# DECtalk Software In-Line Commands: Overview

DECtalk Software includes in-line commands. In this documentation, DECtalk Software in-line commands are referred to as commands. You can use these commands to perform simple in-line operations, such as changing the speaking rate or speaking voice while DECtalk Software is speaking. Commands are inserted directly into the ASCII text that is sent to the synthesizer. The following table lists the DECtalk Software in-line commands and their associated functions.

With phoneme interpretation, it is possible to control intonation and stress and to create special effects, such as singing. These symbols and special effects can be added into the ASCII text stream.

For more information, click here to see the Phoneme Interpretation command.

When you use several commands together, they might interact with each other and affect the output. If incorrect syntax is used in a command, the right bracket ( ] ) is ignored because it might be considered part of the illegal string. To avoid this situation, insert an extra right bracket ( ] ) in the command and use the Error command to enable the speaking of errors.

Unique abbreviations of command names and option names work reliably. However, 4-character abbreviations will be supported for future releases. A character abbreviation of less-than-four characters that works in the current release may not be unique in a future release. Only 4-character abbreviations, as shown in this documentation, will be supported for valid commands in future releases.

DECtalk Software In-Line Commands

Command | Syntax | Function
Comma Pause | [:comma DD] or [:cp DD] | Inserts a comma pause into spoken text
Design Voice | [:dv XX YY] | Customizes a DECtalk Software voice by selecting and setting speaker-definition options.
Dial Tones | [:dial YY] | Dials telephone numbers
Error | [:error XX] | Sets the error mode for a module
Index Mark | [:index mark DD] | Inserts marks, which are recognized by the application, into text
Log | [:log XX YY] | Sets logging modes for the module
Mode | [:mode XX YY] | Allows words and symbols to be interpreted for special use
Name | [:name XX] | Selects a built-in DECtalk Software voice
Period Pause | [:period DD] or [:pp DD] | Inserts a pause equivalent to a period in a sentence into spoken text
Phoneme Interpretation | [:phoneme XX1 XX2 YY] | Allows everything within brackets to be interpreted as phonemic text
Pitch | [:pitch DD] | Raises by the value specified the frequency of uppercase letters spoken in typing mode.
Play Wave Files | [:play <file>] | Plays wave files embedded in text strings
Pronounce | [:pronounce XX] | Speaks alternate, primary, or proper noun pronunciation of a word
Punctuation | [:punct XX] | Turns punctuation on and off
Rate Selection | [:rate DD] | Selects speed at which text is spoken
Say | [:say XX] | Allows DECtalk Software to speak words before they are queued
Skip | [:skip XX] | Allows users to skip specified parts of the test pre-processing
Sync | [:sync] | Synchronizes activity between DECtalk Software and an application program
Tone | [:tone DD, DD] | Creates tones of a specified length and frequency
Volume | [:volume XX DD] or [:volume XX DD1 DD2] | Sets the volume

Note

Commands are not synchronous unless otherwise stated. In order to make a command synchronous, you may use the [:sync] command to achieve synchronization. See the Sync command for more information.

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