangladesh), Bengali (India), Cantonese (Hong Kong), Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Australia, India, UK, US), Estonian, Filipino, Finnish, French (Canada, France), German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Khmer (Cambodia), Korean, Nepali, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Sinhala, Slovak, Spanish (Spain, US), Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

SpeakIt ranks among the top eight applications for individuals who are deaf.

You can adjust voice pitch to low, normal, or high settings. Additionally, change the speed of the speech.

Volume control can be managed via the device’s media volume buttons.

An easy-to-access STOP button - simply click the back button to halt playback.

There is an option to save audio files for sharing via messaging apps.

An indicator is available to alert users with hearing impairments when the device is actively speaking.

You can keep voice messages organized in a list.

Record audio through the microphone.

Please note that the application must be installed directly on the internal storage of the device because it includes a Home Screen widget and Service. It cannot be transferred to an SD card.

Review: SpeakIt - The Linguistic Chameleon That Gave My Words Wings

As someone juggling multilingual projects and caring for a hearing-impaired aunt, SpeakIt became my unexpected lifeline. Its brilliance lies not just in technical prowess, but how fluidly it adapts to wildly different needs. Recording my documentary script in Taiwanese Mandarin last Tuesday, then switching instantly to Danish for a Copenhagen client call by lunch, felt like possessing a pocket-sized polyglot troupe. The true magic? Hearing my timid ESL student finally read The Hobbitaloud with confidence after syncing the UK English voice to "Slow" mode—watching her eyes light up as the visual speech indicator pulsed rhythmically revealed accessibility done right.

When my aunt received messages via the saved audio feature, she’d later replay them, tracing the vibrations of Cantonese greetings against her smartphone speaker grille. Tiny details make all the difference: the one-handed bottom bar design works flawlessly while navigating crowds, and programming the Nepali voice’s high pitchlet me prank-call my brother using perfect Kathmandu-accented jokes. But it was crafting a gruff "Pirate Captain" voice at low pitch + 0.8x speedfor my nephew’s bedtime stories that cemented this app’s genius—it doesn’t just speak; it emotes. Forget robotic drones—this is storytelling reimagined.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

Q: Can SpeakIt work offline after initial language downloads?

A: Core functionality like saved messages works offline, but loading newlanguages requires internet. Once installed locally, voices function without connection—ideal for travel.

Q: Why enforce internal storage installation instead of SD cards?

A: Home Screen widgets/services require persistent system access. SD card latency causes audio glitches, especially with longer speech outputs.

Q: How does privacy work for microphone-recorded audio?

A: Recordings are processed locally without cloud uploading. TTS conversion happens entirely on-device—your voice data neverleaves your phone.

Q: Is it genuinely useful for profound deaf users compared to sign language apps?

A: As supplemental tool—yes. The flashing speech indicator bridges audio gaps in group settings, while saving vocal messages lets hearing companions communicate visually.

Q: Why pay when Google/Apple offer free TTS?

A: Instant language switching, voice granularity (Ukrainian's normal vs high pitchoffers 4 distinct tones), and tactile controls outclass OS defaults. Plus: no mandatory accounts or data harvesting.