International Day of the Blind is celebrated annually on October 13. Due to this holiday STANDARTINFORM prepared an overview of national standard «Speech synthesizers of special computer workplaces for the visually impaired. Technical requirements».
GOST R 52873–2017 will come into force since 01.01.2019 instead of GOST R 52873-2007.
Standard is applied to speech synthesizers used by visually impaired being the component of special computer workplace as mean of rehabilitation.
Speech synthesizer is a technical tool which modifies text in various languages into a sound signal.
Speech synthesizers are divided into the following ones - monolingual (for example, only Russian language), multilingual (for example, Russian and English languages and other ones), programming (functioning on the basis of technical and software applications) and hardware (functioning on the basis of technical applications).
Speech synthesizer provides a user with comfortable working environment including the following parameters - fusion of reproduction of sounds in words, intelligibility of speech, and proximity of a sound to a human voice i.e. characteristics that influence the fatigue of a user while listening to big amount of information.
Software applications of speech synthesizer should consist of word processor, transcript, sound base, shaper of a verbal message and sound output unit.
Word processor should fulfil functions of selection of sentences in text, reading of headings of electronic letters and documents, putting emphasis in words. This system should determine type of intonation of a sentence, location and duration of pauses in reading.
Transcript transforms text which was received from word processor into sequence of sounds.
Program of speech synthesizer has sound output unit.
Software tools of synthesizer should have function of regulation of speed of speech.
System should also provide a user with high degree of intelligibility of speech.