Hearing text read aloud in your own accent or language makes a real difference, whether you’re a pupil in Powys, a student in Perth, or anyone who would rather listen to a voice that sounds like home than a generic English one.
Sensory Readable works with any SAPI 5 voice installed on Windows. That opens the door to some excellent regional text-to-speech voices funded by the Welsh and Scottish governments. Best of all, many of them are free for schools, colleges, universities and students.
Here’s what’s available, who can use each voice, and how to set them up with Sensory Readable.
Free Welsh text-to-speech voices: Geraint and Gwyneth
Geraint (male) and Gwyneth (female) are Welsh-language SAPI 5 voices, commissioned by the Welsh Government from RNIB Cymru and built with IVONA. Once installed, they read Welsh-language documents and digital content aloud in Sensory Readable, just like any other Windows voice. They also work with screen readers and other assistive software such as JAWS, NVDA, Supernova and ZoomText.
Cost: free for individuals and organisations, as long as they are used for non-commercial purposes.
Who can use them: anyone using them non-commercially, including education staff supporting learners, and learners themselves on school and home devices.
How to get them:
- Teachers and pupils at maintained schools in Wales can download them directly from Hwb with their Hwb account.
- Everyone else can request them from RNIB Cymru.
Compatibility: Windows only.
Welsh voices for children and teenagers
There’s also a set of 16 Welsh voices for children and teenagers, released in November 2023. They were developed by CereProc, Bangor University’s Language Technologies Unit and the NHS Wales Electronic Assistive Technology Service, with funding from the Welsh Government. The voices are male and female, child and teenage, with North and South Walian accents, in both Welsh and Welsh-accented English.
They were built mainly for communication aids (AAC), so that Welsh children who rely on high-tech communication devices can speak with a voice and accent that reflects who they are. Before these voices existed, many of those children only had English or Scottish-accented voices to choose from.
Cost and access: children and young people using communication aids through NHS Wales receive the voices on their devices. All 16 voices are also available from CereProc’s Welsh voices page. Check with CereProc for pricing and which version suits your computer.
Free Scottish text-to-speech voices: Heather and friends
Heather (adult female) is the best known of seven Scottish CereProc voices, known together as the Scottish Digital Voice. She’s joined by Stuart (adult male), Mairi and Andrew (children), Isla and Callum (teenagers), and Ceitidh, an adult Gaelic voice. The voices are funded by the Scottish Government and provided by CALL Scotland through thescottishvoice.org.uk. Like the Welsh voices, they work in Sensory Readable through the standard Windows voice settings.
Cost: free for non-commercial, non-profit personal, educational and research use by:
- state-run schools and pupils at home
- Scottish colleges and universities, including Scottish Open University students
- Scottish charities working with pupils and NHS patients
- NHS Scotland, Scottish local authorities and the wider Scottish public sector
The free licence does not cover independent schools, private companies or Scottish students studying abroad.
How to get them:
- Schools, colleges, universities, charities and public sector bodies can download the Windows version free with a Scottish charity or public sector email address.
- Parents of pupils in Scotland can apply for home use by filling in CALL Scotland’s home use form and posting it (emailed forms are not accepted).
- Anyone who isn’t eligible can buy the voices from the CALL Scotland shop.
Compatibility: Windows (SAPI 5) and Mac. Versions for iPad, Android and Chromebook are also available through the CerePlay app and some reading and communication apps, free for Scottish education and at a small cost for everyone else.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA): because Scottish colleges and universities are covered by the licence, the Scottish voices can be added to DSA-funded equipment for students studying in Scotland.
How to use Welsh and Scottish voices in Sensory Readable
- Download and install the voice using the route above that applies to you.
- Close and reopen Sensory Readable so it picks up the new voice.
- Open Sensory Readable’s voice settings and choose Geraint, Gwyneth, Heather or whichever voice you installed.
- Test it on a short passage and adjust the speed until it feels comfortable.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Welsh and Scottish voices free?
Geraint and Gwyneth are free for any non-commercial use. The Scottish voices are free for Scottish state schools, colleges, universities, charities and the public sector, and can be bought by anyone else.
Do the voices work in Welsh as well as English?
Geraint and Gwyneth read Welsh. The children’s and teenage voices from CereProc come in both Welsh and Welsh-accented English. The Scottish voices read English with a Scottish accent, and Ceitidh reads Gaelic.
Do I need to be in Wales or Scotland to use them?
Not for Geraint and Gwyneth, which are free for any non-commercial use. The free Scottish licence is for Scottish organisations, pupils and students, but anyone can buy the voices.
Why a familiar voice matters
A voice that sounds like home isn’t just a nice-to-have. It makes text-to-speech feel far more natural to listen to, which means learners are more likely to keep using it. If you support Welsh or Scottish learners, students or staff, these voices are well worth setting up alongside Sensory Readable.
To find out more about Sensory Readable, visit sensoryreadable.com or get in touch with our team via support@sensory-AT.com, who will be happy to help you get set up.