Text to Spoken Word, It’s Here!

by David J. Ferrell



Richard Bandler and John Grinder wrote a book called Frogs into Princes in 1979 where they discuss the three main ways humans receive information. These are VISUAL, AUDITORY and KINESTHETIC (feelings). The theory they assert is called NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming. NLP is a valuable tool when you are picking a jury. Just imagine being able to get your message into the minds of different people on the jury in their dominant method of information reception.

The language we learned first, the spoken language, remains our base throughout life. We use the model of spoken communication as the basis for much of our inferences when we read.

Ultimately, the underlying reason for relying on speech as a model for writing may actually lie in the nature of human understanding.

Did you get goose bumps reading that speech or hearing it?

The reason I prefaced this article with NLP is to have the reader evaluate which method may be useful to his/her reception and retention of information. When we read something we are using our VISUAL data acquisition mode, when we feel something we are using our KINESTHETIC mode and when someone speaks to us or reads to us we are in AUDITORY mode.

When we were children our parents, teachers, and others read us stories and word pictures were generated in our brains. To many of us this AUDITORY channel of communication is our best. Isn’t this the way most information was passed on prior to modern times when the plebeian masses learned to read? So, how many of us have listened to that contract we are preparing? How about that voir dire examination or final argument?

As lawyers we all have prepared our work product in written form. Corel WordPerfect and Microsoft Word are the main word processing programs used by law firms across the country. Wouldn’t it be nice to listen to your speech, motion, or legal memorandum as you drive from point A to point B? And, how about your appellate argument being spoken to you as you walk the treadmill at the fitness center? And, what if this oral presentation could be generated from the written material you already have?

All this is possible with inexpensive “text to spoken word” technology. Computer programs now convert any text into understandable voice wave files or MP3 files. We can listen to email, web pages, eBooks and our own generated documents on our computers and our portable MP3 players.

“MP3" is the file extension for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is one of three coding schemes (layer 1, layer 2 and layer 3) for the compression of audio signals. The result in real terms is layer 3 shrinks the original sound data from a CD by a factor of 12 without sacrificing sound quality.

Because MP3 files are small, they can easily be transferred across the Internet and/or they can be stored and played on inexpensive, small MP3 players that can accompany us wherever we go. You can put enormous amounts of music/data on a CD (up to 40 hours and more) and play many hours of content on an MP3 enabled CD player. Controversy arises when copyrighted songs are sold and distributed illegally off of Web sites.

I can read much faster than I can listen but I can’t read during my commute to the courthouse which takes thirty minutes on a good day and 1 hour when the traffic is bad. Besides listening to my written work product(s) I can download the newspaper in print form, convert it to MP3 and listen to it on the way to the courthouse.

The State Bar is now publishing those great CLE articles in Word, WordPerfect and PDF formats (http://www.texasbarcle.com). I predict that someday they will publish those same articles in MP3 format. You will be able to go to the State Bar website, find that article you need and download it not only in written form but also in AUDIO - MP3 format to play as you commute or workout or whatever.

Although music is the predominant audio format published in MP3, there's a wealth of spoken word content on the web. Audio books have been around in cassette and CD form for a long time, and now you can listen to books online and download them for play on your own MP3 player. Many texts are free (Project Gutenberg - http://promo.net/pg/ & The Literature Network - http://www.online literature.com/) and a few sites let you download whole audio books for less than the cost of buying the CD or tape (http://www.Audible.com).

More literature is accessible in the form of audio dramas or poetry readings. Radio plays have gone digital with both new interpretations of classics like Shakespeare and new original productions. Poets and authors of all description can be heard over the internet.

Educational and informational audio is also abundant. You can take language lessons, listen to lectures from universities or take in speeches from famous personalities (http://odin.himinbi.org/speeches/). Audio programming about health, fitness, business, technology, news and travel is readily available from various sites. For rest and relaxation, you can kick back and listen to coverage of different sporting events or find a good laugh online with stand up, sketch or musical comedy. AND, with “text to speech” technology any written material can become an auditory experience.

If you want to hear this article in MP3 format go to http://www.elpasolaw.com and click on the Spoken Word button on the left side of the page.