For customers using OneNote Learning Tools, Learning Tools in Word, and Read Aloud in the Editor pane in Office and the Microsoft Edge browser, this article documents ways to download new languages for the Text-to-Speech feature in different versions of Windows.
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- ListNote Speech-to-Text Notes is one of the most popular speech recognition apps for Android in the Google Play store, with more than 26,000 downloads. It combines the classic notepad functionality with voice dictation, using your phone's built-in Google Voice Search to turn voice to text while recording the audio at the same time.
- Text-to-speech: change your default voice, the speed of the voice, and preview the voice. Finally, select Get started from the Microphone section to walk through the Cortana mic setup. Install a new Text-to-Speech language in Windows 8.1.
Install a new Text-to-Speech language in Windows 10
Within Windows 10 settings, you'll download the desired language and then set your speech language.
Select the Start button, and then select Settings.
With the Windows Settings in view, select Time & Language.
Select Region & language, then select Add a language.
Choose the language you want from the list. The language will begin to install.
After the new language has been installed, select it in the Region & Language list, and then select Options.
Under Language options select the desired downloads (Language pack, Handwriting, and keyboard).
Now you'll need to change your default speech options. Begin by selecting Speech.
From here, adjust your speech options:
Speech language select the dropdown to choose your desired language.
Recognize non-native accents for this language: check the box to activate this feature.
Text-to-speech: change your default voice, the speed of the voice, and preview the voice.
Finally, select Get started from the Microphone section to walk through the Cortana mic setup.
Install a new Text-to-Speech language in Windows 8.1
On any edition of Windows 8.1, do the following:
Open Control Panel.
Click Language.
Click Add a Language.
In the list that opens, click the language you want to add, and then click the Add button at the bottom of the list.
Under the language you've added, click Download and install language pack.
Windows will download and install the language pack. You may be prompted to restart your PC.
After restarting your PC, you'll have the new language available for Text-to-Speech and the Learning Tools Immersive Reader will recognize the text on the page and read it in the correct language.
Text-to-Speech languages and voices available in Windows
Language (Region) | Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 | Windows 8 | Name | Gender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Chinese (Hong Kong) | Y | N | Tracy | Female |
Chinese (Taiwan) | Y | Y | Hanhan | Female |
Chinese (People's Republic of China) | Y | Y | Huihui | Female |
English (United States) | Y | Y | Zira | Female |
English (United States) | Y | Y | David | Male |
English (Great Britain) | Y | Y | Hazel | Female |
French (France) | Y | Y | Hortense | Female |
German (Germany) | Y | Y | Hedda | Female |
Italian (Italy) | Y | N | Elsa | Female |
Japanese (Japan) | Y | Y | Haruka | Female |
Korean (Korea) | Y | Y | Heami | Female |
Polish (Poland) | Y | N | Paulina | Female |
Portuguese (Brazil) | Y | N | Maria | Female |
Russian (Russia) | Y | N | Irina | Female |
Spanish (Mexico) | Y | N | Sabina | Female |
Spanish (Spain) | Y | Y | Helena | Female |
Third-party Text-to-Speech languages
Additional Text-to-Speech languages can be purchased from the following third-party providers:
Note: These options are provided for informational purposes only. Microsoft does not endorse any particular third-party software, nor can it offer any support for their installation and use. For help with these products, please contact their original manufacturer.
Open Source Text-to-Speech languages
Free Text-to-Speech languages are available for download from Open Source provider eSpeak. These languages work on Windows 7, but some may not yet work on Windows 8, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10. View a list of available eSpeak languages and codes for more information.
Download eSpeak languages
In your browser, visit http://espeak.sourceforge.net/download.html.
Download the 'Compiled for Windows' version, titled setup_espeak-1.48.04.exe.
When the download is finished, click Next at the first Setup screen to begin installation.
Confirm the installation path, and then click Next.
Enter the two-letter code(s) for the language(s) and flag(s) that you want to install. For example, if you wanted to add Text-to-Speech for English, Spanish, Polish, Swedish, and Czech, your screen would look like this:
To use alternate voices for a language, you can select additional commands to change various voice and pronunciation attributes. For more information, see http://espeak.sourceforge.net/voices.html. Preset voice variants can be applied to any of the language voices by appending a plus sign (+) and a variant name. The variants for male voices are +m1, +m2, +m3, +m4, +m5, +m6, and +m7. The variants for female voices are +f1, +f2, +f3, +f4, and +f5. You can also choose optional voice effects such as +croak or +whisper.
Click Next twice, and then click Install.
Speak is a built-in feature of Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote. You can use Speak to have text read aloud in the language of your version of Office.
Text-to-speech (TTS) is the ability of your computer to play back written text as spoken words. Depending upon your configuration and installed TTS engines, you can hear most text that appears on your screen in Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote. For example, if you're using the English version of Office, the English TTS engine is automatically installed. To use text-to-speech in different languages, see Using the Speak feature with Multilingual TTS.
Microsoft Text Speech Voice Software Free
To learn how to configure Excel for text-to-speech, see Converting text to speech in Excel.
Add Speak to the Quick Access Toolbar
You can add the Speak command to your Quick Access Toolbar by doing the following in Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote:
Next to the Quick Access Toolbar, click Customize Quick Access Toolbar.
Click More Commands.
In the Choose commands from list, select All Commands.
Scroll down to the Speak command, select it, and then click Add.
Click OK.
Use Speak to read text aloud
After you have added the Speak command to your Quick Access Toolbar, you can hear single words or blocks of text read aloud by selecting the text you want to hear and then clicking the Speak icon on the Quick Access Toolbar.