> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/nvaccess/nvda/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Speech Settings

> Configure NVDA's speech output, synthesizers, and voice parameters

## Overview

NVDA's speech settings control how information is spoken to you. You can configure the synthesizer, voice characteristics, symbol pronunciation, and many other aspects of speech output.

**Access Speech Settings:** Press `NVDA+control+s` or navigate to Preferences > Settings > Speech in the NVDA menu.

## Synthesizer Selection

The synthesizer is the text-to-speech engine that converts text into spoken output.

### Changing the Synthesizer

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Speech Settings">
    Press `NVDA+control+s` to open the Speech category directly.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Change button">
    In the Synthesizer section, click the **Change...** button.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select a synthesizer">
    Choose from available synthesizers in the list:

    * **eSpeak NG** (default, built-in, supports 80+ languages)
    * **Windows OneCore voices** (Windows 10/11 built-in voices)
    * **Microsoft Speech API version 4 (SAPI 4)**
    * **Microsoft Speech API version 5 (SAPI 5)**
    * Other synthesizers from add-ons
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click OK">
    The new synthesizer will be activated immediately.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  The **Automatic** setting lets NVDA choose the best available synthesizer. On Windows 10 and later, this is typically Windows OneCore voices.
</Tip>

### Available Synthesizers

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="eSpeak NG (Default)" icon="volume-high">
    **eSpeak NG** is NVDA's default synthesizer.

    **Advantages:**

    * Completely free and open source
    * Supports over 80 languages
    * Compact and fast
    * Highly responsive
    * No additional installation required
    * Portable (works on any system)

    **Best for:** General use, multiple languages, portable installations
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Windows OneCore Voices" icon="windows">
    **Windows OneCore** voices are built into Windows 10 and later.

    **Advantages:**

    * Natural-sounding voices
    * High-quality speech
    * Integrated with Windows
    * Supports many languages

    **Installation:** Additional languages can be installed through Windows Settings > Time & Language > Language > Add a language.

    **Best for:** Users who prefer more natural-sounding voices
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Microsoft SAPI 5" icon="microphone">
    **SAPI 5** is a speech API that supports third-party voices.

    **Advantages:**

    * Compatible with commercial voices (e.g., Vocalizer, RealSpeak)
    * Wide range of voice options
    * Professional-quality voices available

    **Note:** Requires separate installation of SAPI 5 voices.

    **Best for:** Users with commercial voice licenses
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Microsoft SAPI 4" icon="microphone-alt">
    **SAPI 4** is an older speech API, still supported for compatibility.

    **Note:** Requires installation of SAPI 4 voices (no longer included with Windows).

    **Best for:** Legacy voice compatibility
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Voice Settings

Once you've selected a synthesizer, you can configure voice parameters.

### Voice Selection

<ParamField path="Voice" type="dropdown">
  Select which voice to use from those available in the current synthesizer.

  Different voices may have different:

  * Genders (male, female, neutral)
  * Ages (child, adult, elderly)
  * Languages and accents
  * Characteristics and tones
</ParamField>

### Voice Parameters

<ParamField path="Rate" type="slider" default="50">
  **Range:** 0-100

  Controls how fast the voice speaks. Higher values = faster speech.

  * **0:** Extremely slow
  * **50:** Normal speaking rate
  * **100:** Very fast

  **Keyboard shortcut to adjust:**

  * Increase: `NVDA+control+upArrow`
  * Decrease: `NVDA+control+downArrow`
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Pitch" type="slider" default="50">
  **Range:** 0-100

  Controls the voice pitch (how high or low it sounds).

  * **0:** Very low pitch
  * **50:** Normal pitch
  * **100:** Very high pitch

  <Note>Not all synthesizers support pitch adjustment.</Note>
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Volume" type="slider" default="100">
  **Range:** 0-100

  Controls speech volume.

  * **0:** Silent
  * **100:** Maximum volume

  <Tip>You can also adjust volume using `NVDA+control+pageUp` and `NVDA+control+pageDown`.</Tip>
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Inflection" type="slider" default="50">
  **Range:** 0-100

  Controls voice inflection (variation in pitch during speech).

  * **0:** Monotone, flat speech
  * **100:** Highly expressive speech

  <Note>Only available with some synthesizers (e.g., eSpeak NG).</Note>
</ParamField>

### Automatic Language Switching

<ParamField path="Automatic language switching" type="boolean" default="true">
  When enabled, NVDA automatically changes the voice language when reading text marked with a different language.

  **Example:** If you're reading an English document with French quotes, NVDA will switch to a French voice for the quoted text.

  <Note>Requires that the synthesizer supports the target language.</Note>
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Automatic dialect switching" type="boolean" default="false">
  When enabled, NVDA attempts to switch between dialects (e.g., US English vs. UK English).

  <Note>This is more specific than language switching and may not be supported by all synthesizers.</Note>
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Trust voice's language" type="boolean" default="true">
  When enabled, NVDA trusts that the current voice can correctly handle the language of the text being read.
</ParamField>

## Symbol and Punctuation Settings

### Symbol Level

<ParamField path="Symbol level" type="dropdown" default="Most">
  Controls how much punctuation and symbols are announced.

  **Options:**

  * **None:** No punctuation is spoken
  * **Some:** Only basic punctuation (period, comma, question mark, exclamation mark)
  * **Most:** Most punctuation (adds semicolon, colon, brackets, etc.)
  * **All:** All punctuation and symbols are spoken
  * **Character:** Every character including letters is spoken with character descriptions

  **Keyboard shortcut to cycle:** `NVDA+p`
</ParamField>

<Tip>
  For editing and proofreading, set symbol level to "All" or "Character". For casual reading, "Most" or "Some" is usually sufficient.
</Tip>

### Symbol Pronunciation

Customize how specific symbols are pronounced:

1. Click **Symbol Pronunciation** in the Speech Settings
2. Select a symbol from the list
3. Modify its:
   * **Replacement:** What is spoken for this symbol
   * **Level:** At which symbol level it should be announced
   * **Send actual symbol:** Whether to send the symbol itself to the synthesizer
4. Click **OK** to save

<Note>
  Symbol pronunciation is language-specific. Changes apply to the current interface language.
</Note>

## Capital Letter Announcements

<ParamField path="Say 'cap' before capitals" type="boolean" default="false">
  When enabled, NVDA says "cap" before each capital letter.

  **Example:** "Cap A" for the letter "A"
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Beep for capitals" type="boolean" default="false">
  When enabled, NVDA plays a beep sound for capital letters.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Pitch change for capitals" type="slider" default="30">
  **Range:** -100 to +100

  Changes voice pitch when speaking capital letters.

  * **Positive values:** Raise pitch for capitals
  * **Negative values:** Lower pitch for capitals
  * **0:** No pitch change
</ParamField>

<Note>
  You can enable multiple capital announcement methods simultaneously.
</Note>

## Speech Modes

NVDA has multiple speech modes to control when and how speech output occurs:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Talk Mode (Default)" icon="comment">
    **Normal speech mode.**

    NVDA speaks:

    * Screen changes
    * Notifications
    * User actions
    * Focus changes
    * Everything as expected
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="On-Demand Mode" icon="hand-pointer">
    **Speech only when requested.**

    NVDA only speaks when you:

    * Use review commands
    * Request information explicitly
    * Press `NVDA+tab`, `NVDA+t`, etc.

    **Best for:** Situations where you need occasional feedback but not continuous speech
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Beeps Mode" icon="bell">
    **Audio feedback instead of speech.**

    NVDA replaces speech with:

    * Short beeps for events
    * Different tones for different actions

    **Best for:** Monitoring background activity, situations where speech is disruptive
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Off Mode" icon="volume-mute">
    **No speech output.**

    NVDA is silent but still responds to commands.

    **Best for:** Using only braille, giving presentations where speech would be distracting
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

**Cycle through modes:** Press `NVDA+s`

<ParamField path="Excluded speech modes" type="multiselect">
  Select which speech modes should be skipped when cycling with `NVDA+s`.
</ParamField>

## Advanced Speech Settings

### Character Descriptions

<ParamField path="Delayed character descriptions" type="boolean" default="false">
  When enabled, NVDA waits briefly before providing character descriptions when typing, preventing them from interrupting your workflow.
</ParamField>

### Unicode Normalization

<ParamField path="Unicode normalization" type="feature flag" default="enabled">
  Normalizes Unicode characters before sending to the synthesizer, which can improve speech quality for accented characters.

  <Note>This is a feature flag that can be set to enabled, disabled, or default (which follows NVDA's recommendation).</Note>
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Report normalized for character navigation" type="boolean" default="true">
  When navigating by character, report the normalized form of characters.
</ParamField>

### Audio Processing

<ParamField path="Trim leading silence" type="boolean" default="true">
  Removes silence at the beginning of speech output for faster response.

  <Note>Only supported by some synthesizers.</Note>
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Beep speech mode pitch" type="integer" default="10000">
  **Range:** 50-11025

  Sets the pitch (in Hz) for beeps in Beeps speech mode.
</ParamField>

## Synth Settings Ring

The **Synth Settings Ring** allows you to quickly adjust common speech settings without opening the settings dialog:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Navigate Settings" icon="arrow-right">
    * **Next setting:** `NVDA+control+rightArrow`
    * **Previous setting:** `NVDA+control+leftArrow`
  </Card>

  <Card title="Adjust Values" icon="arrows-up-down">
    * **Increase:** `NVDA+control+upArrow`
    * **Decrease:** `NVDA+control+downArrow`
    * **Increase by larger steps:** `NVDA+control+pageUp`
    * **Decrease by larger steps:** `NVDA+control+pageDown`
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

**Available settings in the ring:**

* Voice
* Rate
* Pitch
* Volume
* Inflection (if supported)

<Tip>
  The synth settings ring is extremely useful for making quick adjustments without interrupting your workflow.
</Tip>

## Speech Dictionaries

Speech dictionaries allow you to customize pronunciation of specific words or patterns.

NVDA supports three dictionary levels:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Default Dictionary" icon="book">
    **Applies to:** All voices and synthesizers

    Contains pronunciations that should be used regardless of which voice or synthesizer is active.

    **Access:** NVDA menu > Preferences > Speech dictionaries > Default dictionary
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Voice Dictionary" icon="user">
    **Applies to:** The current voice only

    Contains pronunciations specific to the currently selected voice.

    **Access:** NVDA menu > Preferences > Speech dictionaries > Voice dictionary
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Temporary Dictionary" icon="clock">
    **Applies to:** Current NVDA session only

    Contains pronunciations for the current session. Lost when NVDA restarts.

    **Access:** NVDA menu > Preferences > Speech dictionaries > Temporary dictionary
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Adding Dictionary Entries

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open a dictionary">
    Select the appropriate dictionary from Speech dictionaries menu.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Add">
    Opens the Add Dictionary Entry dialog.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the pattern">
    Type the word or pattern you want to affect in the **Pattern** field.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the replacement">
    Type how it should be pronounced in the **Replacement** field.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set options">
    * **Case sensitive:** Match only if case matches exactly
    * **Regular expression:** Use regex patterns for advanced matching
    * **Comment:** Optional note about this entry
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click OK">
    Save the entry. It takes effect immediately.
  </Step>
</Steps>

**Example:** Make NVDA say "Doctor" instead of "Dr":

* Pattern: `Dr`
* Replacement: `Doctor`
* Case sensitive: No

## Troubleshooting Speech Issues

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="No speech output" icon="volume-mute">
    Check:

    1. Speech mode isn't set to Off (press `NVDA+s` to cycle modes)
    2. Volume isn't at 0 (press `NVDA+control+pageUp` to increase)
    3. Audio output device is working (test with other applications)
    4. Synthesizer is properly configured (try switching to eSpeak NG)
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Speech is too fast/slow" icon="gauge">
    Adjust speech rate:

    * Decrease rate: `NVDA+control+downArrow`
    * Increase rate: `NVDA+control+upArrow`

    Or open Speech Settings and adjust the Rate slider.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Voice sounds robotic or garbled" icon="robot">
    Try:

    1. Switch to a different voice
    2. Try a different synthesizer (Windows OneCore voices are more natural)
    3. Adjust inflection settings (if available)
    4. Check if Unicode normalization helps (in Speech Settings)
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Wrong language being spoken" icon="language">
    Check:

    1. Correct voice language is selected
    2. Automatic language switching is configured properly
    3. Document language attributes are correct
    4. Trust voice's language setting is appropriate
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Too much punctuation" icon="exclamation">
    Lower symbol level:

    * Press `NVDA+p` to cycle to a lower level
    * Or set it in Speech Settings

    Recommended levels:

    * **Reading:** Some or Most
    * **Editing:** All
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related Topics

* [NVDA Settings](/configuration/settings) - General configuration
* [Audio Settings](/configuration/settings#audio-settings) - Audio output and ducking
* [Voice Settings Panel](/configuration/settings#voice-settings) - Detailed voice configuration
* [Configuration Profiles](/configuration/profiles) - Different speech settings for different contexts