Forum Discussion
Pronunciation in AI Audio (TTS)
I am hoping someone can clarify the use of SSML with Eleven Labs voices in Storyline 360. I've read variously on E-Learning Heroes that SSML is not supported with Eleven Labs voices or that it is supported but only for <phoneme> and <break> or it's supported for other tags too. I've been trying to use it with the phoneme tag but when I generate speech, it simply skips over the tagged content.
This is a sample of one use I'm trying to get to work:
Repair of this injury can be addressed laparoscopically in stable patients. The first priority is adequate exposure. Additional ports should be placed as needed to isolate the injury and improve visualization. If the bowel is friable it can be handled indirectly using <speak><phoneme alphabet="ipa" ph="æ.tɹ.ə.mˈæɾɪk">atraumatic</phoneme></speak> graspers on the mesentery, and the edges of an enterotomy can be approximated to limit contamination if the injury is small.
When generated, all the speech between the opening <speak> and close </speak> tag is simply skipped but the rest of the speech is rendered. Since I am not sure if SSML is even supported, I'm not sure if I'm not rendering the tags correctly, or if it simply isn't supported.
Hello JohnDwyer-f5da1,
I'm glad to see that you're exploring the use of SSML Tags in your Storyline course! I can confirm that AI Assistant offers limited SSML support because its voices are built to interpret word context and adjust delivery naturally. That will contribute to the issue you are experiencing.
- What voice are you currently using? You'll want to confirm that SSML tags are supported for the selected voice.
I suggest using the other available Text-To-Speech option in Storyline, located under Insert> Audio> Text to Speech, so you have more control over pronunciation.
To test this on my end, I simply moved the <speak> </speak> tags to the beginning and end of the sample text you provided instead of with the <phoneme> tags.
Here's a quick visual of my experience in Storyline as well as the modified tags in your sample text.
<speak>Repair of this injury can be addressed laparoscopically in stable patients. The first priority is adequate exposure. Additional ports should be placed as needed to isolate the injury and improve visualization. If the bowel is friable it can be handled indirectly using <phoneme alphabet="ipa" ph="æ.tɹ.ə.mˈæɾɪk">atraumatic</phoneme>graspers on the mesentery, and the edges of an enterotomy can be approximated to limit contamination if the injury is small.</speak>
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any additional questions!
2 Replies
Hello JohnDwyer-f5da1,
I'm glad to see that you're exploring the use of SSML Tags in your Storyline course! I can confirm that AI Assistant offers limited SSML support because its voices are built to interpret word context and adjust delivery naturally. That will contribute to the issue you are experiencing.
- What voice are you currently using? You'll want to confirm that SSML tags are supported for the selected voice.
I suggest using the other available Text-To-Speech option in Storyline, located under Insert> Audio> Text to Speech, so you have more control over pronunciation.
To test this on my end, I simply moved the <speak> </speak> tags to the beginning and end of the sample text you provided instead of with the <phoneme> tags.
Here's a quick visual of my experience in Storyline as well as the modified tags in your sample text.
<speak>Repair of this injury can be addressed laparoscopically in stable patients. The first priority is adequate exposure. Additional ports should be placed as needed to isolate the injury and improve visualization. If the bowel is friable it can be handled indirectly using <phoneme alphabet="ipa" ph="æ.tɹ.ə.mˈæɾɪk">atraumatic</phoneme>graspers on the mesentery, and the edges of an enterotomy can be approximated to limit contamination if the injury is small.</speak>
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any additional questions!
Hi Luciana,
The way you have it set up now is how I originally had it set up and that didn't work for me either. I'm using Matilda. It looks like the tags aren't supported for that voice.
The other TTS sounds too robotic for my client.