SoftwareTextic announces real-time spoken translation of web page text
A new web-delivered service from Textic, the web text-to-speech (TTS) specialists, enables users to hear the original English text of a website translated into a spoken foreign language, alongside the foreign text in a closed caption at the top of the screen.
BERKSHIRE, UK, March 25, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A new web-delivered accessibility service from Textic, the web text-to-speech (TTS) specialists, enables users to hear the original English (USA & UK) text of a website translated into a spoken foreign language, alongside the foreign text in a closed caption at the top of the screen.
The real-time spoken translation is a key feature of new Talklets 2.5 Plus, the latest version of the accessibility technology from Textic, which includes a number of new accessibility features.
Talklets 2.5 can currently vocalize translated text in Spanish, French, German, Polish and Dutch in high-quality, life-like voices. The written translations are provided by Google, one of the best on-the-fly translation services yet developed. Further languages will be available in the near future.
"Functionality like this will not have been seen or heard before by many web users," said Paul Ayres, Chief Executive Officer at Textic. "It takes the concept of e-inclusion to a new level across language barriers, enabling potential access to English text on the internet to millions of non-English speakers and readers."
Talklets version 2.5 also includes a document "Speaker", which will convert and read aloud the text from PDF and Microsoft Word files. Many websites provide information in these formats, which are often more difficult for screen-reading technology to convert reliably into speech.
Other features of the new Talklets release include multi-browser support for all key features in Opera, Chrome and Firefox, a new fully integrated help and options screen, and additional assistance for established users of screen-readers.
The standard version of Talklets 2.5 provides instant on-the-fly text vocalisation in the native language of the website, with optional voices. A snippet of code on the web page to be vocalized is all that is required to initiate the Talklets service. The user interface can be via a skinnable "Toolbar" or selected controls from a "Toolbox" or directly via an API. Mouseover reading, word-by-word highlighting, read speed control, save as MP3 and even screen or text zoom and highlight colour are all immediately available to any visitor to a Talklets-enabled website without installing any special software.
More information about Talklets can be found at www.textic.com where visitors can also try the vocalized translation facility.