Improving Communication of Visual Signals by Text-to-Speech Software

Printed signals are well-documented aids to reading and memory for expository text. Despite their usefulness, many TTS applications fail to adequately communicate signaling. A theoretical framework called "SARA" provides an analysis of printed signals that identifies what specific information should be rendered in order to preserve the signaling function. Further, SARA identifies two important criteria --- the availability criterion and the accessibility criterion --- that should help guide the evaluation of alternative auditory renderings of signals.

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