Speak & Spell Emulator
Speak and Spell Emulator - Click the link to play or download.
My mother recently dug out my old Texas Instruments Speak and Spell. I was soon on the internet to see if the old thing had any monetary value after being pretty well preserved for nearly twenty years. My search was quickly diverted to a search for a good Speak and Spell emulator ... I couldn't find a good one; none had full functionality.
I decided to sit down and make one over the Memorial Day weekend of 2006. I am pleased to say that over the weekend the project was almost completed. Of course, I am not yet completely satisfied with the project. I would like to find or create a good Speak and Spell font - the one floating around on the internet is decent, but I ran into some problems with it (it is hard to read when the emulator is running in a small window).
I am also aware that to make this emulator particularly accurate, I would need to develop code for the expansion modules. I do not forsee myself making such an effort, so I hope that everyone can enjoy the Speak and Spell without the expansion modules.
Please let me know about any bugs or inconsistencies. Also, please feel free to make a donation to this poor college student if you enjoy the emulator!
Manual
Per request, I am posting the original Speak and Spell manual here. Most of the pages are not worth looking at, the most useful are pages 6 and 7. Speak and Spell Manual - Page 1, Speak and Spell Manual - Page 2, Speak and Spell Manual - Page 3, Speak and Spell Manual - Page 6, Speak and Spell Manual - Page 7, Speak and Spell Manual - Page 8. (I believe pages 4 and 5 were blank or had advertisements on them).
Audio Files
Per request, I am posting the original Speak and Spell audio files that I used to make this emulator.
Comments
I would have to say that the machine is very accurate and works great. It is much better than the Windows app I found years ago, because everything works, even the Replay button.
- Phil. Monday, June 19, 2006. 12:27am.
This speak & spell is awesome! You are very talented!
- Tanya. Tuesday, June 20, 2006. 7:59am.
Wow! This is so cool! I remember this toy very well. I had Speak & Spell and Speak & Math. I recently came across an old video from 20 years ago of a family road trip on the video you can hear me in the backseat playing with the Speak and Spell!
- Jackie. Wednesday, July 26, 2006. 6:17pm.
I agree With the person that liked it better than the widnows App. I have the Qundows App, and the audi cits in and out I also have a True Speak & Read.
- Ian Wiseman. Monday, August 14, 2006. 12:30pm.
Exellent!
- gb. Friday, February 16, 2007. 2:05pm.
Great, after all that years !
- Wikinaut. Thursday, April 12, 2007. 10:00pm.
Wow - this is awesome. You rock for creating this.
- JP. Friday, April 20, 2007. 2:00am.
Perfect for a work place time filler ;)
- Bottoz. Monday, April 30, 2007. 5:42pm.
I've been looking a long time for an S&S emulator such as the one you developed. I know my 1st grader will benefit greatly from this.
Great job and thank you!
- Chris. Saturday, June 9, 2007. 2:15am.
This toy brings me back memories, yet I never owned this toy...but I owned a similar toy made by the same company (Texas Instruments)...Speak & Math.
- Shane Spencer. Wednesday, June 27, 2007. 2:06am.
goos stuff. i tried to get it to say rude words though and it wouldnt! lol ;-)
- brian wilson. Thursday, October 18, 2007. 11:03am.
I remember this was one of my favorite things when I was a kid. Along side of Atari, Commodore 64, and Merlin. This is great and my son will enjoy this also. I still have my S&S but it's packed away at my mom and dads. You did such a great with job this you should try the Speak & Math. Great job. Love it.
- Bill. Friday, December 14, 2007. 5:35am.
Do you know what dictionary was used in the original S&S? I'd like to make a version for the One Laptop Per Child Project, but wasn't sure how many words to include? Thanks... you can email me using tomhannen (** *at* **) gmail. com
- tomh. Saturday, December 29, 2007. 6:39pm (-06:00 GMT)
I was recently showing my 2 year old the movie, E.T. When the Speak and Spell came on the screen I was instantly reminded of countless hours on my own Speak and Spell, and it paid off, too, I am an English teacher!!!! I could remember how each letter was pronounced by this orange little device, not to mention I learned how to play hangman pretty well. I can't tell you enough how much playing it again, even though it was online, has brought back lovely memories of my childhood and the roots that ignited my career. I hope you don't mind, I would love to use this in my English class! I love bring nostalgia into the classroom, I think the kids will love it! Thanks again!
Vanessa in Big Spring, Texas.
- Vanessa. Saturday, January 5, 2008. 8:52am (-06:00 GMT)
I live in NZ and purchased a Speak and Spell in around 1981. Do you have any idea of it's value?
Jan
- jan lane. Thursday, May 1, 2008. 9:01pm (-05:00 GMT)
WOW!! Brings back old memories. In the 80's I was glued to my Speak & Spell. Thank you! Good job! ;-)
- Tat -- USA. Wednesday, May 7, 2008. 5:27pm (-05:00 GMT)
Wow, I had a Speak & Spell when I was a kid! It brings back so many memories. I had Speak & Math, too. Thanks! :)
- Shaunna. Monday, July 7, 2008. 12:20am (-05:00 GMT)
This. Is. SOOOOOOOOOOO... AWESOME!!!!
Speak & Spell was -- corretion, IS -- my all-time world-beating awesome-feeling favorite toy ever of all time times infinity to the infinite power times ten no givebacks, Amen!!!!!!!!
To have Speak & Spell back (and to have that little teacher-man with the Western twang back in my life, telling me how well I spell) is like a gift from Providence. I am not kidding. I never thought I would hear his voice again outside of the song "Sweet, Sweet Baby" (which is a sort of rap (one of the two other tracks on the Single release of "Drama!", "performed by" the Speak & Spell voice synth guy, whose chorus is him saying "U R my sweet sweet baby. U R my sweet machine." The song also features the computer from _Barbarella_).
Anyway, thank you again. Especially for "poultry" and "schedule" from Module D. I just love the way the teacher-guy says those.
- Sarah J.. Monday, July 28, 2008. 12:05am (-05:00 GMT)
i havent used the speak and spell but i would like to know about your last name as it is the same as mine. I am looking for lost relatives and youe name came up on a google search. E-mail me so we can talk.
- Shane St. Onge. Friday, September 12, 2008. 9:00pm (-05:00 GMT)
I had the original raised-key model as a kid. That voice is burned into my memory. Playing your simulator, I found I could still mimic it! Thanks for doing this.
- S.G.B.. Sunday, September 21, 2008. 1:59am (-05:00 GMT)
Very cool!! Is there a way to make it say names like Greg and Michelle!? I'm putting together a slideshow and it would be awesome to be able make it say Greg and Michelle?!? Help!!!
Thanx,
Greg
- Greg. Thursday, November 6, 2008. 1:48pm (-06:00 GMT)
Greg,
Unfortunately, I created the Speak & Spell emulator with sounds that I recorded directly from my actual Speak & Spell. Therefore, the emulator cannot synthesize sounds from text it can only playback prerecorded sounds.
- Kevin. Thursday, November 6, 2008. 4:05pm (-06:00 GMT)
I'm just getting a blank page when I click the link - is the link broken?
- Risa. Friday, November 28, 2008. 6:05pm (-06:00 GMT)
Risa, the link is working for me. Just make sure you have the Adobe Flash plug-in and it should work.
- Kevin. Friday, November 28, 2008. 6:50pm (-06:00 GMT)
Hey I love this program and I use it all the time for the kids that I work with. Is there a way you can do the same thing with Speak and math and eventually speak and read which are the other educational toys the Texas instruments later introduced? Thanks Keep up the GREAT work you projects are the best.
- Todd. Saturday, December 13, 2008. 1:01pm (-06:00 GMT)
What does "Impatient Mode" do?
- Mike. Tuesday, December 23, 2008. 7:42pm (-06:00 GMT)
wow! This is awesome.... Takes me back to the days of yore!
- Dhruv Matani. Tuesday, December 23, 2008. 8:22pm (-06:00 GMT)
It would be great if there was an instruction booklet to go along with this. I don't know what most of the red buttons do.
Great work, though. This is a lot of fun!
- Jim. Tuesday, December 23, 2008. 10:49pm (-06:00 GMT)
Mike, The Speak & Spell unit is very linear in its operation normally, which means that the user needs to wait for the Speak & Spell to finish talking before any button presses are recognized. "Impatient mode" lets you press multiple buttons consecutively without waiting for the Speak & Spell to respond to each one individually, you can even use the keyboard to type in answers rapidly.
Everyone, thank you for your comments! I'm glad you are enjoying the emulator.
- Kevin. Tuesday, December 23, 2008. 11:35pm (-06:00 GMT)
I used to have this toy when I was a kid. Thanks for the post
- Davin Peterson. Friday, January 9, 2009. 12:25pm (-06:00 GMT)
It's also avilable at http://www.speaknspell.co.uk/
- Davin. Sunday, January 11, 2009. 1:07pm (-06:00 GMT)
Great work! I just started getting into Flash development recently, your project has inspired me to think of other nostalgic applications!
- Joey Cato. Sunday, January 11, 2009. 3:50pm (-06:00 GMT)
Jim, I actually scanned the original manual. I have updated the page above to include links to those images.
Davin, I am familiar with the emulator at speaknspell.co.uk, but I'm sure you will notice that my version functions almost identically to the authentic Speak & Spell, while their emulator is surprisingly dissimilar to the real thing.
Joey Cato, Flash is a really wonderful tool for the Web 2.0 generation. I wish you the best in your projects.
Thanks again to everyone for all the positive responses!
- Kevin. Sunday, January 11, 2009. 5:44pm (-06:00 GMT)
it doesn't work for me!
- goner. Saturday, January 17, 2009. 1:32pm (-06:00 GMT)
goner, I'm sorry to hear that you are having difficulty with the emulator. There are only a couple of possible problems that I can think of. First, make sure you have the Adobe Flash Player plugin installed, if you can view videos on YouTube (for example) you should be able to run the Speak and Spell Emulator. Second, make sure that you give the emulator time to load, I did not create a 'loading' screen for the emulator, so after you click the link above it will take some time to download (you will probably see a blank screen for a short time before the emulator loads). Good luck.
- Kevin. Saturday, January 17, 2009. 1:45pm (-06:00 GMT)
thanks!
- harun (goner). Sunday, January 18, 2009. 9:26pm (-06:00 GMT)
Please send the item
- vinod joseph. Saturday, January 24, 2009. 5:14am (-06:00 GMT)
good
- vinod joseph. Saturday, January 24, 2009. 5:16am (-06:00 GMT)
I too would love an emulated version of the Speak & Math, as I played with that one way more than the Speak & Spell in my youth. However (as a web/flash developer) I know that this would probably be excessively time-consuming, not only with the math algorithms but recording all the sounds.
BTW there's a set of free TrueType fonts (called "Digital Readout") that would closer emulate the display letters. Just google "digital readout font" and you'll find it pretty easy. There's a thick version if you're worried about readability.
Thanks again for the sentimentality! Great stuff.
- Joey K. Saturday, January 24, 2009. 10:58am (-06:00 GMT)
Kudos to Kevin,
I am really impressed you were able to come up with something like this within a weekend. Nowadays, the learning toys you get are a little complicated for kids. I am glad I will be able to send this to my nephew. Keep it up!
- Hasib. Wednesday, January 28, 2009. 3:52pm (-06:00 GMT)
You would not need to go to college if you could make this into a $.99 iPhone app!
- Lance. Wednesday, January 28, 2009. 8:22pm (-06:00 GMT)
Kevin,
Have you considered making a phoneme machine?
The keyboard would need to be expanded to around 40 to include a button for every phoneme in English. Perhaps you could reduce the number of keys by shifting between the long and short vowels and voiced and unvoiced consonants.
Here is one of a dozen keyboard layouts.
IPA/SAMPA symbols on key caps
V O W E L S CONSONANTS
ae eI O A b k tS d Ð ð
E ii 3` oU f g h dZ l l= (syllabic L)
I aI V u: m n N p r(turned)
ju u au OI s S t T v
@ A: Q O: w hw j z Z
Webster Symbols
vowels consonants
a A ô ä b k ch d D
e E '&r O f g h j l L surfer = 's&rf&r or sRf&r
i I '& ü m n Ng p r
U u ô oi s Sh t Th v
& ä * ô w Wh y z Z
The basic operation would be phonemic entry.
D& bAsic op&r'AS&n wud bE f&'nEmik entrE.
As soon as you entered a vowel you can press a pronounce key and get
an audible feedback.
The program would assist pre-schoolers in a dictionary key first writing to read program.
In the classroom without any electronic aids, it takes about 3 months
for kids to become code literate. Kids can read aloud any phonemic text put before them and they can invent phonemic spellings for the words in their ear vocabulary.
A secondary program could go from a phonemic dictionary spelling to a traditinal spelling. This would be a little more difficult since
With this level of phonemic awareness, it is fairly easy to transition to reading traditional text. In one study, the kids
mastered the dictionary key in 3 months and transitioned to comic books. By the end of 9 months, according to standardized tests, kids were reading above a 3rd grade level.
The proposed application could extend the classroom.
bAsic refers to 'bAsic /'beI.sIk/ and would probably be spelled
basic. beysik and beicik would be possibilities but they do not correspoind to any words in the English dictionary.
*f&'nEmik would have several plausible spellings e.g. *funeemec. The task would be to pick out the correct spelling from all of the plausible spellings.
This is pretty much the task when you try to spell a word from its pronunciation on the original speak and spell.
One difference would be that you could view the dictionary key representation of the pronunciation.
- Steve Bett. Thursday, February 5, 2009. 11:51am (-06:00 GMT)
where can i find a audio file list sampled from the S&S??
- Steve. Wednesday, February 11, 2009. 12:02pm (-06:00 GMT)
I have received some requests (both via comments here and email) regarding various projects that utilize the Speak and Spell sounds. Unfortunately, I do not have time right now to work on such projects. However, I invite anyone visiting this page to download the audio files that I have just uploaded for use in your own personal projects. (I don't know the intellectual property laws regarding any of this, so use at your own risk).
- Kevin. Wednesday, February 11, 2009. 7:28pm (-06:00 GMT)
Excellent Job!!
I bought a couple of S&Ss for both of my kids. The fighting over it was worth the extra monies!!
And, yes, at 30 years old I still enjoyed playing it when the kids weren't..
Ah, the 'good old days'...
Thanks for your efforts!
- Bob. Sunday, February 22, 2009. 11:15am (-06:00 GMT)
we are looking for a speak and spell and speak and spell math where can we find the set?
- morgan. Thursday, February 26, 2009. 9:07pm (-06:00 GMT)
You can't believe how many memories this brings back. I had one of these growing up. I, unfortunately, lost it. I took it everywhere with me. It was my most favorite toy. Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication.
- Josh. Saturday, March 7, 2009. 5:39am (-06:00 GMT)
Check out my Javascript-only version: http://sha.nnoncarey.com/
- Shannon Carey. Sunday, April 12, 2009. 1:51am (-05:00 GMT)
Hello,
I'm dying to try the emulator cause everyone is raving about it. The only problem is when I try the link to play I get nothing. Only and Empty page. Help! :)
- gigi. Saturday, May 2, 2009. 6:24pm (-05:00 GMT)
Gigi: I did not create a 'loader' for the emulator so you will see an empty page until the whole file has downloaded (its kind of big, so it might take a minute or two). Just give it a few minutes and it should appear. Have fun.
- Kevin. Saturday, May 2, 2009. 9:22pm (-05:00 GMT)
Hi! Just wanna know if it's ok for others to have a personal copy of the emulator. I just thought that it would be great if I could use it for my kids even without going online. I tried to download it coz it says that clicking on the link would play it or download it. I was successful in downloading the .swf file but the audio won't work. I also tried downloading the audio files and put in the same folder as where the .swf file is. But still no success. I wonder how would the interface work and at the same time the audio. Please help mr. kevin. I really believe that you're a genius.
- Christopher. Wednesday, May 6, 2009. 9:12am (-05:00 GMT)
Christopher, you and everyone else are free to use the emulator however you please. The Speak and Spell swf file should work as a standalone file either in a web browser or using the standalone adobe flash player application. You should not need the separate audio files as the ~500KB speakandspell.swf contains all of the sounds needed to run. All you should need to do is right click the link that says "Speak and Spell Emulator" and select "save target as..." from the context menu. You can email me at kevinstonge@gmail.com if you need more help with this.
- Kevin. Wednesday, May 6, 2009. 5:59pm (-05:00 GMT)
this would be cool if you can add somehow a way were i can type in any word and it says it
- EpiseMusic. Sunday, May 10, 2009. 8:22pm (-05:00 GMT)
hi, I would like to know if I could possibally use theS and S voice as a repeater controler voice, I am in to ham radio and this voice sounds simular to a repeater but I would need to know have to make it say certain words, can some please shoot me an email about this if possible at drummer060891@gmail.com it would be greatly apreciated thanks and take care
- justin T. Thursday, June 18, 2009. 9:35am (-05:00 GMT)
Very, very cool to "stumble" upon this, Kevin. THANK YOU!!! [wish I could find Speak and Read" --- I recall some sort of repeat of a series of given letters or numbers on one of these machines. I have both Speak/read and Speak/spell -- someplace.... but cannot find them right now.
- tina. Saturday, July 11, 2009. 4:46pm (-05:00 GMT)
is there any way you could add new words to speak and spell
- Breon. Wednesday, July 15, 2009. 8:27am (-05:00 GMT)
I went through my children old toys and saw this S&S unit, but I couldn't find instruction book. Someone told me about your website that posted this S&S instruction. I have printed some helpful pages. Thank you.
- Ann P. Friday, July 17, 2009. 1:19pm (-05:00 GMT)
What is cool is the fact that if you are spelling a word correctly but not the word it asks for it does not say "that is incorrect" that is if it is on the list of words the thing holds
I found this out when I spelt caution when it asked for quotient
- Edward. Saturday, December 12, 2009. 4:52am (-06:00 GMT)
Hello;
Your speak and spell works fine. According to the directions
I should "click on the link" to download. I don't see the
link you are refering to. I looked at everything on your
site and just don't see the link - where is the link located.
When I click on the "run or download" I get the working
simulator but see nothing about a download.
Please help.
Thank you,
Joe O'Loughlin
- Joe O'Loughlin. Saturday, January 2, 2010. 8:48am (-06:00 GMT)
Joe,
To download the Speak and Spell Emulator, you will need to right click on the link that says "Speak and Spell Emulator" and choose the option that says "Save Target As..." (the exact wording of this menu option depends on what browser you are using).
Once saved to your computer, you might encounter trouble opening the .swf file. If Windows tells you that it cannot find a program with which to open the file, choose your web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer) from the list of programs.
Good Luck!
- Kevin. Saturday, January 2, 2010. 8:53am (-06:00 GMT)
Hello;
Thanks for the VERY quick answer. Your info worked
exactly as you suggested.
I've worked with microcomputers since 1976 and can't
recall ever seeing or using "save target as".
I understand your use of a web browser although I
can't recall the approach you use.
I really like the clear display and the 'strong'
voice of the speak and spell. I have one of the
"other" simulators and yours is much better.
My grandaughters are thrilled with yours.
Regards and thanks again.
Joe O'Loughlin
- Joe O'Loughlin. Saturday, January 2, 2010. 9:46am (-06:00 GMT)
I think I have a new puzzle....
The Speak and Spell works flawlessly on the following"
Win98SE, Netscape 7.2,Wi-FI connected. This old dog is what I use for
most of my Internet adventures. The way I see it is that
if it runs on this old thing it "should" run on almost
anything else. Not so.... I have 4 other computers, all of them
running Win XP and IE. Guess what, none of the beasts with
XP will run Speak and Spell. The keyboard is there and
when a key is pressed all is well until I hit return then nothing
after that. Also, a mouse used on the keyboard doesn't work
at all. I'm stumped. I'm almost tempted to install Netscape
on all of them just to run Speak and Spell. Bummer.
Regards,
Joe O'Loughlin
- Joe O'Loughlin. Saturday, January 2, 2010. 11:15am (-06:00 GMT)
Joe,
Glad I could help. I'm afraid I will be less helpful regarding your cross-platform issues. My only suggestions are to ensure that you have the latest version of Adobe Flash installed on your XP machines and if that does not work you might try a standalone adobe flash player. I don't believe that Adobe makes one for free, but there is one that I just found (but have not tried) at standaloneflashplayer.com.
- Kevin. Saturday, January 2, 2010. 12:08pm (-06:00 GMT)
Just wanted to say thank you for posting the manual to the speak and spell. We dug it out of storage for our kids and had long lost the manual. It belonged to my 25 yr old stepson and now my 4 yr olds will play with it!
Thanks again,
Lauren in Arlington, TX
- Lauren. Sunday, January 24, 2010. 10:12am (-06:00 GMT)
Kevin -
Absolutely fantastic! I really am quite speechless to have found this and that voice. There's just something about the electronic voice of this wonderful little device (that and all the fun hours as a kid). I'd actually come across a cool YouTube clip of the NAO robot. The background song is "Spell It Correctly" from a group called EcoPlan which uses the Speak & Spell voice. Feeling nostalgic, I Googled and here I am!
Amazing work. Thank you!!
- R. J.. Monday, January 25, 2010. 8:15pm (-06:00 GMT)
I like the emulator, but it works like a raised button Speak & Spell, and it doesn't look like a raised button speak & spell. This emulator is not working as the way it looks. This emulator is a flat key membrane Speak & Spell acting like a raised button one.
- Chloe Chan. Wednesday, March 10, 2010. 2:21pm (-06:00 GMT)
Hi Kevin
Great work, the Speak and Spell taught me a lot when I was 12! Now I have my son having a go with your emulator.
It would be great to see a more authentic font, perhaps even slightly more green... here are a few posibilities.
http://desktoppub.about.com/library/fonts/dd/uc_digitalreadout.htm
http://desktoppub.about.com/library/fonts/dd/uc_led.htm
Cheers
John
- John. Monday, March 22, 2010. 7:29am (-05:00 GMT)
Can't tell you enough how much I appreciate you creating the online Speak and Spell! I actually was reminded of Speak and Spell while watching an episode of Modern Marvels. I googled it and found your site. Now my kids are able to have as much fun learning to spell as I did in the 80s. Thanks again!
- Kim Jones. Saturday, April 10, 2010. 1:17pm (-05:00 GMT)
Thanks so much for recreating my beloved Speak and Spell! My older brothers found great amusement in trying to type out bad words with it...brings back great memories! I can't recall what happened to mine over the years. Still have my Sears Atari and miniature Pac-Man arcade game, though. :)
- eanna. Wednesday, June 23, 2010. 8:16pm (-05:00 GMT)