Kannada Text-to-Voice Speech Synthesis

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Language code: kn-IN

Convert Kannada text to speech and download audio.

Kannada is a Dravidian language spoken primarily in the Indian state of Karnataka. Approximately 44 million people speak Kannada as their first language. It has its own script, known as the Kannada script, which has been in use for over 1,500 years. This language is also spoken by communities in other Indian states and in neighboring countries such as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

This language, often referred to as 'Kanarese' or 'Kannanaḍa', has a unique phonetic structure.

One of Kannada's distinguishing features is its pronunciation. The language has a comprehensive system of vowels and consonants. Its phonetics, grammar, and articulation make it distinct from many other Indian languages.

Vowels: Kannada has a set of 13 vowels. The pronunciation of these vowels can be short (ಅ, ಇ, ಉ, ಋ) or long (ಆ, ಈ, ಊ, ಎ, ಏ, ಐ, ಒ, ಓ, ಔ), with the length playing a crucial role in word meaning.

Consonants: Kannada boasts a comprehensive array of consonants. They are categorized based on the place of articulation: labials, dentals, retroflex, palatals, and velars.

Anusvara and Visarga: The 'ಂ' (anusvara) and 'ಃ' (visarga) in Kannada have unique pronunciations. Anusvara produces a nasal sound, while visarga adds a breathy sound after the vowel it follows.

Stress: In Kannada, stress typically doesn't change the meaning of words as it might in English. However, the lengthening of vowels plays a crucial role in the meaning and pronunciation of words.

When synthesizing Kannada speech, understanding its nuanced sounds is paramount. With tools like SpeechGen, the conversion from text to speech takes into account these intricacies.