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What Is Amazon Polly Text to Speech? Its Uses and Capabilities

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Have you ever wished you could make your computer or smart device speak like a human? Text-to-speech technology has come a long way in recent years, and Amazon Polly Text to  Speech is at the forefront of this exciting development. This powerful Amazon Web Services (AWS) service allows users to convert written text into lifelike speech in various languages and voices.

With a CAGR of 14.6% between 2020 and 2026, the text-to-speech market is expected to grow from a valuation of $2.0 billion in 2020 to $5.0 billion.

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But what exactly is Amazon Text to Speech, and how can it benefit you as an AI or tech enthusiast or as a worker in a tech startup? In this article, we’ll dive into the details of this cutting-edge technology, exploring its uses, capabilities, and features.

Whether you’re interested in creating voice user interfaces, audiobooks, or e-learning materials or exploring the possibilities of natural-sounding speech in your applications, Amazon Text to Speech has something to offer.

So, let’s get started and see what this innovative tool can do for you.

What is Amazon Polly text to speech?

AI text to speech robot talking

Amazon Polly is a text-to-speech service that enables you to create applications that talk and build entirely new categories of type-to-speech products. With Amazon Polly, you can easily create rich, natural-sounding voices customizable in gender, age range, and language.

Amazon Polly is built on the same technology used by Alexa and other leading products. It supports any language for which Amazon has created phonetic models, such as English (US), French, German, and Japanese.

Uses of Amazon Polly text to speech

You can use Amazon Text to Speech in the following ways:

Speech synthesis

To create computer-generated speech, you send a text to Amazon Polly for speech synthesis. The speech synthesizer creates a voice model based on your input text and then uses this model to produce the speech output. You can specify the speech rate, pitch, volume level, and other output characteristics with an optional configuration file you provide when creating your application.

With Amazon Polly Text to Speech, you can use a variety of voices and languages, including neural TTS voices, to create natural-sounding speech output. And whether you’re creating voice user interfaces, e-learning materials, or power point text to speech presentations, you can use Amazon Polly to ensure that your audio content is high quality and engaging.

Plus, with the ability to test your output with a list of phrases, you can be confident that your audience will hear exactly what you intended.

Voice user interfaces (VUIs)

Amazon Polly Text to Speech is perfect for creating voice user interfaces (VUIs). With this service, developers can develop VUIs that sound natural and lifelike. Users can interact with the application through speech, which makes the experience more intuitive and engaging.

Accessibility

Amazon Polly Text to Speech can be used to make applications more accessible. Users with visual impairments can interact with applications that rely on visual cues by converting text into speech. This makes it easier for users to access information and use applications, regardless of their visual abilities.

E-learning

Amazon Polly Text to Speech can create high-quality audio content for e-learning applications. This service can help to make learning materials more engaging and accessible, particularly for users who prefer to listen to content rather than read it.

Podcasts and audiobooks

Amazon Polly Text to Speech can be used to create high-quality audio content for podcasts and audiobooks. This service can help create lifelike speech indistinguishable from human speech, making the listening experience more enjoyable for users.

Capabilities of Amazon text to speech

speech bubbles

The capabilities of Amazon Polly’s Text-to-Speech (TTS) product include the following:

Speech synthesis markup language (SSML)

SML is an XML-based markup language that allows you to control how text is spoken. You can use SSML tags in an utterance parameter of the request to tell Amazon Polly how to pronounce words and sentences and other properties of the speaking voice.

For example, you can use SSML tags to specify that a word should be emphasized or read with a particular vocal emphasis or even dictate how long your text should read aloud.

Pronunciation lexicons

A pronunciation lexicon contains the phonetic transcriptions of words in your language. Pronunciation lexicons enable Amazon Polly to pronounce words correctly using phonetic transcriptions instead of spelling them out letter by letter.

For example, suppose your text contains the word “delta,” which has several possible pronunciations depending on its position within a sentence and surrounding sounds. In that case, a pronunciation lexicon enables Amazon Polly to generate all possible pronunciations for this word.

Multiple languages and voices

Amazon Polly Text to Speech supports multiple languages and offers a variety of voices. Users can choose from various languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Japanese. They can also choose from multiple voices, including male and female voices and different accents.

Customizable pronunciation

Amazon Polly Text to Speech allows users to customize the pronunciation of words. This feature is handy for users who want to create speech in a specific industry or domain, as it will enable them to ensure that the speech output is accurate and understandable.

Integration with other Amazon services

Amazon Polly Text to Speech can be integrated with other Amazon services, such as Amazon S3 and AWS Lambda. This integration makes it easy for users to create and manage their speech-enabled applications without worrying about infrastructure management.

Neural TTS

Amazon Polly Text to Speech uses neural TTS (text-to-speech) technology, which makes the speech output sound more natural and lifelike. This technology is based on deep learning algorithms trained on vast amounts of speech data. As a result, the speech output is indistinguishable from human speech.

Create lifelike speech with Amazon Polly text to speech

Overall, Amazon Polly Text to Speech is a powerful tool that can benefit AI, tech enthusiasts, and workers in tech startups. Its ability to create natural-sounding speech makes it a valuable tool for various applications. Its integration with other Amazon services makes it a convenient option for developers and businesses.

If you want to explore the potential of text-to-speech technology, try Amazon Polly Text to Speech. You can use it today to transform your text into lifelike speech that can engage and inform your audience. And if you’re looking for a way to take your audiovisual content to the next level, check out Typecast, an online text-to-speech tool that lets you create videos and avatars with human-like voices. Try it and see how it can help you connect deeply with your audience.

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