Sammy has its first update: Convert text DIRECTLY to speech! 
No need to write phonetically anymore, you can use the new ‘auto-translate’ button! : - D
The translator works by running your writing through a text-to-pronounciation dictionary. The program then converts the dictionary’s phonetic ouput into the phonetic writing that SAMMY understands!
The full list of updates (plus extra tools) is:
- Use the auto-translate button to create phoentic writing automatically!
- Use the pitch slider to make SAMMY have a deep or high voice
- The new ‘default’ sound blending mode makes transitions between sounds a bit more choppy, but cuts down on the frequent ‘whistle’ sound the previous ‘all’ blending mode had
- Use the ‘blending mode’ dropdown to change the sound blending (either to the original ‘all’ mode or new ‘default’ mode)
- 2 new sounds were added by combining previous ones: use ‘t2’ for the ‘ch’ sound, and ‘d2’ for the ‘j’ sound
The new update is out on the website now (the extension itself is the same).
Planned future updates
I had a ton of fun implementing this (much needed) feature, and it’s opened a lot of doors to new future features:
- Voice presets like a new feminine voice (Or hatsune miku?)
- Better blending algorithms to further cut down on whistling and chopping
- A translator feature to ‘guess’ the pronunciation of unknown words instead of requiring user intervention
- Better sound length algorithms to make the pace of the voice sound more natural
- The ability to align SAMMY’s voice to a musical note’s pitch
- Built-in pitch changes, like lowering pitch at the end of sentances, to make the voice sound more natural
If you use this new SAMMY update in your projects, send it here and I’ll feature it on the website!! 