Have Your Linux Terminal Read to You With the espeak Command

Need to take heed to log information, command output, file enter, or something you kind within the terminal? The eSpeak program allows you to do exactly that by offering a voice on your Linux system with quite a few sensible purposes.

What Is eSpeak?

eSpeak is a command-line device that allows you to convert textual content to speech. It really works by taking textual content enter and changing it into phonemes, that are then synthesized into speech utilizing formant synthesis. This methodology fashions the human vocal tract to supply speech sounds, leading to a transparent however considerably mechanical voice.

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Additionally, eSpeak can converse in lots of languages (over 100 languages and accents), so you’ll be able to even learn the way phrases sound in French or Spanish. You may also tweak the output by adjusting settings just like the voice, pace, and pitch to get the sound excellent.

How you can Set up eSpeak

espeak is definitely obtainable through nearly any default bundle supervisor you may be utilizing. For Debian-based methods (Ubuntu, Mint), use APT:

sudo apt set up espeak

For Fedora or CentOS methods, use this:

sudo dnf set up espeak

And for Arch customers, it is:

sudo pacman -S espeak

After set up, confirm it by typing espeak –version in your terminal and urgent Enter. If put in, it is going to show the model quantity and the placement of the eSpeak bundle.

Utilizing eSpeak to Learn the Textual content Aloud

Utilizing espeak is so simple as typing a command. Once you run eSpeak within the terminal, you present it with some textual content, and it’ll converse that textual content out loud by your pc’s audio system.

For instance, kind espeak adopted by the textual content in quotes with none extra choices like this:

espeak "Howdy and Welcome to this Linux information."

Inside seconds, your terminal will learn the message aloud. You possibly can even pipe text from files or other commands straight into eSpeak. It is a enjoyable and sensible option to assessment logs, alerts, and even code feedback with out having to pressure your eyes.

For example, if you wish to take heed to the contents of a file, you might do:

cat yourfile.txt | espeak

Or, you should use this:

espeak -f text_file.txt

Not solely textual content information, you may also pipe the output of some other instructions to eSpeak. For instance, to listen to the present date and time, run:

date | espeak

This pipes the output of the date to espeak, which reads it aloud.

Exploring eSpeak Choices

eSpeak additionally comes with useful options like quite a lot of voices (male, feminine, or results like a whisper), and the choice to save lots of speech as a WAV file for later use. You possibly can customise it with command-line choices and fine-tune your expertise. For instance, you’ll be able to modify speech, pace up or decelerate the voice, make it larger or decrease, swap to totally different accents, and even mix a number of choices.

To view all of the obtainable choices eSpeak helps, run this:

espeak -help

And if you happen to’re curious in regards to the totally different voices obtainable, merely run:

espeak --voices

Now from the listing you’ll be able to choose your most well-liked voice and use it with the -v choice adopted by the voice title. For instance, for a British English voice, run:

espeak -v en-gb "Howdy, in a British accent!"

The default talking pace is about to 175 WPM. You possibly can modify the talking pace with the -s choice, adopted by phrases per minute. For instance, to decelerate the pace, use this:

espeak -s 120 "Talking slower now."

Equally, to hurry up, use a worth greater than 175. However what if you wish to modify the pitch? Use the -p choice. The default pitch is about to 50 with a spread from 0 to 99. To extend pitch, use a worth greater than 50, and to lower pitch, use a worth lower than 50.

Let’s enhance pitch:

espeak -p 70 "Increased pitch."

To lower pitch:

espeak -p 30 "Decrease pitch."

To show textual content right into a WAV or MP3 file for later playback, use the -w choice:

espeak "Backup accomplished efficiently" -w alert.wav

You may also mix a number of choices and let your terminal converse to you with personalized settings. For example, to get a British voice at a slower pace with larger pitch, use the -v, -s, and -p choices altogether:

espeak -v en-gb -s 150 -p 60 "Combining voice, pace, and pitch choices."

You possibly can tweak these settings relying on what you are doing—every adjustment brings a brand new taste to your auditory expertise.

Alternate options to eSpeak

Whereas efficient, espeak is not the one text-to-speech choice. Instruments like pageant, say, gTTS, and flite present text-to-speech methods with a variety of voices. Attempt utilizing pageant in order for you full customization and superior management over voices past what eSpeak presents. You possibly can simply set up these options along with your default bundle supervisor.

say (Speech Dispatcher) is a system-wide service managing speech output, working with engines like espeak and pageant. It permits constant speech synthesis throughout purposes and engine switching.

I’ve experimented with these options, and so they’re nice for particular duties. However for on a regular basis use, I at all times come again to eSpeak as a result of it is light-weight and dependable.

Whether or not you are studying information, practising languages, or simply having enjoyable, this little device can add a complete new dimension to your workflow. Additional, if you happen to take pleasure in utilizing the terminal, you may also do different issues proper from the terminal, like playing Spotify or browsing the internet.