Toshiba develops multi-language speech synthesis middleware

Friday, October 4, 2002 TOKYO — Toshiba Corp said Friday it has developed a speech synthesis middleware that covers nine languages, delivering text-to-speech with a clarity and natural intonation that imitates the human voice. The nine languages are Japanese, American English, British English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Mandarin Chinese.

Toshiba plans to commercialize the middleware by the end of fiscal 2002. Toshiba said the middleware suits incorporation in car navigation systems and personal digital assistants, given its limited demands on memory and processing power. (Kyodo News)