Forum Discussion
Alternative Text-to-Speech (TTS) Solutions for eLearning
Hello everyone,
This is a long post about alternative Text-to-Speech solutions. When Articulate introduced the "Converting Text to Speech" feature, I thought it was a great tool. However, after us...
Hi, everyone!
I have some great news to share. We just released another update for Storyline 360. In Update 83, we’ve included important fixes and new features!
One enhanced feature we’ve included:
Unlock new possibilities for text-to-speech audio. Use speech synthesis markup language (SSML) to adjust the speaking rate, modify pronunciation, emphasize words, add pauses, and more.
To take advantage of this update, launch the Articulate 360 desktop app on your computer, and click the Update button next to Storyline 360. You'll find our step-by-step instructions here!
I'm trying to use the SSML tags to have the US English, neural Danielle voice say the acronym SOGI (sojee) correctly (always says it with a hard G as So-Gee), but I can't seem to get the SSML tags correct. I've tried using the <say-as> SSML tag, but still keep getting the "Storyline can't convert ..." error message. I've tried it in 32 bit and 64 bit.
This is my best guess for using the <say-as> tag,
<speak>
Testing the say as SSML feature in Storyline for saying <say-as="sojee">SOGI</say-as>
</speak>
Going by the coloring of the string, it appears to be correct, but no go. I've tried it with no space between the word "saying" and the <say-as> tag, I've tried it using a space between "saying" and the <say-as> tag, I've tried it without the acronym SOGI in the string, I've tried putting the acronym SOGI before the <say-as> tag, but nothing seems to work.
Need additional guidance as to formatting SSML tags in SL.
Hello Paula,
The <say-as> tag would need a bit more information to determine what it's supposed to do. The best page for the additional attributes can be found here but I don't think it will fit your particular need as it's more literal (characters, how to read a date, etc.):
Supported SSML Tags - Say As
What you're looking for is phonetic pronunciation: Supported SSML Tags - Phonetics
That can be a bit confusing if you haven't done it before (ChatGPT and other AI clients to the rescue!) so there is a 3rd alternative and that's to spell it out yourself.
Try your alternative spelling as above to see if that works.
