RealSpeak (TM) Control Sequences

Control sequences allow run-time control of text-to-speech features. These features are specific to the RealSpeak™ Text-to-Speech engine.

In order to use control sequences, the text delivered from Active Call Center (through a prompt or Speak variable) must include an "<ESC>" to signify the escape character, followed by the appropriate escape code.

We cannot guarantee that any of these sequences work as they are documented.

The documented escape sequences are as follows:

• <ESC>/+ - Begin Phonetic Input / Reset Phonetic Input.

This escape sequence starts or stops phonetic mode during speech. For example: Speak1 = "<ESC>/+ ’sI-l$-b$l <ESC>/+"

NOTE: Early tests indicate possible failure of this sequence to work properly.

• <ESC>C - Continuation.

Forces sentence continuation where otherwise an end-of-sentence may be detected, for example: Speak1 = "The U.S.<ESC>C judicial system is fair."

• <ESC>E - End-of-Message

Forces an end-of-sentence where one may not be detected, for example: Speak1 = "This is a sentence <ESC>E and this is another one."

• <ESC>M? - Read Mode: 0 = letter-by-letter, 1 = word-by-word, 2 = sentence-by-sentence, 3 = terminator based.

The default read mode is sentence-by-sentence. Terminator based read mode will use carriage returns, line feeds, and some other Escape sequences to mark ends of sentences. Word-by-word mode will read a list without interpreting sentence breaks. For example, Speak1 = "<ESC>M0 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ <ESC>M2 Now I know my A B C's."

• <ESC>P? - Pause: 1 = short, 9 = long

Insert hard-coded pauses in the speech, for example: Speak1 = "Short pause now <ESC>P2 followed by a longer pause <ESC>P8 and finished!"

• <ESC>R? - Rate of speech: 1 = slow, 9 = fast

Insert hard-coded pauses in the speech, for example: Speak1 = "<ESC>R1 I am a slowpoke. <ESC>R9 I am a lightning bolt!"

• <ESC>V? - Volume: 1 = low, 9 = high

Change volume on the fly, for example: Speak1 = "<ESC>V3 I am quiet. <ESC>V9 I am loud!"

• <ESC>W? - Wait Period: 0 = no extra wait period, 9 = maximum wait period

The wait period is the time waited between message units. The message units are defined by the Read Mode tags (<ESC>M? discussed above). The default value is 2. For example: Speak1 = "<ESC>W6This is a sentence. This is another one. <ESC>W0 This is a sentence. No waiting as this other one starts."

• English language Only: <ESC>@? - Specify this part of speech as either (A) Adverb, (J) Adjective, (N) Noun, (R) Past participle, (V) Verb.

Usage is best described by several examples:

Example 1. “record”, first as a noun and then as a verb:

Speak1 = "<ESC>@N record"

Speak1 = "<ESC>@V record"

Example 2. “read”, first as an infinitive and then as a past participle.

Speak1 = "I <ESC>@V read a book"

Speak1 = "I <ESC>@R read a book."