SPEAK TURKISH  USER’S GUIDE

This is a freeware program.  So feel free to distribute it as long as the files included in this package are kept together.

It is free to use, copy and distribute all portions of the "Software" provided that

() 	the Software is NOT distributed for profit;

() 	the Software is used only in conjunction with licensed copies of  Microsoft Windows products;

() 	the Software may NOT be modified.

ENTERING TEXT

ENTERING PHONETIC STRINGS

If you have any suggestions

FEATURES of this version:

1 - Voice pitch and speech speed adjustment.

2 - Multithread support:  You don’t have to wait for the speech to finish.  You can start and stop the speech engine at any time.

3 - Intonation:  You can define stressed syllables.  Possible uses of intonation are interrogative intonation and exclamation.

4 - Dynamic voice envelope and pitch:  Voice envelope and pitch varies according to word and prose reading rules.

NOTE:

The next version of Speak Turkish will include an exception dictionary so you’ll be able to define exceptional words that are required to be read differently from the default reading rules.


Entering Text:

You can enter Turkish paragraphs by using the conventional ways in Windows like typing directly in the textbox or copying in another application and pasting in the textbox. The text is parsed and different character groups are recognized and interpreted by the program.  The recognized character groups are:

Word	Readable character group.  Syllabled and read.  Repeating vowels are read 10 times longer than a single vowel.

Letter	Read as a single letter.

Number	Readable numeric group. Read as a decimal number.  Above 66 digits or if it  begins with a 0, the number is read as a sequence of  numerical values.

Sign	Read by name.  For example ‘=’ is read ‘E\si~t~Tir’ and ‘+’ is read ‘ArT\i’.  Repeating signs are read as a single sign.  For example ‘------------------------------‘  is read ‘E~kSi’.

ASCII	Not read

‘.’ (period) causes a long delay for the end of a statement.

‘,’ (comma) causes a short delay.

‘ ‘ (space and tab) causes a very short delay for the interval between words.

‘\’ (backslash) causes the following character to be converted to the corresponding Turkish alternative.  For example:

\i	is read	ý

\u	is read	ü

\s	is read	þ

\c	is read	ç

\g	is read 	ð

‘`’ (quote open) causes a higher pitch for the last syllable thus giving an intonation effect.  Repeating ` characters cause higher pitch.  For example:    Eski`þehir mi?  would result in a correct interrogative intonation ( ‘ki’ is stressed).  ^ or | (described below) could also be used for intonation.

‘^’ (caret) causes the pitch to increase slowly at the beginning of the syllable and decrease fast at the end of the syllable. Repeating ^ characters cause a higher maximum pitch.

‘|’ (pipe) causes the pitch to increase fast at the beginning of the syllable and decrease slowly at the end of the syllable. Repeating | characters cause a higher maximum pitch.

You can also enter phonetic description strings starting with ‘{‘ and ending with ‘}’ or end of line marker (The character placed in the string when you press enter to make a new line.  This character is invisible.).

The letters ð and x are interpreted in the preprocess phase into corresponding phonetic letters.  Therefore, it is meaningless to use these letters in a phonetic description string.

ENTERING PHONETIC STRINGS


Entering Phonetic Description Strings:

The phonetic string is what is automatically generated in the preprocess phase according to the reading rules of Turkish before generating speech data.  Preprocessing performs syllable extraction, number and sign reading.

You can also enter phonetic strings directly.  This enables you to access all available phonemes by name.

Phonetic strings are enclosed in { } or started with { and terminated with an end of line marker or string end.

In a phonetic string, automatic interpretation is not performed.  Namely, syllables are not detected automatically and the number and sign reading is disabled.

Therefore, you should enter the spelling rule of the words correctly.

To indicate the start point of a syllable, use uppercase letters.  This selects the syllable beginning version of a consonant. Other letters in a syllable should be all lowercase to be read correctly most of the time.  But, you can also use different combinations to obtain a desired effect.

~	Causes the following consonant to be read thin.  For example:

{~La~le}, {~Ka~Mil}, {~PiRe}  and so on.

The letters ð and x are interpreted in the preprocess phase into corresponding phonetic letters.  Therefore, it is meaningless to use these letters in a phonetic description string.


HOW YOU CAN CONTACT ME

If you have any suggestions, please contact me via Email.  My current E-Mail address is:

ilkayb@datasel.com.tr

Alternatively, you could mail to:

ilkayb@pc427b.bcc.bilkent.edu.tr

ilkayb@linux.egt.anadolu.edu.tr

ilkayb@mail.ogu.edu.tr