How to Implement Text To Speech in Android Studio

Text-to-speech (TTS) technology reads clearly digital manual – the words on computers, smartphones, and tablets. This tutorial explains how to implement text to speech in android or android speech synthesis.

Steps to Implement Text To Speech in Android Studio

Android allows you to convert your text into a voice. Android provides TextToSpeech class for this purpose. You need to instantiate an object of this class and also specify the initListener.

Step 1: Create a New Project

1. Create a new project by going to File ⇒ New Android Project. and fill the required details.
2. Implement your main Activity class from OnInitListener
3. Now add the following code to your class.

Step 2: Modify MainActivity.java

Implement the main activity class from TextToSpeech.OnInitListener to handle the initialization of the TTS engine.

package com.example.texttospeech;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech;
import android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech.OnInitListener;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.Toast;
import android.view.View;

import java.util.Locale;

public class MainActivity extends Activity implements OnInitListener {
    TextToSpeech t1;
    EditText ed1;
    Button b1;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        ed1 = findViewById(R.id.editText);
        b1 = findViewById(R.id.button);

        t1 = new TextToSpeech(getApplicationContext(), this);

        b1.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                String toSpeak = ed1.getText().toString();
                Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), toSpeak, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                t1.speak(toSpeak, TextToSpeech.QUEUE_FLUSH, null, null);
            }
        });
    }

    @Override
    public void onInit(int status) {
        if (status != TextToSpeech.ERROR) {
            t1.setLanguage(Locale.UK);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void onPause() {
        if (t1 != null) {
            t1.stop();
            t1.shutdown();
        }
        super.onPause();
    }
}

Step 3: Define the Layout

Create activity_main.xml to define the user interface with a TextView, EditText, and a Button.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    tools:context=".MainActivity">

    <TextView
        android:text="Text to Speech"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:id="@+id/textview"
        android:textSize="35dp"
        android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
        android:layout_centerHorizontal="true" />

    <EditText
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:id="@+id/editText"
        android:hint="Enter Text"
        android:layout_below="@+id/textview"
        android:layout_marginTop="20dp" />

    <Button
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Text to Speech"
        android:id="@+id/button"
        android:layout_below="@+id/editText"
        android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
        android:layout_marginTop="20dp" />
</RelativeLayout>

Step 4: Update AndroidManifest.xml

Ensure the MainActivity is declared in your AndroidManifest.xml.

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.example.texttospeech">

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:theme="@style/Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar">
        
        <activity android:name=".MainActivity">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
    </application>
</manifest>

Changing Language :

You can change the language to speak by using setLanguage() function. A lot of languages are supported like Canada, French, Chinese, Germany, etc.,

tts.setLanguage(Locale.CHINESE); // Chinese language

Read More: How to change the background transition in Android Studio

Changing Pitch Rate :

You can set a speed pitch level by using setPitch() function. By default the value is 1.0 You can set lower values than 1.0 to decrease pitch level or greater values for increase pitch level.

 tts.setPitch(0.6);

Changing Speed Rate :

The speed rate can be set using setSpeechRate(). This also will take a default of 1.0 value. You can double the speed rate by setting 2.0 or make half the speed level by setting 0.5

tts.setSpeechRate(2);

Conclusion

You can easily implement text-to-speech functionality in your Android app. This feature can enhance accessibility and user interaction, making your app more user-friendly.