Have you ever browsed the internet, our most basic need today - while blindfolded? You would say “what's the use”. For a Visually Impaired (VI) person, the crucible of information that is the internet is far out of reach without text to speech technology.
Everyone with a Smart Phone uses Text To Speech (TTS) software without even thinking about it for Navigation while driving or walking.
The same technology allows VI users to read electronic content by listening, hence the phrase “Reading without Seeing”. Text to Speech (TTS) options have been widely available for English and other western languages for more than a decade. With proper accessibility tools, people with Vision Impairment (VI) can be just as effective and productive as people with normal sight in most professional jobs, including banking, engineering and teaching.
Children learn best in their native language. We cannot expect Visually Impaired children to first learn English and then use the Text to Speech software to read books, news articles, do homework in English instead of their mother tongue spoken by their family & friends.
Hear2Read fills this void. Using open source Text to Speech technology, Hear2Read volunteers have released portable software for both Android devices and Windows PCs.
Follow the link below to Google Play to get Text to Speech for Android devices. Or click on the NVDA Addon link to download add Hear2Read Text to Speech voices as a NVDA Addon.
Thanks to the generosity of many volunteers and doners who have supported the project since 2013, Hear2Read Apps are free to use without Ads or purchases
Hear2Read Text to Speech (TTS) software provides a background service to convert text to speech. It can be used by any TTS-enabled App to "Read" by listening. The most common Apps that use Text to Speech software are Screen Reading Apps or eBook readers. eBook readers allow navigation within a book by chapter, page number, or bookmark, and word searches.
To find out how to download and use the Hear2Read Text to Speech software read these articles.
Using Hear2Read Text to Speech on Android Devices
Using Hear2Read Text to Speech on Windows 10/11 PCs with NVDA
Using Text to Speech
TTS for STEM Education