Jump To:
Leopard Reference Library: User Experience
Mac OS X contains a built-in speech recognition engine that can be used by applications to recognize users' speech. Mac OS X also provides a speech synthesis engine, also called text-to-speech (TTS), that converts text into audible speech. These technologies provide benefits for all users who speak U.S. English, but are particularly useful to users who have difficulty seeing the screen or using the mouse and keyboard.

Document Descriptions
On Off
Display

Sort by
Title
Sorted by
Resource Type
Sort by
Date
Universal Access: Computers That Everyone Can Use (HTML)
Learn how to make your applications usable by everyone, including those with disabilities.
Articles 2004-08-02
Accessibility Overview (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use the accessibility features built into Mac OS X.
Guides 2008-03-11
Speech Synthesis Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes speech synthesis in Mac OS X and explains how your application can produce customized spoken output.
Guides 2006-09-05
Speech Synthesis Manager Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the C API for converting text into synthesized speech.
Reference 2009-04-08
Latent Semantic Mapping Reference (HTML)
Describes the C API for classifying text and other token-based content based on latent semantic information.
Reference 2008-04-08
Speech Recognition Manager Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the C interface for recognizing and accepting spoken input.
Reference 2003-02-01
Speech Release Notes (HTML)
New document that describes new features, notes, and known issues for speech synthesis on Mac OS X v10.5.
Release Notes 2007-10-31
CocoaSpeechSynthesisExample (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use the Carbon Speech Synthesis API from within a Mac OS X Cocoa application.
Sample Code 2007-03-23
SayIt (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Web Kit plug-in which speaks text passed via JavaScript
Sample Code 2006-08-04
SimpleSpeechRecExample (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates how to use the Speech Recognition Manager in a simple application.
Sample Code 2003-03-26