| Framework |
ApplicationServices/ApplicationServices.h |
| Declared in | SpeechSynthesis.h |
The Speech Synthesis Manager, formerly called the Speech Manager, is the part of the Mac OS that provides a standardized method for Mac OS X applications to generate synthesized speech. For example, you may want your application to incorporate the capability to speak its dialog box messages to the user. A word-processing application might use the Speech Synthesis Manager to implement a command that speaks a selected section of a document to the user. Because sound samples can take up large amounts of room on disk, using text in place of sampled sound is extremely efficient. For example, a multimedia application might use the Speech Synthesis Manager to provide a narration of a QuickTime movie instead of including sampled-sound data on a movie track.
Mac OS X v10.5 introduces native support for performing speech synthesis tasks using Core Foundation-based objects, such as speaking text represented as CFString objects and managing speech channel properties using a CFDictionary-based property dictionary. You should begin using these Core Foundation-based programming interfaces as soon as it’s convenient, because future synthesizers will accept Core Foundation strings and data structures directly through the speech synthesis framework. In the meantime, existing buffer-based clients and synthesizers will continue to work as before, with strings and other data structures getting automatically converted as necessary.
CopySpeechProperty
GetSpeechInfo
GetSpeechPitch
GetSpeechRate
SpeechBusy
SpeechBusySystemWide
SpeechManagerVersion
ContinueSpeech
PauseSpeechAt
SpeakBuffer
SpeakString
SpeakCFString
SpeakText
StopSpeech
StopSpeechAt
DisposeSpeechDoneUPP
DisposeSpeechErrorUPP
DisposeSpeechPhonemeUPP
DisposeSpeechSyncUPP
DisposeSpeechTextDoneUPP
DisposeSpeechWordUPP
InvokeSpeechDoneUPP
InvokeSpeechErrorUPP
InvokeSpeechPhonemeUPP
InvokeSpeechSyncUPP
InvokeSpeechTextDoneUPP
InvokeSpeechWordUPP
NewSpeechDoneUPP
NewSpeechErrorUPP
NewSpeechPhonemeUPP
NewSpeechSyncUPP
NewSpeechTextDoneUPP
NewSpeechWordUPP
Resumes speech paused by the PauseSpeechAt function.
OSErr ContinueSpeech ( SpeechChannel chan );
The paused speech channel on which speech is to be resumed.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
At any time after the PauseSpeechAt function
is called, the ContinueSpeech function
can be called to continue speaking from the beginning of the word
in which speech paused. Calling ContinueSpeech on
a channel that is not currently in a paused state has no effect
on the speech channel or on future calls to the PauseSpeechAt function.
If you call ContinueSpeech on
a channel before a pause is effective, ContinueSpeech cancels
the pause.
If the PauseSpeechAt function
stopped speech in the middle of a word, the Speech Synthesis Manager
will start speaking that word from the beginning when you call ContinueSpeech.
SpeechSynthesis.hConverts the specified text string into its equivalent phonemic representation.
OSErr CopyPhonemesFromText ( SpeechChannel chan, CFStringRef text, CFStringRef *phonemes );
A speech channel whose associated synthesizer and properties are to be used in the conversion process.
The text from which to extract phonemic data.
On return, a CFString object that contains the extracted phonemic data. The caller is responsible for releasing this object.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The CopyPhonemesFromText function is the Core Foundation-based equivalent of the TextToPhonemes function.
Converting textual data into phonemic data is particularly useful during application development, when you might wish to adjust phrases that your application generates to produce smoother speech. By first converting the target phrase into phonemes, you can see what the synthesizer will try to speak. Then you need correct only the parts that would not have been spoken the way you want.
The data the CopyPhonemesFromText function stores in the phonemes parameter corresponds precisely to the phonemes that would be spoken had the input text been sent to SpeakCFString instead. All current property settings for the speech channel specified by chan are applied to the converted speech. No callbacks are generated while the CopyPhonemesFromText function is generating its output.
SpeechSynthesis.hGets the value associated with the specified property of a speech channel.
OSErr CopySpeechProperty ( SpeechChannel chan, CFStringRef property, CFTypeRef *object );
The speech channel with which the specified property is associated.
A speech-channel property about which information is being requested. See “Speech-Channel Properties” for information on the properties you can specify.
On return, a pointer to a Core Foundation object that holds the value of the specified property. The type of the object depends on the specific property passed in. For some properties, the value of object can be NULL. When the returned object is a CFDictionary object, you can use CFDictionary functions, such as CFDictionaryGetValue, to retrieve the values associated with the keys that are associated with the specified property.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The CopySpeechProperty function is the Core Foundation-based equivalent of the GetSpeechInfo function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDetermines how many voices are available.
OSErr CountVoices ( SInt16 *numVoices );
On exit, a pointer to the number of voices that the application can use.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The CountVoices function
returns, in the numVoices parameter,
the number of voices available. The application can then use this
information to call the GetIndVoice function
to obtain voice specification structures for one or more of the
voices.
Each time CountVoices is
called, the Speech Synthesis Manager searches for new voices.
SpeechSynthesis.hDisposes of an existing speech channel.
OSErr DisposeSpeechChannel ( SpeechChannel chan );
The speech channel to dispose of.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The DisposeSpeechChannel function
disposes of the speech channel specified in the chan parameter
and releases all memory the channel occupies. If the speech channel
specified is producing speech, then the DisposeSpeechChannel function
immediately stops speech before disposing of the channel. If you
have defined a text-done callback function or a speech-done callback
function, the function will not be called before the channel is disposed
of.
The Speech Synthesis Manager releases any speech channels that have not been explicitly disposed of by an application when the application quits. In general, however, your application should dispose of any speech channels it has created whenever it receives a suspend event. This ensures that other applications can take full advantage of Speech Synthesis Manager and Sound Manager capabilities.
SpeechSynthesis.hDisposes of a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a speech-done callback function.
void DisposeSpeechDoneUPP ( SpeechDoneUPP userUPP );
The UPP to dispose of.
SpeechSynthesis.hDisposes of a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to an error callback function.
void DisposeSpeechErrorUPP ( SpeechErrorUPP userUPP );
The UPP to dispose of.
SpeechSynthesis.hDisposes of a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a phoneme callback function.
void DisposeSpeechPhonemeUPP ( SpeechPhonemeUPP userUPP );
The UPP to dispose of.
SpeechSynthesis.hDisposes of a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a synchronization callback function.
void DisposeSpeechSyncUPP ( SpeechSyncUPP userUPP );
The UPP to dispose of.
SpeechSynthesis.hDisposes of a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a text-done callback function.
void DisposeSpeechTextDoneUPP ( SpeechTextDoneUPP userUPP );
The UPP to dispose of.
SpeechSynthesis.hDisposes of a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a word callback function.
void DisposeSpeechWordUPP ( SpeechWordUPP userUPP );
The UPP to dispose of.
SpeechSynthesis.hGets a voice specification structure for a voice by
passing an index to the GetIndVoice function.
OSErr GetIndVoice ( SInt16 index, VoiceSpec *voice );
The index of the voice for which to obtain
a voice specification structure. This number must range from 1 to
the total number of voices, as returned by the CountVoices function.
A pointer to the voice specification structure whose fields are to be filled in.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The GetIndVoice function
returns, in the voice specification structure pointed to by the voice parameter,
a specification of the voice whose index is provided in the index parameter.
Your application should make no assumptions about the order in which
voices are indexed.
Your application should not add, remove, or modify a voice
and then call the GetIndVoice function
with an index value other than 1. To allow the Speech Synthesis
Manager to update its information about voices, your application
should always either call the CountVoices function
or call the GetIndVoice function
with an index value of 1 after adding, removing, or modifying a
voice or after a time at which the user might have done so.
If you specify an index value beyond the number of available
voices, the GetIndVoice function
returns a voiceNotFound error.
SpeechSynthesis.hGets information about a designated speech channel.
OSErr GetSpeechInfo ( SpeechChannel chan, OSType selector, void *speechInfo );
The speech channel about which information is being requested.
A speech information selector that indicates the type of information being requested.
For a complete list
of speech information selectors, see “Speech-Channel Information Constants.”
This list indicates how your application should set the speechInfo parameter
for each selector.
A pointer whose meaning depends on the speech
information selector specified in the selector parameter.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The GetSpeechInfo function
returns, in the data structure pointed to by the speechInfo parameter,
the type of information requested by the selector parameter
as it applies to the speech channel specified in the chan parameter.
The format of the data structure specified by the speechInfo parameter
depends on the selector you choose. For example, a selector might
require that your application allocate a block of memory of a certain
size and pass a pointer to that block. Another selector might require
that speechInfo be set
to the address of a handle variable. In this case, the GetSpeechInfo function
would allocate a relocatable block of memory and change the handle
variable specified to reference the block.
SpeechSynthesis.hGets a speech channel’s current speech pitch.
OSErr GetSpeechPitch ( SpeechChannel chan, Fixed *pitch );
The speech channel whose pitch you wish to determine.
On return, a pointer to the current pitch of the voice in the speech channel, expressed as a fixed-point frequency value.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
Typical voice frequencies range from around 90 hertz for a low-pitched male voice to perhaps 300 hertz for a high-pitched child’s voice. These frequencies correspond to approximate pitch values in the ranges of 30.000 to 40.000 and 55.000 to 65.000, respectively.
SpeechSynthesis.hGets a speech channel’s current speech rate.
OSErr GetSpeechRate ( SpeechChannel chan, Fixed *rate );
The speech channel whose rate you wish to determine.
On return, a pointer to the speech channel’s speech rate in words per minute, expressed as an integer value.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
SpeechSynthesis.hGets a description of a voice by using the GetVoiceDescription function.
OSErr GetVoiceDescription ( const VoiceSpec *voice, VoiceDescription *info, long infoLength );
A pointer to the voice specification structure
identifying the voice to be described, or NULL to
obtain a description of the system default voice.
A pointer to a voice description structure.
If this parameter is NULL,
the function does not fill in the fields of the voice description
structure; instead, it simply determines whether the voice parameter
specifies an available voice and, if not, returns a voiceNotFound error.
The length, in bytes, of the voice description
structure. In the current version of the Speech Synthesis Manager,
the voice description structure contains 362 bytes. However, you
should always use the SizeOf function
to determine the length of this structure.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The GetVoiceDescription function
fills out the voice description structure pointed to by the info parameter
with the correct information for the voice specified by the voice parameter. It
fills in the length field
of the voice description structure with the number of bytes actually
copied. This value will always be less than or equal to the value
that your application passes in infoLength before
calling GetVoiceDescription.
This scheme allows applications targeted for the current version
of the Speech Synthesis Manager to work on future versions that
might have longer voice description structures; it also allows you
to write code for future versions of the Speech Synthesis Manager
that will also run on computers that support only the current version.
If the voice specification structure does not identify an
available voice, GetVoiceDescription returns
a voiceNotFound error.
SpeechSynthesis.hGets the same information about a voice that the GetVoiceDescription function provides,
or to determine in which file and resource a voice is stored.
OSErr GetVoiceInfo ( const VoiceSpec *voice, OSType selector, void *voiceInfo );
A pointer to the voice specification structure
identifying the voice about which your application requires information,
or NULL to obtain information on
the system default voice.
A specification of the type of data being
requested. For current versions of the Speech Synthesis Manager,
you should set this field either to soVoiceDescription,
if you would like to use the GetVoiceInfo function
to mimic the GetVoiceDescription function,
or to soVoiceFile, if
you would like to obtain information about the location of a voice
on disk.
A pointer to the appropriate data structure.
If the selector is soVoiceDescription,
then voiceInfo should
be a pointer to a voice description structure, and the length field
of the structure should be set to the length of the voice description
structure. If the selector is soVoiceFile, then voiceInfo should
be a pointer to a voice file information structure.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
This function is intended primarily for use by synthesizers, but an application can call it too.
The GetVoiceInfo function
accepts a selector in the selector parameter
that determines the type of information you wish to obtain about
the voice specified in the voice parameter. The
function then fills the fields of the data structure appropriate
to the selector you specify in the voiceInfo parameter.
If the voice specification is invalid, GetVoiceInfo returns
a voiceNotFound error.
If there is not enough memory to load the voice into memory to obtain
information about it, GetVoiceInfo returns
the result code memFullErr.
SpeechSynthesis.hInvokes your speech-done callback function.
void InvokeSpeechDoneUPP ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, SpeechDoneUPP userUPP );
You should not need to call the InvokeSpeechDoneUPP function,
because the system calls your speech-done callback function for you.
SpeechSynthesis.hInvokes your error callback function.
void InvokeSpeechErrorUPP ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, OSErr theError, long bytePos, SpeechErrorUPP userUPP );
You should not need to call the InvokeSpeechErrorUPP function,
because the system calls your error callback function for you.
SpeechSynthesis.hInvokes your phoneme callback function.
void InvokeSpeechPhonemeUPP ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, SInt16 phonemeOpcode, SpeechPhonemeUPP userUPP );
You should not need to call the InvokeSpeechPhonemeUPP function,
because the system calls your phoneme callback function for you.
SpeechSynthesis.hInvokes your synchronization callback function.
void InvokeSpeechSyncUPP ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, OSType syncMessage, SpeechSyncUPP userUPP );
You should not need to call the InvokeSpeechSyncUPP function,
because the system calls your synchronization callback function for you.
SpeechSynthesis.hInvokes your text-done callback function.
void InvokeSpeechTextDoneUPP ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, const void **nextBuf, unsigned long *byteLen, SInt32 *controlFlags, SpeechTextDoneUPP userUPP );
You should not need to call the InvokeSpeechTextDoneUPP function,
because the system calls your text-done callback function for you.
SpeechSynthesis.hInvokes your word callback function.
void InvokeSpeechWordUPP ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, unsigned long wordPos, UInt16 wordLen, SpeechWordUPP userUPP );
You should not need to call the InvokeSpeechWordUPP function,
because the system calls your word callback function for you.
SpeechSynthesis.hSets the fields of a voice specification structure.
OSErr MakeVoiceSpec ( OSType creator, OSType id, VoiceSpec *voice );
The ID of the synthesizer that your application requires.
The ID of the voice on the synthesizer specified
by the creator parameter.
A pointer to the voice specification structure whose fields are to be filled in.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
A voice specification structure is a unique voice ID used
by the Speech Synthesis Manager. Most voice management functions
expect to be passed a pointer to a voice specification structure.
When you already know the creator and ID for a voice, you should
use the MakeVoiceSpec function
to create such a structure rather than filling in the fields of
one directly. On exit, the voice specification structure pointed
to by the voice parameter contains
the appropriate values. You should never set the fields of such
a structure directly.
SpeechSynthesis.hCreates a new speech channel.
OSErr NewSpeechChannel ( VoiceSpec *voice, SpeechChannel *chan );
A pointer to the voice specification structure
corresponding to the voice to be used for the new speech channel.
Pass NULL to create a
speech channel using the system default voice.
On return, a pointer to a valid speech channel.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The NewSpeechChannel function
allocates memory for a speech channel structure and sets the speech
channel variable pointed to by the chan parameter
to point to this speech channel structure. The Speech Synthesis
Manager automatically locates and opens a connection to the proper
synthesizer for the voice specified by the voice parameter.
There is no predefined limit to the number of speech channels an application can create. However, system constraints on available RAM, processor loading, and number of available sound channels limit the number of speech channels actually possible.
Your application should not attempt to manipulate the data
pointed to by a variable of type SpeechChannel.
The internal format that the Speech Synthesis Manager uses for speech channel
data is not documented and may change in future versions of system
software.
SpeechSynthesis.hCreates a new universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a speech-done callback function.
SpeechDoneUPP NewSpeechDoneUPP ( SpeechDoneProcPtr userRoutine );
A pointer to your speech-done callback function.
A UPP to the speech-done
callback function. See the description of the SpeechDoneUPP data type.
SpeechSynthesis.hCreates a new universal procedure pointer to an error callback function.
SpeechErrorUPP NewSpeechErrorUPP ( SpeechErrorProcPtr userRoutine );
A pointer to your error callback function.
A UPP to the error
callback function. See the description of the SpeechErrorUPP data type.
SpeechSynthesis.hDisposes of a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a phoneme callback function.
SpeechPhonemeUPP NewSpeechPhonemeUPP ( SpeechPhonemeProcPtr userRoutine );
A pointer to your phoneme callback function.
A UPP to the phoneme
callback function. See the description of the SpeechPhonemeUPP data type.
SpeechSynthesis.hCreates a new universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a synchronization callback function.
SpeechSyncUPP NewSpeechSyncUPP ( SpeechSyncProcPtr userRoutine );
A pointer to your synchronization callback function.
A UPP to the synchronization
callback function. See the description of the SpeechSyncUPP data type.
SpeechSynthesis.hCreates a new universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a text-done callback function.
SpeechTextDoneUPP NewSpeechTextDoneUPP ( SpeechTextDoneProcPtr userRoutine );
A pointer to your text-done callback function.
A UPP to the text-done
callback function. See the description of the SpeechTextDoneUPP data type.
SpeechSynthesis.hCreates a new universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a word callback function.
SpeechWordUPP NewSpeechWordUPP ( SpeechWordProcPtr userRoutine );
A pointer to your word callback function.
A UPP to the word
callback function. See the description of the SpeechWordUPP data type.
SpeechSynthesis.hPauses speech on a speech channel.
OSErr PauseSpeechAt ( SpeechChannel chan, SInt32 whereToPause );
The speech channel on which speech is to be paused.
A constant indicating when speech processing
should be paused. Pass the constant kImmediate to
pause immediately, even in the middle of a word. Pass kEndOfWord or kEndOfSentence to
pause speech at the end of the current word or sentence, respectively.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The PauseSpeechAt function
makes speech production pause at a specified point in the text. PauseSpeechAt returns
immediately, although speech output will continue until the specified
point.
You can determine whether your application has paused speech
output on a speech channel by obtaining a speech status information
structure through the GetSpeechInfo function.
While a speech channel is paused, the speech status information
structure indicates that outputBusy and outputPaused are
both TRUE.
If the end of the input text buffer is reached before the specified pause point, speech output pauses at the end of the buffer.
The PauseSpeechAt function
differs from the StopSpeech and StopSpeechAt functions
in that a subsequent call to ContinueSpeech,
described next, causes the contents of the current text buffer to
continue being spoken.
If you plan to continue speech synthesis from a paused speech channel, the text buffer being processed must remain available at all times and must not move while the channel is in a paused state.
SpeechSynthesis.hChanges a setting of a particular speech channel.
OSErr SetSpeechInfo ( SpeechChannel chan, OSType selector, const void *speechInfo );
The speech channel for which your application wishes to change a setting.
A speech information selector that indicates the type of information being changed.
For a complete list
of speech information selectors, see “Speech-Channel Information Constants.”
This list indicates how your application should set the speechInfo parameter
for each selector.
A pointer whose meaning depends on the speech
information selector specified in the selector parameter.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The SetSpeechInfo function
changes the type of setting indicated by the selector parameter
in the speech channel specified by the chan parameter,
based on the data your application provides via the speechInfo parameter.
The format of the data structure specified by the speechInfo parameter
depends on the selector you choose. Ordinarily, a selector requires
that speechInfo be a
pointer to a data structure that specifies a new setting for the
speech channel.
SpeechSynthesis.hSets the speech pitch on a designated speech channel.
OSErr SetSpeechPitch ( SpeechChannel chan, Fixed pitch );
The speech channel whose pitch you wish to set.
The new pitch for the speech channel, expressed as a fixed-point frequency value.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The SetSpeechPitch function
changes the current speech pitch on the speech channel specified
by the chan parameter
to the pitch specified by the pitch parameter.
Typical voice frequencies range from around 90 hertz for a low-pitched
male voice to perhaps 300 hertz for a high-pitched child’s voice.
These frequencies correspond to approximate pitch values in the
ranges of 30.000 to 40.000 and 55.000 to 65.000, respectively. Although
fixed-point values allow you to specify a wide range of pitches,
not all synthesizers will support the full range of pitches. If
your application specifies a pitch that a synthesizer cannot handle, it
may adjust the pitch to fit within an acceptable range.
SpeechSynthesis.hSets the value of the specified speech-channel property.
OSErr SetSpeechProperty ( SpeechChannel chan, CFStringRef property, CFTypeRef object );
The speech channel whose property to set.
The speech-channel property to set to the specified value.
The value to which the specified speech-channel property should be set. For some properties, this value can be NULL.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The SetSpeechProperty function is the Core Foundation-based equivalent of the SetSpeechInfo function.
See “Speech-Channel Properties” for information on the properties you can specify.
SpeechSynthesis.hSets the speech rate of a designated speech channel.
OSErr SetSpeechRate ( SpeechChannel chan, Fixed rate );
The speech channel whose rate you wish to set.
The new speech rate in words per minute, expressed as an integer value.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The SetSpeechRate function
adjusts the speech rate on the speech channel specified by the chan parameter
to the rate specified by the rate parameter.
As a general rule, speaking rates range from around 150 words per
minute to around 220 words per minute. It is important to keep in
mind, however, that users will differ greatly in their ability to understand
synthesized speech at a particular rate based upon their level of
experience listening to the voice and their ability to anticipate
the types of utterances they will encounter.
Note: the new speech rate should be expressed as an integer (not a fixed point decimal number as the data type implies).
SpeechSynthesis.hSpeaks a buffer of text, using certain flags to control speech behavior.
OSErr SpeakBuffer ( SpeechChannel chan, const void *textBuf, unsigned long textBytes, SInt32 controlFlags );
The speech channel through which speech is to be spoken.
A pointer to the first byte of text to spoken.
The number of bytes of text to spoken.
Control flags to customize speech behavior.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The SpeakBuffer function
behaves identically to the SpeakText function,
but allows control of several speech parameters by setting values
of the controlFlags parameter.
The controlFlags parameter
relies on specific constants, which may be applied additively. See “Control Flags Constants.”
Each constant specifies a flag bit of the controlFlags parameter,
so by passing the constants additively you can enable multiple capabilities
of SpeakBuffer. If you
pass 0 in the controlFlags parameter, SpeakBuffer works
just like SpeakText.
By passing kNoEndingProsody + kNoSpeechInterrupt in
the controlFlags parameter, SpeakBuffer works
like SpeakText except
that the kNoEndingProsody and kNoSpeechInterrupt features have
been selected. Future versions of the Speech Synthesis Manager may
define additional constants.
When the controlFlags parameter
is set to 0, SpeakBuffer behaves
identically to SpeakText.
SpeechSynthesis.hBegins speaking a string represented as a CFString object.
OSErr SpeakCFString ( SpeechChannel chan, CFStringRef aString, CFDictionaryRef options );
The speech channel through which speech is to be spoken.
The string to be spoken, represented as a CFString object.
An optional dictionary of key-value pairs used to customize speech behavior. See “Synthesizer Option Keys” for the available keys.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The SpeakCFString function is the Core Foundation-based equivalent of the SpeakBuffer function.
The SpeakCFString function converts the text string specified in aString into speech, using the voice and control settings in effect for the speech channel specified in chan. (Before you use SpeakCFString, therefore, be sure you’ve created a speech channel with the NewSpeechChannel function.) The SpeakCFString function generates speech asynchronously, which means that control is returned to your application before speech has finished, perhaps even before the speech is first audible.
If SpeakCFString is called while the speech channel is currently speaking the contents of another text string, the speech stops immediately and the new text string is spoken as soon as possible.
SpeechSynthesis.hBegins speaking a text string.
OSErr SpeakString ( ConstStr255Param textToBeSpoken );
The string to be spoken.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The SpeakString function
attempts to speak the Pascal-style text string contained in the string textToBeSpoken.
Speech is produced asynchronously using the default system voice.
When an application calls this function, the Speech Synthesis Manager
makes a copy of the passed string and creates any structures required
to speak it. As soon as speaking has begun, control is returned
to the application. The synthesized speech is generated asynchronously to
the application so that normal processing can continue while the
text is being spoken. No further interaction with the Speech Synthesis
Manager is required at this point, and the application is free to
release the memory that the original string occupied.
If SpeakString is
called while a prior string is still being spoken, the sound currently
being synthesized is interrupted immediately. Conversion of the
new text into speech is then begun. If you pass a zero-length string
(or, in C, a null pointer)
to SpeakString, the Speech Synthesis
Manager stops any speech previously being synthesized by SpeakString without generating
additional speech. If your application uses SpeakString,
it is often a good idea to stop any speech in progress whenever
your application receives a suspend event. Calling SpeakString with
a zero-length string has no effect on speech channels other than the
one managed internally by the Speech Synthesis Manager for the SpeakString function.)
The text passed to the SpeakString function
may contain embedded speech commands.
SpeechSynthesis.hBegins speaking a buffer of text.
OSErr SpeakText ( SpeechChannel chan, const void *textBuf, unsigned long textBytes );
The speech channel through which speech is to be spoken.
A pointer to the first byte of text to spoken.
The number of bytes of text to spoken.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
Like SpeakString,
the SpeakText function
also generates speech, but through a speech channel through which
you can exert control over the generated speech.
The SpeakText function
converts the text stream specified by the textBuf and textBytes parameters
into speech using the voice and control settings for the speech
channel chan, which should
be created with the NewSpeechChannel function.
The speech is generated asynchronously. This means that control
is returned to your application before the speech has finished (and
probably even before it has begun). The maximum length of the text buffer
that can be spoken is limited only by the available RAM.
If SpeakText is
called while the channel is currently busy speaking the contents
of a prior text buffer, it immediately stops speaking from the prior
buffer and begins speaking from the new text buffer as soon as possible.
If you pass a zero-length string (or, in C, a null pointer)
to SpeakText, the Speech
Synthesis Manager stops all speech currently being synthesized by
the speech channel specified in the chan parameter
without generating additional speech.
The text buffer must be locked in memory and must not move while the Speech Synthesis Manager processes it. This buffer is read at interrupt time, and moving it could cause a system crash. If your application defines a text-done callback function, then it can move the text buffer or dispose of it once the callback function is executed.
SpeechSynthesis.hDetermines whether any channels of speech are currently synthesizing speech.
SInt16 SpeechBusy ( void );
The number of speech channels that are currently synthesizing speech in the application. This is useful when you want to ensure that an earlier speech request has been completed before having the system speak again. Paused speech channels are counted among those that are synthesizing speech.
The speech channel that the Speech Synthesis Manager allocates
internally in response to calls to the SpeakString function
is counted in the number returned by SpeechBusy. Thus,
if you use just SpeakString to
initiate speech, SpeechBusy always
returns 1 as long as speech is being produced. When SpeechBusy returns
0, all speech has finished.
SpeechSynthesis.hDetermines if any speech is currently being synthesized in your application or elsewhere on the computer.
SInt16 SpeechBusySystemWide ( void );
The total number of speech channels currently synthesizing speech on the computer, whether they were initiated by your application or process’s code or by some other process executing concurrently. Paused speech channels are counted among those channels that are synthesizing speech.
This function is useful when you want to ensure that no speech
is currently being produced anywhere on the Macintosh computer before
initiating speech. Although the Speech Synthesis Manager allows
different applications to produce speech simultaneously, this can
be confusing to the user. As a result, it is often a good idea for
your application to check that no other process is producing speech
before producing speech itself. If the difference between the values
returned by SpeechBusySystemWide and
the SpeechBusy function
is 0, no other process is producing speech.
SpeechSynthesis.hDetermines the current version of the Speech Synthesis Manager installed in the system.
NumVersion SpeechManagerVersion ( void );
The version of the
Speech Synthesis Manager installed in the system, in the format
of the first 4 bytes of a 'vers' resource.
Use this call to determine whether your program can access features of the Speech Synthesis Manager that are included in some Speech Synthesis Manager releases but not in earlier ones.
SpeechSynthesis.hRegisters and makes available a speech synthesizer or voice.
OSErr SpeechSynthesisRegisterModuleURL ( CFURLRef url );
The file URL of the synthesizer plug-in or voice to register (note that the synthesizer plug-in or voice must be on a mounted volume to be available for registration).
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The SpeechSynthesisRegisterModuleURL function registers the speech synthesizer or voice specified by url and makes it available to the calling process. Before a synthesizer’s voices can be registered, the synthesizer must be registered (or loaded automatically by the Speech Synthesis Manager). If you call SpeechSynthesisRegisterModuleURL to register a voice and you receive the “incompatibleVoice” result code, it’s likely that the synthesizer associated with the voice needs to be registered. If you call this function to register a synthesizer or voice that has already been registered, SpeechSynthesisRegisterModuleURL does nothing and returns an error.
A registered synthesizer or voice is known only to the application that registered it. For this reason, each application must call SpeechSynthesisRegisterModuleURL to register the synthesizer or voice it uses, even if a suite of applications work together and use the same synthesizer and voice.
An application that called SpeechSynthesisRegisterModuleURL to register a synthesizer or voice should do the following if the volume containing the synthesizer or voice is about to be unmounted:
Call DisposeSpeechChannel to dispose of each speech channel that uses the synthesizer or voice
Call SpeechSynthesisUnregisterModuleURL to unregister the synthesizer or voice
SpeechSynthesis.hUnregisters a registered speech synthesizer or voice.
OSErr SpeechSynthesisUnregisterModuleURL ( url );
The file URL of the synthesizer plug-in or voice to unregister.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The SpeechSynthesisUnregisterModuleURL function unregisters the speech synthesizer or voice specified by url. When a synthesizer is unregistered, all voices that require that synthesizer are automatically unregistered.
Note that if a speech channel is currently using a synthesizer or voice that becomes unregistered, the speech channel is considered inactive and will return an error when the application tries to access it.
An application that called SpeechSynthesisRegisterModuleURL to register a synthesizer or voice should do the following if the volume containing the synthesizer or voice is about to be unmounted:
Call DisposeSpeechChannel to dispose of each speech channel that uses the synthesizer or voice
Call SpeechSynthesisUnregisterModuleURL to unregister the synthesizer or voice
If you call SpeechSynthesisUnregisterModuleURL to unregister a synthesizer or voice and you receive either the “noSynthFound” or “voiceNotFound” result codes, it means that the synthesizer or voice is not currently registered.
SpeechSynthesis.hTerminates speech immediately on the specified channel.
OSErr StopSpeech ( SpeechChannel chan );
The speech channel on which speech is to be stopped.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The StopSpeech function
immediately terminates speech on the channel specified by the chan parameter.
After returning from StopSpeech,
your application can safely release any text buffer that the speech
synthesizer has been using. You can call StopSpeech for
an already idle channel without ill effect.
You can also stop speech by passing a zero-length string (or,
in C, a null pointer)
to one of the SpeakString, SpeakText,
or SpeakBuffer functions.
Doing this stops speech only in the specified speech channel (or,
in the case of SpeakString,
in the speech channel managed internally by the Speech Synthesis
Manager).
Before calling the StopSpeech function,
you can use the SpeechBusy function,
which is described in SpeechBusy,
to determine if a synthesizer is still speaking. If you are working with
multiple speech channels, you can use the status selector with the
function GetSpeechInfo which
is described in GetSpeechInfo,
to determine if a specific channel is still speaking.
SpeechSynthesis.hTerminates speech delivery on a specified channel either immediately or at the end of the current word or sentence.
OSErr StopSpeechAt ( SpeechChannel chan, SInt32 whereToStop );
The speech channel on which speech is to be stopped.
A constant indicating when speech processing
should stop. Pass the constant kImmediate to
stop immediately, even in the middle of a word. Pass kEndOfWord or kEndOfSentence to
stop speech at the end of the current word or sentence, respectively.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The StopSpeechAt function
halts the production of speech on the channel specified by chan at
a specified point in the text. This function returns immediately,
although speech output continues until the specified point has been
reached.
If you call the StopSpeechAt function
before the Speech Synthesis Manager finishes processing input text,
then the function might return before some input text has yet to
be spoken. Thus, before disposing of the text buffer, your application
should wait until its text-done callback function has been called
(if one has been defined), or until it can determine (by, for example
obtaining a speech status information structure) that the Speech
Synthesis Manager is no longer processing input text.
If the end of the input text buffer is reached before the specified stopping point, the speech synthesizer stops at the end of the buffer without generating an error.
SpeechSynthesis.hConverts a buffer of textual data into phonemic data.
OSErr TextToPhonemes ( SpeechChannel chan, const void *textBuf, unsigned long textBytes, Handle phonemeBuf, long *phonemeBytes );
A speech channel whose associated synthesizer and voice are to be used for the conversion process.
A pointer to a buffer of text to be converted.
The number of bytes of text to be converted.
A handle to a buffer to be used to store the
phonemic data. The TextToPhonemes function
may resize the relocatable block referenced by this handle.
On return, a pointer to the number of bytes of phonemic data written to the handle.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
Converting textual data into phonemic data is particularly useful during application development, when you might wish to adjust phrases that your application generates to produce smoother speech. By first converting the target phrase into phonemes, you can see what the synthesizer will try to speak. Then you need correct only the parts that would not have been spoken the way you want.
The TextToPhonemes function
converts the textBytes bytes
of textual data pointed to by the textBuf parameter
to phonemic data, which it writes into the relocatable block specified
by the phonemeBuf parameter.
If necessary, TextToPhonemes resizes
this relocatable block. The TextToPhonemes function
sets the phonemeBytes parameter
to the number of bytes of phonemic data actually written.
If the textual data is contained in a relocatable block, a
handle to that block must be locked before the TextToPhonemes function
is called.
The data returned by TextToPhonemes corresponds
precisely to the phonemes that would be spoken had the input text
been sent to SpeakText instead.
All current mode settings for the speech channel specified by chan are
applied to the converted speech. No callbacks are generated while
the TextToPhonemes function
is generating its output.
SpeechSynthesis.hInstalls the designated dictionary into a speech channel.
OSErr UseDictionary ( SpeechChannel chan, Handle dictionary );
The speech channel into which a dictionary is to be installed.
A handle to the dictionary data. This is often
a handle to a resource of type 'dict'.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The UseDictionary function
attempts to install the dictionary data referenced by the dictionary parameter
into the speech channel referenced by the chan parameter.
The synthesizer will use whatever elements of the dictionary resource
it considers useful to the speech conversion process. Some speech
synthesizers might ignore certain types of dictionary entries.
After the UseDictionary function
returns, your application is free to release any storage allocated
for the dictionary handle. The search order for application-provided
dictionaries is last-in, first-searched.
All details of how an application-provided dictionary is represented within the speech synthesizer are dependent on the specific synthesizer implementation and are private to the synthesizer.
Pronunciation dictionaries allow your application to override the default Speech Synthesis Manager pronunciations of individual words, such as names with unusual spellings.
SpeechSynthesis.hRegisters a speech dictionary with a speech channel.
OSErr UseSpeechDictionary ( SpeechChannel chan, CFDictionaryRef speechDictionary );
The speech channel with which the specified speech dictionary is to be registered.
A speech dictionary to be registered with the specified speech channel, represented as a CFDictionary object. See “Speech Dictionary Keys” for the keys you can use in the dictionary.
A result code. See “Speech Synthesis Manager Result Codes.”
The UseSpeechDictionary function is the Core Foundation-based equivalent of the UseDictionary function.
The UseSpeechDictionary function registers the CFDictionary object referenced by the speechDictionary parameter with the speech channel referenced by the chan parameter. Speech dictionaries allow your application to override a synthesizer's default pronunciations of individual words, such as names with unusual spellings. A synthesizer will use whatever elements of the dictionary it considers useful in the speech conversion process. Some speech synthesizers might ignore certain types of dictionary entries.
Multiple dictionaries can be registered with a synthesizer. If the same word appears in multiple dictionaries, the synthesizer will use the one from the dictionary with the most recent date.
Note that because a speech dictionary is a CFDictionary object, it can be loaded from an XML-based property list file. An example of such a file is shown below:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>LocaleIdentifier</key>
<string>en_US</string>
<key>ModificationDate</key>
<string>2006-12-21 11:59:25 -0800</string>
<key>Pronunciations</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>Phonemes</key>
<string>_hEY_yUW</string>
<key>Spelling</key>
<string>Hello</string>
</dict>
</array>
<key>Abbreviations</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>Phonemes</key>
<string>_OW_sAEkz</string>
<key>Spelling</key>
<string>OSAX</string>
</dict>
</array>
</dict>
</plist> |
After the UseSpeechDictionary function returns, your application is free to release the CFDictionary object referenced by the speechDictionary parameter.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a pointer to a speech-done callback function which is called when the Speech Synthesis Manager finishes speaking a buffer of text.
typedef void (*SpeechDoneProcPtr) ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon );
If you name your function MySpeechDoneProc,
you would declare it like this:
void MySpeechDoneProc ( SpeechChannel chan, long refCon );
The speech channel that has finished processing input text.
The reference constant associated with the speech channel.
If a speech-done callback function is installed in a speech channel, then the Speech Synthesis Manager calls this function when it finishes speaking a buffer of text.
You can specify a speech-done callback function by passing
the soSpeechDoneCallBack selector
to the SetSpeechInfo function.
You might use a speech-done callback function if you need to update some visual indicator that shows what text is currently being spoken. For example, suppose your application passes text buffers to the Speech Synthesis Manager one paragraph at a time. Your speech-done callback function might set a global flag variable to indicate to the application that the Speech Synthesis Manager has finished speaking a paragraph. When a function called by your application’s main event loop checks the global flag variable and determines that it has been set, the function might ensure that the next paragraph of text is visible.
You might use a speech-done callback function to set a flag variable that alerts the application that it should pass a new buffer of text to the Speech Synthesis Manager. If you do so, however, there might be a noticeable pause as the Speech Synthesis Manager switches from processing one text buffer to another. Ordinarily, it is easier to achieve this goal by using a text-done callback function, as described earlier.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a pointer to an error callback function that handles syntax errors within commands embedded in a CFString object being processed by the Speech Synthesis Manager.
typedef void (*SpeechErrorCFProcPtr) ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, CFErrorRef theError );
If you name your function MySpeechErrorCFProc, you would declare it like this:
void MySpeechErrorCFProc ( SpeechChannel chan, long refCon, CFErrorRef theError );
The speech channel that has finished processing input text.
The reference constant associated with the speech channel.
The error that occurred in processing an embedded command.
An error callback function defined by the SpeechErrorCFProcPtr is the Core Foundation-based equivalent of an error callback function defined by SpeechErrorProcPtr. The Speech Synthesis Manager calls a speech channel’s error callback function whenever it encounters a syntax error within a command embedded in a CFString object it is processing. This can be useful during application debugging, to detect problems with commands that you have embedded in strings that your application speaks. It can also be useful if your application allows users to embed commands within strings. Your application might display an alert indicating that the Speech Synthesis Manager encountered a problem in processing an embedded command.
Ordinarily, the error information that the Speech Synthesis Manager provides the error callback function should be sufficient. However, if your application needs information about errors that occurred before the error callback function was enabled, the application (including the error callback function) can call the CopySpeechProperty function with the kSpeechErrorsProperty property.
You can specify an error callback function by passing the kSpeechErrorCFCallback property to the SetSpeechProperty function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a pointer to an error callback function that handles syntax errors within commands embedded in a text buffer being processed by the Speech Synthesis Manager.
typedef void (*SpeechErrorProcPtr) ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, OSErr theError, long bytePos );
If you name your function MySpeechErrorProc,
you would declare it like this:
void MySpeechErrorProc ( SpeechChannel chan, long refCon, OSErr theError, long bytePos );
The speech channel that has finished processing input text.
The reference constant associated with the speech channel.
The error that occurred in processing an embedded command.
The number of bytes from the beginning of the text buffer being spoken to the error encountered.
The Speech Synthesis Manager calls a speech channel’s error callback function whenever it encounters a syntax error within a command embedded in a text buffer it is processing. This can be useful during application debugging, to detect problems with commands that you have embedded in text buffers that your application speaks. It can also be useful if your application allows users to embed commands within text buffers. Your application might display an alert indicating that the Speech Synthesis Manager encountered a problem in processing an embedded command.
Ordinarily, the error information that the Speech Synthesis
Manager provides the error callback function should be sufficient.
However, if your application needs information about errors that
occurred before the error callback function was enabled, the application (including
the error callback function) can call the GetSpeechInfo function
with the soErrors selector.
You can specify an error callback function by passing the soErrorCallBack selector
to the SetSpeechInfo function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a pointer to a phoneme callback function that is called by the Speech Synthesis Manager before it pronounces a phoneme.
typedef void (*SpeechPhonemeProcPtr) ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, short phonemeOpcode );
If you name your function MySpeechPhonemeProc,
you would declare it like this:
void MySpeechPhonemeProc ( SpeechChannel chan, long refCon, short phonemeOpcode );
The speech channel that has finished processing input text.
The reference constant associated with the speech channel.
The phoneme about to be pronounced.
The Speech Synthesis Manager calls a speech channel’s phoneme
callback function just before it pronounces a phoneme. For example,
your application might use such a callback function to enable mouth
synchronization. In this case, the callback function would set a global
flag variable to indicate that the phoneme being pronounced is changing
and another global variable to phonemeOpcode.
A function called by your application’s main event loop could
detect that the phoneme being pronounced is changing and update
a picture of a mouth to reflect the current phoneme. In practice,
providing a visual indication of the pronunciation of a phoneme
requires several consecutive pictures of mouth movement to be rapidly
displayed. Consult the linguistics literature for information on mouth
movements associated with different phonemes.
You can specify a phoneme callback function by passing the soPhonemeCallBack selector
to the SetSpeechInfo function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a pointer to a synchronization callback function that is called when the Speech Synthesis Manager encounters a synchronization command embedded in a text buffer.
typedef void (*SpeechSyncProcPtr) ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, OSType syncMessage );
If you name your function MySpeechSyncProc,
you would declare it like this:
void MySpeechSyncProc ( SpeechChannel chan, long refCon, OSType syncMessage );
The speech channel that has finished processing input text.
The reference constant associated with the speech channel.
The synchronization message passed in the embedded command. Usually, you use this message to distinguish between several different types of synchronization commands, but you can use it any way you wish.
The Speech Synthesis Manager calls a speech channel’s synchronization
callback function whenever it encounters a synchronization command
embedded in a text buffer. You might use the synchronization callback
function to provide a callback not ordinarily provided. For example,
you might inset synchronization commands at the end of every sentence
in a text buffer, or you might enter synchronization commands after
every numeric value in the text. However, to synchronize your application
with phonemes or words, it makes more sense to use the built-in
phoneme and word callback functions, defined in SpeechPhonemeProcPtr.
You can specify a synchronization callback function by passing
the soSyncCallBack selector to
the SetSpeechInfo function
and embedding a synchronization command within a text buffer passed
to the SpeakText or SpeakBuffer function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a pointer to a text-done callback function that is called when the Speech Synthesis Manager has finished processing a buffer of text.
typedef void (*SpeechTextDoneProcPtr) ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, void ** nextBuf, unsigned long * byteLen, long * controlFlags );
If you name your function MySpeechTextDoneProc,
you would declare it like this:
void MySpeechTextDoneProc ( SpeechChannel chan, long refCon, void ** nextBuf, unsigned long * byteLen, long * controlFlags );
The speech channel that has finished processing input text.
The reference constant associated with the speech channel.
On return, a pointer to the next buffer of
text to process or NULL if
your application has no additional text to be spoken. This parameter
is mostly for internal use by the Speech Synthesis Manager.
On return, a pointer to the number of bytes
of the text buffer pointed to by the nextBuf parameter.
On return, a pointer to the control flags to be used in generating the next buffer of text.
If a text-done callback function is installed in a speech channel, then the Speech Synthesis Manager calls this function when it finishes processing a buffer of text. The Speech Synthesis Manager might not yet have completed finishing speaking the text and indeed might not have started speaking it.
You can specify a text-done callback function by passing the soTextDoneCallBack selector to
the SetSpeechInfo function.
A common use of a text-done callback function is to alert
your application once the text passed to the SpeakText or SpeakBuffer function
can be disposed of (or, when the text is contained within a locked
relocatable block, when the relocatable block can be unlocked). The
Speech Synthesis Manager copies the text you pass to the SpeakText or SpeakBuffer function
into an internal buffer. Once it has finished processing the text,
you may dispose of the original text buffer, even if speech is not
yet complete. However, if you wish to write a callback function
that executes when speech is completed, see the definition of a speech-done
callback function below.
Although most applications will not need to, your callback
function can indicate to the Speech Synthesis Manager whether there
is another buffer of text to speak. If there is another buffer,
your callback function should reference it by setting the nextBuf and byteLen parameters
to appropriate values. (Your callback function might also change
the control flags to be used to process the speech by altering the
value in the controlFlags parameter.)
Setting these parameters allows the Speech Synthesis Manager to
generate uninterrupted speech. If there is no more text to speak,
your callback function should set nextBuf to NULL.
In this case, the Speech Synthesis Manager ignores the byteLen and controlFlags parameters.
If your text-done callback function does not change the values
of the nextBuf and byteLen parameters,
the text buffer just spoken will be spoken again.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a pointer to a Core Foundation-based word callback function that is called by the Speech Synthesis Manager before it pronounces a word.
typedef void (*SpeechWordCFProcPtr) ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, CFStringRef aString, CFRange wordRange );
If you name your function MySpeechWordCFProc, you would declare it like this:
void MySpeechWordCFProc ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, CFStringRef aString, CFRange wordRange );
The speech channel that has finished processing input text.
The reference constant associated with the speech channel.
The original string passed to the speech synthesizer in the SpeakCFString call.
The range of characters in aString that corresponds to the word.
A word callback function defined by the SpeechWordCFProcPtr is the Core Foundation-based equivalent of a word callback function defined by SpeechWordProcPtr. The Speech Synthesis Manager calls a speech channel’s word callback function just before it pronounces a word. You might use such a callback function, for example, to highlight the word about to be spoken in a window.
You can specify a word callback function by passing the kSpeechWordCFCallBack property to theSetSpeechProperty function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a pointer to a word callback function that is called by the Speech Synthesis Manager before it pronounces a word.
typedef void (*SpeechWordProcPtr) ( SpeechChannel chan, SRefCon refCon, unsigned long wordPos, unsigned short wordLen );
If you name your function MySpeechWordProc,
you would declare it like this:
void MySpeechWordProc ( SpeechChannel chan, long refCon, unsigned long wordPos, unsigned short wordLen );
The speech channel that has finished processing input text.
The reference constant associated with the speech channel.
The number of bytes between the beginning of the text buffer and the beginning of the word about to be pronounced.
The length in bytes of the word about to be pronounced.
The Speech Synthesis Manager calls a speech channel’s word
callback function just before it pronounces a word. You might use
such a callback function, for example, to draw the word about to
be spoken in a window. In this case, the callback function would
set a global flag variable to indicate that the word being spoken
is changing and another two global variables to wordPos and wordLen.
A function called by your application’s main event loop could
detect that the word being spoken is changing and draw the word
in a window.
You can specify a word callback function by passing the soWordCallBack selector
to the SetSpeechInfo function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a delimiter information structure.
struct DelimiterInfo {
Byte startDelimiter[2];
Byte endDelimiter[2];
};
typedef struct DelimiterInfo DelimiterInfo;
startDelimiterThe start delimiter for an embedded command. By default, the start delimiter is “[[”.
endDelimiterThe end delimiter for an embedded command. By default, the end delimiter is “]]”.
A delimiter information structure defines the characters used to indicate the beginning and end of a command embedded in text. A delimiter can be one or two characters.
Ordinarily, applications that support embedded speech commands should not change the start or end delimiters. However, if for some reason you must change the delimiters, you can use the SetSpeechInfo function with the soCommandDelimiter selector. For example, you might do this if a text buffer naturally includes the delimiter strings. Before passing such a buffer to the Speech Synthesis Manager, you can change the delimiter strings to some two-character sequences not used in the buffer and then change the delimiter strings back once processing of the buffer is complete.
If a single-byte delimiter is desired, it should be followed by a NULL (0) byte. If the delimiter strings both consist of two NULL bytes, embedded command processing is disabled.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a phoneme descriptor structure.
struct PhonemeDescriptor {
SInt16 phonemeCount;
PhonemeInfo thePhonemes[1];
};
typedef struct PhonemeDescriptor PhonemeDescriptor;
phonemeCountThe number of phonemes that the current synthesizer defines. Typically, this will correspond to the number of phonemes in the language supported by the synthesizer.
thePhonemesAn array of phoneme information structures.
By calling the GetSpeechInfo function with the soPhonemeSymbols selector, you can obtain a phoneme descriptor structure, which describes all phonemes defined for the current synthesizer.
A common use for a phoneme descriptor structure is to provide a graphical display to the user of all available phonemes. Such a list is used only for a user entering phonemic data directly rather than just entering text.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a structure that stores information about a phoneme.
struct PhonemeInfo {
SInt16 opcode;
Str15 phStr;
Str31 exampleStr;
SInt16 hiliteStart;
SInt16 hiliteEnd;
};
typedef struct PhonemeInfo PhonemeInfo;
opcodeThe opcode for the phoneme.
phStrThe string used to represent the phoneme. The string does not necessarily have a phonetic connection to the phoneme, but might simply be an abstract textual representation of it.
exampleStrAn example word that illustrates use of the phoneme.
hiliteStartThe number of characters in the example word that precede the portion of that word representing the phoneme.
hiliteEndThe number of characters between the beginning of the example word and the end of the portion of that word representing the phoneme.
Ordinarily, you use a phoneme information structure to show the user how to enter text to represent a particular phoneme when the 'PHON' input mode is activated.
You might use the information contained in the hiliteStart and hiliteEnd fields to highlight the characters in the example word that represent the phoneme.
To obtain a phoneme information structure for an individual phoneme, you must obtain a list of phonemes through a phoneme descriptor structure.
SpeechSynthesis.hRepresents a speech channel.
struct SpeechChannelRecord {
long data[1];
};
typedef struct SpeechChannelRecord SpeechChannelRecord;
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a pointer to a speech channel record.
typedef SpeechChannelRecord * SpeechChannel;
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a speech-done callback function.
typedef SpeechDoneProcPtr SpeechDoneUPP;
For more information, see the description of the SpeechDoneProcPtr callback function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a speech error information structure.
struct SpeechErrorInfo {
SInt16 count;
OSErr oldest;
long oldPos;
OSErr newest;
long newPos;
};
typedef struct SpeechErrorInfo SpeechErrorInfo;
countThe number of errors that have occurred in processing the current text buffer since the last call to the GetSpeechInfo function with the soErrors selector. Of these errors, you can find information about only the first and last error that occurred.
oldestThe error code of the first error that occurred after the previous call to the GetSpeechInfo function with the soErrors selector.
oldPosThe character position within the text buffer being processed of the first error that occurred after the previous call to the GetSpeechInfo function with the soErrors selector.
newestThe error code of the most recent error.
newPosThe character position within the text buffer being processed of the most recent error.
By calling the GetSpeechInfo function with the soErrors selector, you can obtain a speech error information structure, which shows what Speech Synthesis Manager errors occurred while processing a text buffer on a given speech channel.
Speech error information structures never include errors that are returned by Speech Synthesis Manager functions. Instead, they reflect only errors encountered directly in the processing of text, and, in particular, in the processing of commands embedded within text.
The speech error information structure keeps track of only the most recent error and the first error that occurred after the previous call to the GetSpeechInfo function with the soErrors selector. If your application needs to keep track of all errors, then you should install an error callback function, SpeechErrorProcPtr.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to an error callback function.
typedef SpeechErrorProcPtr SpeechErrorUPP;
For more information, see the description of the SpeechErrorProcPtr callback function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a phoneme callback function.
typedef SpeechPhonemeProcPtr SpeechPhonemeUPP;
For more information, see the description of the SpeechPhonemeProcPtr callback function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a a speech status information structure, which stores information about the status of a speech channel.
struct SpeechStatusInfo {
Boolean outputBusy;
Boolean outputPaused;
long inputBytesLeft;
SInt16 phonemeCode;
};
typedef struct SpeechStatusInfo SpeechStatusInfo;
outputBusyWhether the speech channel is currently producing speech. A speech channel is considered to be producing speech even at some times when no audio data is being produced through the Macintosh speaker. This occurs, for example, when the Speech Synthesis Manager is processing an input buffer but has not yet initiated speech or when speech output is paused.
outputPausedWhether speech output in the speech channel has been paused by a call to the PauseSpeechAt function.
inputBytesLeftThe number of input bytes of the text that the speech channel must still process. When inputBytesLeft is 0, the buffer of input text passed to one of the SpeakText or SpeakBuffer functions may be disposed of. When you call the SpeakString function, the Speech Synthesis Manager stores a duplicate of the string to be spoken in an internal buffer; thus, you may delete the original string immediately after calling SpeakString.
phonemeCodeThe opcode for the phoneme that the speech channel is currently processing.
By calling the GetSpeechInfo function with the soStatus selector, you can find out information about the status of a speech channel.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a synchronization callback function.
typedef SpeechSyncProcPtr SpeechSyncUPP;
For more information, see the description of the SpeechSyncProcPtr callback function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a text-done callback function.
typedef SpeechTextDoneProcPtr SpeechTextDoneUPP;
For more information, see the description of the SpeechTextDoneProcPtr callback function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a speech version information structure.
struct SpeechVersionInfo {
OSType synthType;
OSType synthSubType;
OSType synthManufacturer;
SInt32 synthFlags;
NumVersion synthVersion;
};
typedef struct SpeechVersionInfo SpeechVersionInfo;
synthTypeThe general type of the synthesizer. For the current version of the Speech Synthesis Manager, this field always contains the value kTextToSpeechSynthType, indicating that the synthesizer converts text into speech.
synthSubTypeThe specific type of the synthesizer. Currently, no specific types of synthesizer are defined. If you define a new type of synthesizer, you should register the four-character code for your type with Developer Technical Support.
synthManufacturerA unique identification of a synthesizer engine. If you develop synthesizers, then you should register a different four-character code for each synthesizer you develop with Developer Technical Support. The creatorID field of the voice specification structure and the synthCreator field of a speech extension data structure should each be set to the value stored in this field for the desired synthesizer.
synthFlagsA set of flags indicating which synthesizer features are activated. Specific constants define the bits in this field whose meanings are defined for all synthesizers.
synthVersionThe version number of the synthesizer.
By calling the GetSpeechInfo function with the soSynthType selector, you can obtain a speech version information structure, which provides information about the speech synthesizer currently being used.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a universal procedure pointer (UPP) to a word callback function.
typedef SpeechWordProcPtr SpeechWordUPP;
For more information, see the description of the SpeechWordProcPtr callback function.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a speech extension data structure.
struct SpeechXtndData {
OSType synthCreator;
Byte synthData[2];
};
typedef struct SpeechXtndData SpeechXtndData;
synthCreatorThe synthesizer’s creator ID, identical to the value stored in the synthManufacturer field of a speech version information structure. You should set this field to the appropriate value before calling GetSpeechInfo or SetSpeechInfo.
synthDataSynthesizer-specific data. The size and format of the data in this field may vary.
The speech extension data structure allows you to use the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions with selectors defined by particular synthesizers. By requiring that you pass to one of these functions a pointer to a speech extension data structure, synthesizers can permit the exchange of data in any format.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a voice description structure.
struct VoiceDescription {
SInt32 length;
VoiceSpec voice;
SInt32 version;
Str63 name;
Str255 comment;
SInt16 gender;
SInt16 age;
SInt16 script;
SInt16 language;
SInt16 region;
SInt32 reserved[4];
};
typedef struct VoiceDescription VoiceDescription;
lengthThe size of the voice description structure, in bytes.
voiceA voice specification structure that uniquely identifies the voice.
versionThe version number of the voice.
nameThe name of the voice, preceded by a length byte. Names must be 63 characters or less.
commentAdditional text information about the voice. Some synthesizers use this field to store a phrase that can be spoken.
genderThe gender of the individual represented by the voice. See “Gender Constants.”
ageThe approximate age in years of the individual represented by the voice.
scriptIn Mac OS X v10.4.7 and later, the encoding code of the text that the voice can process.
Note that this field contains a 16-bit value. You can use any of the 16-bit values described in External_String_Encodings or CFStringBuiltInEncodings. However, if you need to use a 32-bit value, such as kCFStringEncodingUTF8, you pass the value in the first array element of the reserved field, and you also need to specify -1 or kCFStringEncodingInvalidId in the script field.
languageA code that indicates the language of voice output.
regionA code that indicates the region represented by the voice.
reservedReserved. May be used to hold a 32-bit encoding value, if necessary (see the description of the script field for more information).
By calling the GetVoiceDescription function, you can obtain information about a voice in a voice description structure.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a voice file information structure.
struct VoiceFileInfo {
FSSpec fileSpec;
SInt16 resID;
};
typedef struct VoiceFileInfo VoiceFileInfo;
fileSpecA file system specification structure that contains the volume, directory, and name of the file containing the voice. Generally, files containing a single voice are of type kTextToSpeechVoiceFileType, and files containing multiple voices are of type kTextToSpeechVoiceBundleType.
resIDThe resource ID of the voice in the file. Voices are stored in resources of type kTextToSpeechVoiceType.
A voice file information structure specifies the file in which a voice is stored and the resource ID of the voice within that file. Use the GetVoiceInfo function to obtain a voice file information structure for a voice.
SpeechSynthesis.hDefines a voice specification structure.
struct VoiceSpec {
OSType creator;
OSType id;
};
typedef struct VoiceSpec VoiceSpec;
typedef VoiceSpec * VoiceSpecPtr;
creatorThe synthesizer that is required to use the voice. This is equivalent to the value contained in the synthManufacturer field of a speech version information structure and that contained in the synthCreator field of a speech extension data structure. The set of OSType values specified entirely by space characters and lowercase letters is reserved.
idThe voice ID of the voice for the synthesizer. Every voice on a synthesizer has a unique ID.
A voice specification structure provides a unique specification that you must use to obtain information about a voice. You also must use a voice specification structure if you wish to create a speech channel that generates speech in a voice other than the current system default voice.
To ensure compatibility with future versions of the Speech Synthesis Manager, you should never fill in the fields of a voice specification structure yourself. Instead, you should create a voice specification structure by using the MakeVoiceSpec function.
SpeechSynthesis.hFlags that indicate which synthesizer features are active.
enum {
kNoEndingProsody = 1,
kNoSpeechInterrupt = 2,
kPreflightThenPause = 4
};
kNoEndingProsodyDisables prosody at end of sentences. The kNoEndingProsody flag
bit is used to control whether or not the speech synthesizer automatically
applies ending prosody, the speech tone and cadence that normally
occur at the end of a statement. Under normal circumstances (for
example, when the flag bit is not set), ending prosody is applied
to the speech when the end of the textBuf data
is reached. This default behavior can be disabled by setting the kNoEndingProsody flag
bit.
Some synthesizers do not speak until the kNoEndingProsody flag
bit is reset, or they encounter a period in the text, or textBuf is
full.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kNoSpeechInterruptDoes not interrupt current speech. The kNoSpeechInterrupt flag
bit is used to control the behavior of SpeakBuffer when
called on a speech channel that is still busy. When the flag bit
is not set, SpeakBuffer behaves
similarly to SpeakString and SpeakText.
Any speech currently being produced on the specified speech channel
is immediately interrupted, and then the new text buffer is spoken.
When the kNoSpeechInterrupt flag
bit is set, however, a request to speak on a channel that is still
busy processing a prior text buffer will result in an error. The
new buffer is ignored and the error synthNotReady is
returned. If the prior text buffer has been fully processed, the
new buffer is spoken normally. One way of achieving continuous speech without using callback functions is to continually call SpeakBuffer with the kNoSpeechInterrupt flag
bit set until the function returns noErr.
The function will then execute as soon as the first text buffer
has been processed.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kPreflightThenPauseComputes speech without generating.The kPreflightThenPause flag
bit is used to minimize the latency experienced when the speech
synthesizer is attempting to speak. Ordinarily, whenever a call
to SpeakString, SpeakText, or SpeakBuffer is
made, the speech synthesizer must perform a certain amount of initial
processing before speech output is heard. This startup latency can
vary from a few milliseconds to several seconds depending upon which
speech synthesizer is being used. Recognizing that larger startup
delays might be detrimental to certain applications, a mechanism exists
to allow the synthesizer to perform any necessary computations at noncritical
times. Once the computations have been completed, the speech is
able to start instantly. When the kPreflightThenPause flag
bit is set, the speech synthesizer will process the input text as
necessary to the point where it is ready to begin producing speech
output. At this point, the synthesizer will enter a paused state
and return to the caller. When the application is ready to produce
speech, it should call the ContinueSpeech function
to begin speaking.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
These constants are used in the controlFlags parameter
of the SpeakBuffer function
and in the synthFlagsl field
of the SpeechVersionInfo structure.
SpeechSynthesis.hConstants that indicate the gender of the individual represented by a voice.
enum {
kNeuter = 0,
kMale = 1,
kFemale = 2
};
kNeuterNeuter voice.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kMaleMale voice.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kFemaleFemale voice.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
These constants are used in the gender field of the VoiceDescription structure.
SpeechSynthesis.hConstants that identify values in a speech synthesis audio unit.
enum {
kAudioUnitSubType_SpeechSynthesis = 'ttsp',
kAudioUnitProperty_Voice = 3330,
kAudioUnitProperty_SpeechChannel = 3331
};
kAudioUnitSubType_SpeechSynthesisThe speech synthesis component subtype used in the creation of a speech synthesis audio unit. (The component type is kAudioUnitType_Generator.)
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kAudioUnitProperty_VoiceThe voice property in the speech synthesis audio unit.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kAudioUnitProperty_SpeechChannelThe speech channel property in the speech synthesis audio unit.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Locations that indicate where speech should be paused or stopped.
enum {
kImmediate = 0,
kEndOfWord = 1,
kEndOfSentence = 2
};
kImmediateSpeech should be paused or stopped immediately.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kEndOfWordSpeech should be paused or stopped at the end of the word.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kEndOfSentenceSpeech should be paused or stopped at the end of the sentence.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
See the functions PauseSpeechAt and StopSpeechAt for more information.
SpeechSynthesis.hThe OSType definitions used by the Speech Synthesis Manager.
enum {
kTextToSpeechSynthType = 'ttsc',
kTextToSpeechVoiceType = 'ttvd',
kTextToSpeechVoiceFileType = 'ttvf',
kTextToSpeechVoiceBundleType = 'ttvb'
};
kTextToSpeechSynthTypeThe type of a synthesizer component.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kTextToSpeechVoiceTypeThe type of a voice resource.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kTextToSpeechVoiceFileTypeThe type of a voice file. Typically. files containing a single voice are of type kTextToSpeechVoiceFileType.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kTextToSpeechVoiceBundleTypeThe type of a voice bundle file. Typically, files containing multiple voices are of type kTextToSpeechVoiceBundleType.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hThe available text-processing and number-processing modes for a speech channel.
enum {
modeText = 'TEXT',
modePhonemes = 'PHON',
modeNormal = 'NORM',
modeLiteral = 'LTRL'
};
modeTextIndicates that the speech channel is in text-processing mode.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
modePhonemesIndicates that the speech channel is in phoneme-processing mode. When in phoneme-processing mode, a text buffer is interpreted to be a series of characters representing various phonemes and prosodic controls.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
modeNormalIndicates that the synthesizer assembles digits into numbers (so that “12” is spoken as "twelve").
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
modeLiteralIndicates that each digit is spoken literally (so that “12” is spoken as "one, two").
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hThe available text-processing and number-processing modes for a speech channel.
CFStringRef kSpeechModeText = CFSTR("TEXT"); CFStringRef kSpeechModePhoneme = CFSTR("PHON"); CFStringRef kSpeechModeNormal = CFSTR("NORM"); CFStringRef kSpeechModeLiteral = CFSTR("LTRL");
kSpeechModeTextIndicates that the speech channel is in text-processing mode.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechModePhonemeIndicates that the speech channel is in phoneme-processing mode. When in phoneme-processing mode, a text buffer is interpreted to be a series of characters representing various phonemes and prosodic controls.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechModeNormalIndicates that the synthesizer assembles digits into numbers (so that “12” is spoken as "twelve").
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechModeLiteralIndicates that each digit is spoken literally (so that “12” is spoken as "one, two").
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hThe types of voice data that can be requested by the GetVoiceInfo function.
enum {
soVoiceDescription = 'info',
soVoiceFile = 'fref'
};
soVoiceDescriptionGet basic voice information.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soVoiceFileGet voice file reference information.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hSelectors that can be passed to the GetSpeechInfo or SetSpeechInfo functions.
enum {
soStatus = 'stat',
soErrors = 'erro',
soInputMode = 'inpt',
soCharacterMode = 'char',
soNumberMode = 'nmbr',
soRate = 'rate',
soPitchBase = 'pbas',
soPitchMod = 'pmod',
soVolume = 'volm',
soSynthType = 'vers',
soRecentSync = 'sync',
soPhonemeSymbols = 'phsy',
soCurrentVoice = 'cvox',
soCommandDelimiter = 'dlim',
soReset = 'rset',
soCurrentA5 = 'myA5',
soRefCon = 'refc',
soTextDoneCallBack = 'tdcb',
soSpeechDoneCallBack = 'sdcb',
soSyncCallBack = 'sycb',
soErrorCallBack = 'ercb',
soPhonemeCallBack = 'phcb',
soWordCallBack = 'wdcb',
soSynthExtension = 'xtnd',
soSoundOutput = 'sndo',
soOutputToFileWithCFURL = 'opaf',
soOutputToExtAudioFile = 'opax',
soPhonemeOptions = 'popt',
soOutputToAudioDevice = 'opad'
};
soStatusGet a speech status information structure for
the speech channel. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a speech status information structure, described
in SpeechStatusInfo.
This selector works with the GetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soErrorsGet saved error information for the speech
channel and clear its error registers. This selector lets you poll
for various run-time errors that occur during speaking, such as
the detection of badly formed embedded commands. Errors returned
directly by Speech Synthesis Manager functions are not reported
here. If your application defines an error callback function, the
callback should use the soErrors selector
to obtain error information. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a speech error information structure, described
in SpeechErrorInfo.
This selector works with the GetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soInputModeGet or set the speech channel’s current text-processing
mode. The returned value specifies whether the channel is currently
in text input mode or phoneme input mode. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a variable of type OSType,
which specifies a text-processing mode. The constants modeText and modePhonemes specify
the available text-processing modes.
The modeText constant
indicates that the speech channel is in text-processing mode. The modePhonemes constant
indicates that the speech channel is in phoneme-processing mode.
When in phoneme-processing mode, a text buffer is interpreted to
be a series of characters representing various phonemes and prosodic
controls. Some synthesizers might support additional input-processing
modes and define constants for these modes.
This selector works with both the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soCharacterModeGet or set the speech channel’s character-processing
mode. Two constants are currently defined for the processing mode, modeNormal and modeLiteral. When
the character-processing mode is modeNormal,
input characters are spoken as you would expect to hear them. When
the mode is modeLiteral, each
character is spoken literally, so that the word “cat” would
be spoken “C–A–T”. The speechInfo parameter
points to a variable of type OSType, which
is the character-processing mode.
This selector works with the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soNumberModeGet or set the speech channel’s current number-processing
mode. Two OSType constants
are currently defined, modeNormal and modeLiteral.
When the number-processing mode is modeNormal,
the synthesizer assembles digits into numbers (so that 12 is spoken
as “twelve”). When the mode is modeLiteral,
each digit is spoken literally (so that 12 is spoken as “one, two”).
The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a variable of type OSType, which
specifies the number-processing mode.
This selector works with both the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soRateGet or set a speech channel’s speech rate.
The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a variable of type Fixed.
The possible range of speech rates is from 0.000 to 65535.65535.
The range of supported rates is not predefined by the Speech Synthesis
Manager; each speech synthesizer provides its own range of speech
rates. Average human speech occurs at a rate of 180 to 220 words per
minute.
This selector works with both the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soPitchBaseGet or set the speech channel’s baseline
speech pitch. This selector is intended for use by the Speech Synthesis
Manager; ordinarily, an application uses the GetSpeechPitch and SetSpeechPitch functions.
The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a variable of type Fixed.
This selector works with both the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soPitchModGet or set a speech channel’s pitch modulation.
The speechInfo parameter is
a pointer to a variable of type Fixed.
Pitch modulation is also expressed as a fixed-point value in the
range of 0.000 to 127.000. These values correspond to MIDI note
values, where 60.000 is equal to middle C on a piano scale. The
most useful speech pitches fall in the range of 40.000 to 55.000.
A pitch modulation value of 0.000 corresponds to a monotone in which
all speech is generated at the frequency corresponding to the speech pitch.
Given a speech pitch value of 46.000, a pitch modulation of 2.000 would
mean that the widest possible range of pitches corresponding to
the actual frequency of generated text would be 44.000 to 48.000.
This selector works with both the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soVolumeGet or set the speech volume for a speech channel.
The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a variable of type Fixed.
Volumes are expressed in fixed-point units ranging from 0.0 through
1.0. A value of 0.0 corresponds to silence, and a value of 1.0 corresponds
to the maximum possible volume. Volume units lie on a scale that
is linear with amplitude or voltage. A doubling of perceived loudness
corresponds to a doubling of the volume.
This selector works with both the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soSynthTypeGet a speech version information structure
for the speech synthesizer being used on the specified speech channel.
The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a speech version information structure, described
in SpeechVersionInfo.
This selector works with the GetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soRecentSyncGet the message code for the most recently
encountered synchronization command. If no synchronization command
has been encountered, 0 is returned. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a variable of type OSType.
This selector works with the GetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soPhonemeSymbolsGet a list of phoneme symbols and example words
defined for the speech channel’s synthesizer. Your application
might use this information to show the user what symbols to use
when entering phonemic text directly. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a variable of type Handle that, on exit from the GetSpeechInfo function,
is a handle to a phoneme descriptor structure, described in PhonemeDescriptor.
This selector works with the GetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soCurrentVoiceSet the current voice on the current speech
channel to the specified voice. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a voice specification structure. Your application
should create the structure by calling MakeVoiceSpec. SetSpeechInfo will
return an incompatibleVoice error
if the specified voice is incompatible with the speech synthesizer
associated with the speech channel. If you have a speech channel
open using a voice from a particular synthesizer and you try to
switch to a voice that works with a different synthesizer, you receive
an incompatibleVoice error.
You need to create a new channel to use with the new voice.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soCommandDelimiterSet the embedded speech command delimiter characters
to be used for the speech channel. By default the opening delimiter
is “[[” and the closing delimiter
is “]]”. Your application
might need to change these delimiters temporarily if those character
sequences occur naturally in a text buffer that is to be spoken.
Your application can also disable embedded command processing by
passing empty delimiters (2 NULL bytes).
The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a delimiter information structure, described in DelimiterInfo.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soResetSet a speech channel back to its default state.
For example, speech pitch and speech rate are set to default values.
The speechInfo parameter
should be set to NULL.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soCurrentA5Set the value that the Speech Synthesis Manager
assigns to the A5 register before invoking any application-defined
callback functions for the speech channel. The A5 register must
be set correctly if the callback functions are to be able to access
application global variables. The speechInfo parameter should
be set to the pointer contained in the A5 register at a time when
the application is not executing interrupt code or to NULL if
your application wishes to clear a value previously set with the soCurrentA5 selector.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soRefConSet a speech channel’s reference constant
value. The reference constant value is passed to application-defined
callback functions and might contain any value convenient for the
application. The speechInfo parameter
is a long integer containing the reference constant value. In contrast
with other selectors, this selector does not require that the speechInfo parameter’s value
be a pointer value. Typically, however, an application does use
this selector to pass a pointer or handle value to callback functions.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soTextDoneCallBackSet the callback function to be called when
the Speech Synthesis Manager has finished processing speech being
generated on the speech channel. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to an application-defined text-done callback function,
whose syntax is described in SpeechTextDoneProcPtr. Passing NULL in speechInfo disables
the text-done callback function.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soSpeechDoneCallBackSet the callback function to be called when
the Speech Synthesis Manager has finished generating speech on the
speech channel. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to an application-defined speech-done callback function,
whose syntax is described in SpeechDoneProcPtr.
Passing NULL in speechInfo disables
the speech-done callback function.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soSyncCallBackSet the callback function to be called when
the Speech Synthesis Manager encounters a synchronization command
within an embedded speech command in text being processed on the
speech channel. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to an application-defined synchronization callback function,
whose syntax is described in SpeechSyncProcPtr.
Passing NULL in speechInfo disables
the synchronization callback function.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soErrorCallBackSet the callback function to be called when
an error is encountered during the processing of an embedded command.
The callback function might also be called if other conditions (such
as insufficient memory) arise during the speech conversion process.
When a Speech Synthesis Manager function returns an error directly,
the error callback function is not called. The callback function
is passed information about the most recent error; it can determine
information about the oldest pending error by using the speech information
selector soErrors. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to an application-defined error callback function.
Passing NULL in speechInfo disables
the error callback function, SpeechErrorProcPtr.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soPhonemeCallBackSet the callback function to be called every
time the Speech Synthesis Manager is about to generate a phoneme
on the speech channel. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to an application-defined phoneme callback function,
whose syntax is described in SpeechPhonemeProcPtr. Passing NULL in speechInfo disables
the phoneme callback function.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soWordCallBackSet the callback function to be called every
time the Speech Synthesis Manager is about to generate a word on
the speech channel. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to an application-defined word callback function, whose syntax is described in SpeechWordProcPtr.
Passing NULL in speechInfo disables
the word callback function.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soSynthExtensionGet or set synthesizer-specific information
or settings. The speechInfo parameter
is a pointer to a speech extension data structure, described in SpeechXtndData. Your
application should set the synthCreator field
of this structure before calling GetSpeechInfo or SetSpeechInfo.
Ordinarily, your application must pass additional information to
the synthesizer in the synthData field.
This selector works with both the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soSoundOutputGet or set the speech channel’s current output
channel. (Deprecated. Use soOutputToFileWithCFURL instead.)
This selector works with both the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soOutputToFileWithCFURLPass a CFURLRef in the speechInfo parameter to write to this file, or NULL to generate sound.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soOutputToExtAudioFilePass an ExtAudioFileRef in the speechInfo parameter to write to this file, or NULL to generate sound.
Note that the Speech Synthesis Manager may alter the kExtAudioFileProperty_ClientDataFormat and kExtAudioFileProperty_ClientChannelLayout properties of the extended audio file object. The caller is responsible for closing the extended audio file object after the Speech Synthesis Manager is finished with it.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.6 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soPhonemeOptionsGet or set options for the generation of phonetic output. See “Phoneme Generation Options” for a complete list of options.
The speechInfo parameter is a pointer to a long value that represents the phoneme generation value.
This selector works with both the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
Available in Mac OS X v10.6 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
soOutputToAudioDevicePass a pointer to an AudioDeviceID in the speechInfo parameter to play to this file, or 0 to play through the default audio output device.
This selector works with the SetSpeechInfo function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.6 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
See the GetSpeechInfo and SetSpeechInfo functions.
SpeechSynthesis.hFlags that specify options for the generation of phonetic output.
enum {
kSpeechGenerateTune = 1,
kSpeechRelativePitch = 2,
kSpeechRelativeDuration = 4,
kSpeechShowSyllables = 8
};
kSpeechGenerateTuneGenerate phonemes that produce a detailed tune, specified by pitch and duration information.
Available in Mac OS X v10.6 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechRelativePitchSpecify the pitch in the tune, relative to the pitch baseline of the voice (this makes it easier to reuse the tune with a different voice).
Available in Mac OS X v10.6 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechRelativeDurationSpecify the duration in the tune, relative to the current speech rate (this makes it easier to reuse the tune at a different rate).
Available in Mac OS X v10.6 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechShowSyllablesShow all syllable marks in the phonetic output or tune.
Available in Mac OS X v10.6 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hProperties used with CopySpeechProperty or SetSpeechProperty to get or set the characteristics of a speech channel.
CFStringRef kSpeechStatusProperty = CFSTR("stat"); CFStringRef kSpeechErrorsProperty = CFSTR("erro"); CFStringRef kSpeechInputModeProperty = CFSTR("inpt"); CFStringRef kSpeechCharacterModeProperty = CFSTR("char"); CFStringRef kSpeechNumberModeProperty = CFSTR("nmbr"); CFStringRef kSpeechRateProperty = CFSTR("rate"); CFStringRef kSpeechPitchBaseProperty = CFSTR("pbas"); CFStringRef kSpeechPitchModProperty = CFSTR("pmod"); CFStringRef kSpeechVolumeProperty = CFSTR("volm"); CFStringRef kSpeechSynthesizerInfoProperty = CFSTR("vers"); CFStringRef kSpeechRecentSyncProperty = CFSTR("sync"); CFStringRef kSpeechPhonemeSymbolsProperty = CFSTR("phsy"); CFStringRef kSpeechCurrentVoiceProperty = CFSTR("cvox"); CFStringRef kSpeechCommandDelimiterProperty = CFSTR("dlim"); CFStringRef kSpeechResetProperty = CFSTR("rset"); CFStringRef kSpeechOutputToFileURLProperty = CFSTR("opaf"); CFStringRef kSpeechOutputToExtAudioFileProperty = CFSTR("opax"); CFStringRef kSpeechRefConProperty = CFSTR("refc"); CFStringRef kSpeechTextDoneCallBack = CFSTR("tdcb"); CFStringRef kSpeechSpeechDoneCallBack = CFSTR("sdcb"); CFStringRef kSpeechSyncCallBack = CFSTR("sycb"); CFStringRef kSpeechPhonemeCallBack = CFSTR("phcb"); CFStringRef kSpeechErrorCFCallBack = CFSTR("eccb"); CFStringRef kSpeechWordCFCallBack = CFSTR("wccb"); CFStringRef kSpeechPhonemeOptionsProperty = CFSTR("popt"); CFStringRef kSpeechOutputToAudioDeviceProperty = CRSTR("opad");
kSpeechStatusPropertyGet speech-status information for the speech channel.
The value associated with this property is a CFDictionary object that contains speech-status information for the speech channel. See “Speech Status Keys” for a description of the keys present in the dictionary.
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechErrorsPropertyGet speech-error information for the speech channel.
The value associated with this property is a CFDictionary object that contains speech-error information. See “Speech Error Keys” for a description of the keys present in the dictionary.
This property lets you get information about various run-time errors that occur during speaking, such as the detection of badly formed embedded commands. Errors returned directly by the Speech Synthesis Manager are not reported here. If your application defines an error callback function, the function can use this property to get error information.
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechInputModePropertyGet or set the speech channel’s current text-processing mode.
The value associated with this property is a CFString object that specifies whether the channel is currently in text input mode or phoneme input mode. The constants kSpeechModeText and kSpeechModePhoneme (defined in “Speech-Channel Modes for Core Foundation-based Functions”) are the possible values of this string.
When in phoneme-processing mode, a text string is interpreted to be a series of characters representing various phonemes and prosodic controls. Some synthesizers might support additional input-processing modes and define constants for these modes.
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty and SetSpeechProperty functions.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechCharacterModePropertyGet or set the speech channel’s current character-processing mode.
The value associated with this property is a CFString object that specifies whether the speech channel is currently in normal or literal character-processing mode. The constants kSpeechModeNormal and kSpeechModeLiteral (defined in “Speech-Channel Modes for Core Foundation-based Functions”) are the possible values of this string.
When the character-processing mode is kSpeechModeNormal, input characters are spoken as you would expect to hear them. When the mode is kSpeechModeLiteral, each character is spoken literally, so that the word “cat” is spoken “C–A–T”.
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty and SetSpeechProperty functions.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechNumberModePropertyGet or set the speech channel’s current number-processing mode.
The value associated with this property is a CFString object that specifies whether the speech channel is currently in normal or literal number-processing mode. The constants kSpeechModeNormal and kSpeechModeLiteral (defined in “Speech-Channel Modes for Core Foundation-based Functions”) are the possible values of this string.
When the number-processing mode is kSpeechModeNormal, the synthesizer assembles digits into numbers (so that “12” is spoken as “twelve”). When the mode is kSpeechModeLiteral, each digit is spoken literally (so that “12” is spoken as “one, two”).
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty and SetSpeechProperty functions.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechRatePropertyGet or set a speech channel’s speech rate.
The value associated with this property is a CFNumber object that specifies the speech channel’s speaking rate.
The range of supported rates is not predefined by the Speech Synthesis Manager; each speech synthesizer provides its own range of speech rates. Average human speech occurs at a rate of 180 to 220 words per minute.
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty and SetSpeechProperty functions.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechPitchBasePropertyGet or set the speech channel’s baseline speech pitch.
The value associated with this property is a CFNumber object that specifies the speech channel’s baseline speech pitch.
Typical voice frequencies range from around 90 hertz for a low-pitched male voice to perhaps 300 hertz for a high-pitched child’s voice. These frequencies correspond to approximate pitch values in the ranges of 30.000 to 40.000 and 55.000 to 65.000, respectively.
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty and SetSpeechProperty functions.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechPitchModPropertyGet or set a speech channel’s pitch modulation.
The value associated with this property is a CFNumber object that specifies the speech channel’s pitch modulation.
Pitch modulation is also expressed as a floating-point value in the range of 0.000 to 127.000. These values correspond to MIDI note values, where 60.000 is equal to middle C on a piano scale. The most useful speech pitches fall in the range of 40.000 to 55.000. A pitch modulation value of 0.000 corresponds to a monotone in which all speech is generated at the frequency corresponding to the speech pitch. Given a speech pitch value of 46.000, a pitch modulation of 2.000 would mean that the widest possible range of pitches corresponding to the actual frequency of generated text would be 44.000 to 48.000.
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty and SetSpeechProperty functions.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechVolumePropertyGet or set the speech volume for a speech channel.
The value associated with this property is a CFNumber object that specifies the speech channel’s speech volume.
Volumes are expressed in floating-point values ranging from 0.0 through 1.0. A value of 0.0 corresponds to silence, and a value of 1.0 corresponds to the maximum possible volume. Volume units lie on a scale that is linear with amplitude or voltage. A doubling of perceived loudness corresponds to a doubling of the volume.
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty and SetSpeechProperty functions.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechSynthesizerInfoPropertyGet information about the speech synthesizer being used on the specified speech channel.
The value associated with this property is a CFDictionary object that contains information about the speech synthesizer being used on the specified speech channel. See “Speech Synthesizer Information Keys” for a description of the keys present in the dictionary.
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechRecentSyncPropertyGet the message code for the most recently encountered synchronization command.
The value associated with this property is a CFString object that specifies the most recently encountered synchronization command. This property works with the CopySpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechPhonemeSymbolsPropertyGet a list of phoneme symbols and example words defined for the speech channel’s synthesizer.
The value associated with this property is a CFDictionary object that contains the phoneme symbols and example words defined for the current synthesizer. Your application might use this information to show the user what symbols to use when entering phonemic text directly. See “Phoneme Symbols Keys” for a description of the keys present in the dictionary.
This property works with the CopySpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechCurrentVoicePropertySet the current voice on the current speech channel to the specified voice.
The value associated with this property is a CFDictionary object that contains the phoneme symbols and example words defined for the current synthesizer. Your application might use this information to show the user what symbols to use when entering phonemic text directly. See “Phoneme Symbols Keys” for the keys you can use to specify values in this dictionary.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechCommandDelimiterPropertySet the embedded speech command delimiter characters to be used for the speech channel.
By default, the opening delimiter is “[[” and the closing delimiter is “]]”. Your application might need to change these delimiters temporarily if those character sequences occur naturally in a text buffer that is to be spoken. Your application can also disable embedded command processing by passing empty delimiters (as empty strings). The value associated with this property is a CFDictionary object that contains the delimiter information. See “Command Delimiter Keys” for the keys you can use to specify values in this dictionary.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechResetPropertySet a speech channel back to its default state.
You can use this function to, for example, set speech pitch and speech rate to default values. There is no value associated with this property; to reset the channel to its default state, set the string to NULL.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechOutputToFileURLPropertySet the speech output destination to a file or to the computer’s speakers.
The value associated with this property is a CFURL object. To write the speech output to a file, use the file’s CFURLRef; to generate the sound through the computer’s speakers, use NULL.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechOutputToExtAudioFilePropertySet the speech output destination to an extended audio file or to the computer’s speakers.
The value associated with this property is an extended audio file object. To write the speech output to an extended audio file, use the file’s ExtAudioFileRef; to generate sound through the computer’s speakers, use NULL.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechRefConPropertySet a speech channel’s reference constant value.
The reference constant value is passed to application-defined callback functions and might contain any value convenient for the application. The value associated with this property is a CFNumber object that contains an integer value. For example, an application might set the value of the CFNumber object to an address in memory that contains a reference to an object or a pointer to a function.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechTextDoneCallBackSet the callback function to be called when the Speech Synthesis Manager has finished processing speech being generated on the speech channel.
The value associated with this property is a CFNumber object whose value is a pointer to an application-defined text-done callback function, whose syntax is described in SpeechTextDoneProcPtr. Passing a CFNumber object that contains the value NULL disables the text-done callback function.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechSpeechDoneCallBackSet the callback function to be called when the Speech Synthesis Manager has finished generating speech on the speech channel.
The value associated with this property is CFNumber object whose value is a pointer to an application-defined speech-done callback function, whose syntax is described in SpeechDoneProcPtr. Passing NULL for the value of this property disables the speech-done callback function.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechSyncCallBackSet the callback function to be called when the Speech Synthesis Manager encounters a synchronization command within an embedded speech command in text being processed on the speech channel.
The value associated with this property is CFNumber object whose value is a pointer to an application-defined synchronization callback function, whose syntax is described in SpeechSyncProcPtr. Passing a CFNumber object that contains the value NULL for the value of this property disables the synchronization callback function.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechPhonemeCallBackSet the callback function to be called every time the Speech Synthesis Manager is about to generate a phoneme on the speech channel.
The value associated with this property is CFNumber object whose value is a pointer to an application-defined phoneme callback function, whose syntax is described in SpeechPhonemeProcPtr. Passing a CFNumber object that contains the value NULL for the value of this property disables the phoneme callback function.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechErrorCFCallBackSet the callback function to be called when an error is encountered during the processing of an embedded command.
When a Speech Synthesis Manager function returns an error directly, the error callback function is not called. The callback function is passed information about the most recent error; it can determine information about the oldest pending error by using the speech information property kSpeechErrorsProperty. The value associated with this property is CFNumber object whose value is a pointer to an application-defined error callback function, whose syntax is described in SpeechErrorCFProcPtr. Passing a CFNumber object that contains the value NULL for the value of this property disables the error callback function.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechWordCFCallBackSet the callback function to be called every time the Speech Synthesis Manager is about to generate a word on the speech channel.
The value associated with this property is CFNumber object whose value is a pointer to an application-defined word callback function, whose syntax is described in SpeechWordCFProcPtr. Passing a CFNumber object that contains the value NULL for the value of this property disables the word callback function.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechPhonemeOptionsPropertyGet or set the options for the generation of phonetic output.
The value associated with this property is a pointer to an CFNumber object containing the flags (options) you would pass to soPhonemeOptions. (See “Phoneme Generation Options” for a complete list of options.)
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty and the CopySpeechProperty functions.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechOutputToAudioDevicePropertySet the speech output destination to an audio device file or to the computer’s speakers.
The value associated with this property is a CFNumber object that contains an AudioDeviceID. To play the speech output to an audio device, use the AudioDeviceID that represents the device; to generate sound through the computer’s speakers, use 0.
This property works with the SetSpeechProperty function.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.6 and later.
SpeechSynthesis.hKeys used to specify synthesizer options.
CFStringRef kSpeechNoEndingProsody = CFSTR("NoEndingProsody"); CFStringRef kSpeechNoSpeechInterrupt = CFSTR("NoSpeechInterrupt"); CFStringRef kSpeechPreflightThenPause = CFSTR("PreflightThenPause");
kSpeechNoEndingProsodyDisable prosody at the end of sentences.
The kSpeechNoEndingProsody key is used to indicate whether the speech synthesizer should automatically apply ending prosody, which is the speech tone and cadence that normally occur at the end of a sentence. When the key is not specified, ending prosody is applied to the speech at the end of aString. This behavior can be disabled by specifying the kSpeechNoEndingProsody key in the options dictionary.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechNoSpeechInterruptDo not interrupt current speech.
The kSpeechNoSpeechInterrupt key is used to control the behavior of SpeakCFString when it is called on a speech channel that is busy. When kSpeechNoSpeechInterrupt is not specified in the options dictionary, SpeakCFString immediately interrupts the speech currently being produced on the specified speech channel and the new aString text is spoken. When kSpeechNoSpeechInterrupt is specified in the options dictionary, the request to speak on a speech channel that is already busy causes the new aString text to be ignored and the synthNotReady error to be returned. As soon as the prior string has been fully processed, the new string is then spoken.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechPreflightThenPauseCompute speech without generating it.
The kSpeechPreflightThenPause key is used to minimize the latency experienced when the speech synthesizer is attempting to speak.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
SpeechSynthesis.hKeys used with the kSpeechStatusProperty property to specify the status of the speech channel.
CFStringRef kSpeechStatusOutputBusy = CFSTR("OutputBusy"); CFStringRef kSpeechStatusOutputPaused = CFSTR("OutputPaused"); CFStringRef kSpeechStatusNumberOfCharactersLeft = CFSTR("NumberOfCharactersLeft"); CFStringRef kSpeechStatusPhonemeCode = CFSTR("PhonemeCode");
kSpeechStatusOutputBusyIndicates whether the speech channel is currently producing speech.
A speech channel is considered to be producing speech even at some times when no audio data is being produced through the computer’s speaker. This occurs, for example, when the Speech Synthesis Manager is processing input, but has not yet initiated speech or when speech output is paused.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechStatusOutputPausedIndicates whether speech output in the speech channel has been paused by a call to the PauseSpeechAt function.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechStatusNumberOfCharactersLeftThe number of characters left in the input string of text.
When the value of this constant is zero, you can destroy the input string.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechStatusPhonemeCodeThe opcode for the phoneme that the speech channel is currently processing.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hKeys used with the kSpeechErrorsProperty property to describe errors encountered during speech processing and production.
CFStringRef kSpeechErrorCount = CFSTR("Count"); CFStringRef kSpeechErrorOldest = CFSTR("OldestCode"); CFStringRef kSpeechErrorOldestCharacterOffset = CFSTR("OldestCharacterOffset"); CFStringRef kSpeechErrorNewest = CFSTR("NewestCode"); CFStringRef kSpeechErrorNewestCharacterOffset = CFSTR("NewestCharacterOffset");
kSpeechErrorCountThe number of errors that have occurred in processing the current text string, since the last call to the CopySpeechProperty function with the kSpeechErrorsProperty property.
Using the kSpeechErrorOldest keys and the kSpeechErrorNewest keys, you can get information about the oldest and most recent errors that occurred since the last call to CopySpeechProperty, but you cannot get information about any intervening errors.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechErrorOldestThe error code of the first error that occurred since the last call to the CopySpeechProperty function with the kSpeechErrorsProperty property.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechErrorOldestCharacterOffsetThe position in the text string of the first error that occurred since the last call to the CopySpeechProperty function with the kSpeechErrorsProperty property.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechErrorNewestThe error code of the most recent error that occurred since the last call to the CopySpeechProperty function with the kSpeechErrorsProperty property.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechErrorNewestCharacterOffsetThe position in the text string of the most recent error that occurred since the last call to the CopySpeechProperty function with the kSpeechErrorsProperty property.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hKeys used with the kSpeechSynthesizerInfoProperty property to get information about the synthesizer.
CFStringRef kSpeechSynthesizerInfoIdentifier = CFSTR("Identifier"); CFStringRef kSpeechSynthesizerInfoVersion = CFSTR("Version"); CFStringRef kSpeechSynthesizerInfoManufacturer = CFSTR("Manufacturer");
kSpeechSynthesizerInfoIdentifierThe identifier of the speech synthesizer.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechSynthesizerInfoVersionThe version of the speech synthesizer.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechSynthesizerInfoManufacturerThe identification of a synthesizer engine (see the synthManufacturer field in SpeechVersionInfo).
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hKeys used with the kSpeechPhonemeSymbolsProperty property to provide information about the phoneme being processed.
CFStringRef kSpeechPhonemeInfoOpcode = CFSTR("Opcode"); CFStringRef kSpeechPhonemeInfoSymbol = CFSTR("Symbol"); CFStringRef kSpeechPhonemeInfoExample = CFSTR("Example"); CFStringRef kSpeechPhonemeInfoHiliteStart = CFSTR("HiliteStart"); CFStringRef kSpeechPhonemeInfoHiliteEnd = CFSTR("HiliteEnd");
kSpeechPhonemeInfoOpcodeThe opcode of the phoneme.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechPhonemeInfoSymbolThe symbol used to represent the phoneme.
The symbol does not necessarily have a phonetic connection to the phoneme, but might simply be an abstract textual representation of it.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechPhonemeInfoExampleAn example word that illustrates the use of the phoneme.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechPhonemeInfoHiliteStartThe character offset into the example word that identifies the location of the beginning of the phoneme.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechPhonemeInfoHiliteEndThe character offset into the example word that identifies the location of the end of the phoneme.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hKeys used with the kSpeechCurrentVoiceProperty property to specify information about the current voice.
CFStringRef kSpeechVoiceCreator = CFSTR("Creator"); CFStringRef kSpeechVoiceID = CFSTR("ID");
kSpeechVoiceCreatorThe synthesizer that is required to use the voice.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
kSpeechVoiceIDThe voice ID of the voice for the synthesizer (every voice on a synthesizer has a unique ID).
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hKeys used with the kSpeechCommandDelimiterProperty property to specify information about the command delimiter strings.
CFStringRef kSpeechCommandPrefix = CFSTR("Prefix"); CFStringRef kSpeechCommandSuffix = CFSTR("Suffix");
kSpeechCommandPrefixThe command delimiter string that prefixes a command (by default, this is [[).
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechCommandSuffixThe command delimiter string that suffixes a command (by default, this is ]]).
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hKeys used in a speech dictionary to override the synthesizer’s default pronunciation of a word.
CFStringRef kSpeechDictionaryLocaleIdentifier = CFSTR("LocaleIdentifier"); CFStringRef kSpeechDictionaryModificationDate = CFSTR("ModificationDate"); CFStringRef kSpeechDictionaryPronunciations = CFSTR("Pronunciations"); CFStringRef kSpeechDictionaryAbbreviations = CFSTR("Abbreviations"); CFStringRef kSpeechDictionaryEntrySpelling = CFSTR("Spelling"); CFStringRef kSpeechDictionaryEntryPhonemes = CFSTR("Phonemes");
kSpeechDictionaryLocaleIdentifierThe locale associated with the pronunciation.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechDictionaryModificationDateThe date the dictionary was last modified.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechDictionaryPronunciationsThe set of custom pronunciations.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechDictionaryAbbreviationsThe set of custom pronunciations for abbreviations.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechDictionaryEntrySpellingThe spelling of an entry.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechDictionaryEntryPhonemesThe phonemic representation of an entry.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
The keys in a speech dictionary can determine how a synthesizer pronounces a word. After you’ve created a speech dictionary, you register it with a speech channel with the UseSpeechDictionary function.
SpeechSynthesis.hSpecifies information about the text being synthesized when an error occurs.
CFStringRef kSpeechErrorCallbackSpokenString = CFSTR("SpokenString"); CFStringRef kSpeechErrorCallbackCharacterOffset = CFSTR("CharacterOffset");
kSpeechErrorCallbackSpokenStringThe text being synthesized when the error occurred.
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
kSpeechErrorCallbackCharacterOffsetThe character index in the text being synthesized when the error occurred (the string representing the text is in kSpeechErrorCallbackSpokenString).
Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
Declared in SpeechSynthesis.h.
SpeechSynthesis.hThe most common result codes returned by Speech Synthesis Manager are listed below.
You can check for version and feature availability information by using the Speech Synthesis Manager selectors defined in the Gestalt Manager. For more information see Inside Mac OS X: Gestalt Manager Reference.
Last updated: 2009-08-17
Mac OS X Reference Library User Experience: Speech Technologies Speech Synthesis Manager Reference