In our example, we’ll ask Karen to read a text file called “text.txt” located on our desktop: Just add -F to your say command followed by the location of a file.

The above steps work if you only have a few words to say, but what if you are processing an entire document? In this case, the say can read from an input text file using -F option. Note that if you use the say command with modifiers, you must enclose your text in parentheses. Go back to Terminal and type again say, but this time follow it with the modifier -v, the name of the selected voice, then the desired text. In our example, we will use the Australian female voice “Karen”. When you do, install it and write down its name. But with a wide choice to choose from, everyone should be able to find a voice or two they like. Some voices are very good and surprisingly natural, some are weird and funny, and still others are just plain bad. To sample voices before installing them, select one and press the To play button at the bottom of the Customize window. There are dozens of male and female voices to choose from you can find a complete list in System preferences> Dictation and speech> Text-to-speech> System voiceThe voices installed by default are available in the drop-down menu, but you can download and install more through the Personalize option. The default voice in OS X is the male voice “Alex”, but you can also use one of the different voices by entering a modifier in your say order.

If your Mac’s speakers are on, you will hear a familiar computerized voice speak the designated phrase. In our example, we’ll ask Terminal to say “Hello Jim:” To use speech in Terminal, open a new Terminal window and type say followed by a space and the word or phrase you want, then press the Return key.

While the Mac’s quality and voice capabilities have improved dramatically since then, there’s still an old-fashioned way to get your Mac to talk: the Terminal. Since the introduction of the first Macintosh computer in 1984, text-to-speech has been a major feature of the platform. The How to Make Your Mac Speak Using a Terminal Command

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