The Scottish Voice

Free Scottish accent and Scottish Gaelic computer voices designed specifically for reading digital text and for personal communication.

The voices can be used with most Windows and MacOS 'text-to-speech' programs (text readers) and communication aids.

All voices are created by CereProc, a leading speech synthesis company in Edinburgh.

There are seven voices licenced for the Scottish public sector available on our Scottish Voice web site:

Heather (adult female).
Stuart (adult male).
Mairi (child female).
Andrew (child male).
Isla (teenage femaile).
Callum (teenage male).
Ceitidh (Gaelic adult female).

Use the voices with a text reader to:

Read electronic books;
Read PDF files (such as SQA exam papers);
Read worksheets and other documents in Microsoft Word;
Read web pages;
Create audio recordings of digital text.

Use the voices with a voice output communication aid for:

Personal communication.

Requirements

A 'text-to-speech' program (text reader) or communication aid software that supports Windows 'SAPI 5' voices;
or Mac OS X (Intel based processor type);

Don't know what a text-to-speech program is? Then find out more on our 'text-to-speech' page.

How does the voice work?

The voices are installed onto your computer and sit in the background. They are not an actual program you can open but more of a service that other programs can use.

Here's how text on your digital document or communication aid is converted to speech:

The text reader / communication aid sends text to the computer voice;
The text is converted to speech by the computer voice;
The audio is read aloud.

What about the iPad and Android?

There are an Android versions available on the Google Play store for 59p each;
The voice cannot be installed on an iPad or iPhone at a system level as this is not allowed by Apple. However, some app developers have integrated the Scottish Voices into their apps. Find out which speak Scottish on the Scottish Voice web site.

Why do we need Scottish computer voices?

We believe there is a strong cultural and educational imperative for pupils, students and people with disabilities in Scotland to be able to read and listen to Scottish educational and information resources spoken using voices with Scottish accents.

We believe that it is even more important that children and adults in Scotland who have difficulty communicating can speak with a Scottish accent on an electronic communication aid. Follow this link to find out what Lachlan thinks of his new Andrew voice!

The Scottish Government funds CALL Scotland to provide a Scotland-wide schools licence for the Scottish Voices. The voices are licenced for schools, colleges, universities and NHS patients.

Are they free and where do I get them?

Do you have a valid Scottish school, public sector, College or University email address?
Or, do you require the voices for home use for a school pupil, student or NHS patient?

If the answer is yes or you meet the criteria in the list below then you can download the voices for free!

If you don't and still want to get a voice, you can purchase a copy from the CALL Scotland shop.

Download now

The voices are licensed for non-commercial, non-profit personal,
educational and research purposes for:

State-run schools.
Pupils at home.
Children and adults who use voice output communication aids.
Scottish Colleges.
Scottish Universities.
Scottish Open University students.
Scottish charities dealing with pupils and NHS patients.
Scottish Local Authorities.
NHS Scotland.
Scottish government agencies and public sector in general.

The voices are not licensed for:

Independent schools.
Private companies.
Scottish students studying abroad.
and individuals not covered by the above.

Newsletter: join thousands of other people

Once a month we'll send you an email with news, research and thoughts, as well as training courses and free webinars you may wish to attend.

Sign me up!

See a sample

Our social media sites - YouTube, Twitter and Facebook