ReadSpeaker and accessibility: “A partner in voice”

ReadSpeaker’s Marketing Director, Amy Foxwell, explains how the companyimproves accessibility by converting text into speech.’ Sponsored.

Image – Getty iStockphoto: Olezzo

“Make content interactive and engaging for all users”

BReadSpeaker is a Netherlands-based company that provides speech and lifelike voices with what it claims are the most natural synthetic voices on the market.

ReadSpeaker uses next-generation deep neural network (DNN) technology to structurally improve speech quality at all levels. The company is a subsidiary of the storage disk division of HOYA Corporation, a Japanese multinational corporation engaged in life care and information technology. ReadSpeaker includes all of HOYA’s technologies – NeoSpeech, Voiceware, VoiceText and rSpeak.

Especially since the European Accessibility Bill will come into force in one year – on June 28, 2025 – ReadSpeaker’s leadership is confident that it can offer accessibility services to the international book publishing business.

Amy Foxwell, ReadSpeakers global marketing director for education, publishing and accessibility, says: “International About 15 percent of the population suffers from learning disabilities, including dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and ADHD. In addition, about 22 percent of the population in North America speaks a language other than English at home. These diverse learning groups need accessibility tools.

“ReadSpeaker improves accessibility by converting text to speech,” says Foxwell, “and ensures that content is audible. With its learning tools and customization options, ReadSpeaker is indispensable for publishers looking to make their content inclusive and accessible. But that misses a larger goal: text-to-speech is becoming a ubiquitous element of digital content, benefiting all content consumers, not just those who need accessibility. Robust text-to-speech functionality is no longer a competitive advantage, it’s a must.”

Amy Foxwell

When asked how ReadSpeaker’s technology can help an end user, Foxwell says: “ReadSpeaker brings click-and-listen functionality and voice-assisted learning tools to all Users. This is part of what is known as Universal design for learning Frame and the Curb effect in action. Accessible design is simply good design.”

To implement this design, Foxwell says: “ReadSpeaker integrates seamlessly and offers over 50 high-quality languages ​​as well as learning and concentration tools directly into content and learning platforms. This means it offers real-time text-to-speech conversion and synchronized text highlighting to all users. It also offers a range of learning and focus tools. This allows users to simply click and listen to any content and use any of the many learning tools such as translation, dictionary lookup, note-taking, optical character recognition (OCR), dictation and assessments to support their studies anywhere, on any device. All of this is included directly in the content. There are no downloads or switching from one program to the next.”

The ReadSpeaker team’s experience includes 25 years of work with companies such as National Geographic, McGraw Hill, Pearson, Oxford University Press, Ebsco Information Services, Cengage, Magic EdTech, the Silverchair platform, and more, according to Foxwell.

“We offer a wide variety of integrations,” she says, “and are known for our expertise, personalized service and flexible models that ensure our customers get the solution that meets their specific needs.”

“Publishers should consider ReadSpeaker because of its innovative accessibility solutions and our commitment to inclusion,” she says. “Our technology ensures inclusive content for all readers, improves user engagement and helps meet regulatory requirements, making ReadSpeaker an indispensable partner for accessible publishing. But I would also say that it’s not just about accessibility. It’s also about making content interactive and engaging for all users.”

“What sets us apart from our competitors,” says Foxwell, “is that, since we are originally a text-to-speech company, consistent, high-quality voices across all platforms for all needs, whether as an integrated plug-in, a standalone tool, an audio file creator or an embedded voice. We can even create a custom voice to differentiate a publisher from its competitors. ReadSpeaker becomes the partner in language.”

For more information from Publishing Perspectives on accessibility and international book publishing, click here, for more on the European Accessibility Act, click here, for more on the Accessible Books Consortium, click here, and for more on Benetech’s Global Certified Accessible designation, click here.