# eSpeak NG

## Name
**eSpeak NG** (Next Generation)

## Description
eSpeak NG is a compact, formant-based text-to-speech synthesizer designed for broad language support with minimal resource requirements. It is ideal for accessibility applications, multi-language systems, and embedded environments where neural models are impractical. While less natural-sounding than modern neural TTS systems, eSpeak NG provides consistent, intelligible speech output across over 100 languages and dialects with a tiny footprint.

## Key Features

### Core Capabilities
- **100+ languages and dialects** - Extensive language coverage
- **Small footprint** - Lightweight binary and minimal dependencies
- **Phoneme-level control** - Direct manipulation of phoneme sequences
- **Formant synthesis** - CPU-efficient speech generation

### Advantages (Pros)
- Extremely portable and deployable
- No network requirements
- Deterministic output
- Instant generation (no latency)
- Works on minimal hardware (IoT, embedded systems)
- Consistent multi-language support
- Open source with GPL-3.0 license

### Limitations (Cons)
- Significantly less natural-sounding than neural models
- Robot-like or monotonic quality
- Limited emotional expression or prosody variations
- Basic intonation patterns
- Not suitable for applications requiring high-quality audio

## License
**GPL-3.0** - GNU General Public License v3.0

Any integration or redistribution must comply with GPL-3.0 terms, including source code availability.

## Links
- **GitHub**: [espeak-ng/espeak-ng](https://github.com/espeak-ng/espeak-ng)
- **Documentation**: [eSpeak NG Wiki](https://github.com/espeak-ng/espeak-ng/wiki)
- **Official Website**: [espeak.sourceforge.net](http://espeak.sourceforge.net/)

## Integration Status
**Not Integrated** - Considered a niche use case for specialized accessibility and embedded applications. Not prioritized in the Raccoon Mission product roadmap.

## Technical Details

### Synthesis Method: Formant Synthesis
eSpeak NG uses **formant synthesis**, a fundamental approach to speech generation:
- Formants are frequency bands that characterize vowels and consonants
- Speech is generated by combining formant frequencies in specific patterns
- This approach is mathematically efficient and requires minimal CPU resources
- Trade-off: Results in artificial, synthetic-sounding output compared to concatenative or neural methods

### Phoneme Control
- Direct phoneme-level access allows precise control over speech output
- Phoneme sequences can be generated from text using language-specific rules
- Suitable for applications requiring deterministic phoneme mappings

### Language Coverage
```
100+ languages and dialects including:
- European languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, etc.)
- Asian languages (Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, etc.)
- Slavic languages (Russian, Polish, Czech, Ukrainian, etc.)
- Other language families (Arabic, Hindi, Turkish, Vietnamese, etc.)
```

### System Requirements
- **Memory**: < 5 MB
- **Disk Space**: < 10 MB
- **CPU**: Minimal (2-5% on modern systems)
- **No network required**

## Use Cases

### Ideal Applications
1. **Accessibility**: Screen readers and WCAG compliance tools
2. **Multi-language Support**: Applications requiring 50+ languages instantly
3. **Embedded Systems**: IoT devices, robotics, microcontrollers
4. **Offline-first Applications**: No internet connectivity required
5. **Production Systems**: Deterministic output for testing and verification
6. **Legacy Systems**: Integration with older or resource-constrained hardware
7. **Batch Processing**: High-throughput text-to-speech without API calls

### Less Suitable For
- High-quality audio production
- Audiobook or podcast creation
- Customer-facing applications requiring natural speech
- Emotional or expressive speech synthesis
- Real-time streaming applications with quality expectations

## Comparison: Neural vs Formant Synthesis

| Aspect | eSpeak NG (Formant) | Neural TTS | Winner |
|--------|-------------------|-----------|--------|
| **Audio Quality** | Robot-like, artificial | Natural, human-like | Neural |
| **Resource Usage** | <10 MB, minimal CPU | 100+ MB, GPU preferred | Formant |
| **Language Support** | 100+ languages instant | Limited languages, per-model | Formant |
| **Inference Speed** | Instant (< 100ms) | Variable (100ms-5s) | Formant |
| **Offline Capability** | Yes, fully offline | Yes, if local | Formant |
| **Network Dependency** | None required | Optional (cloud) | Formant |
| **Customization** | Phoneme control | Limited | Formant |
| **Emotional Expression** | None | Excellent | Neural |
| **Prosody Control** | Limited | Excellent | Neural |
| **Deployment Ease** | Trivial | Complex | Formant |
| **Cost** | Free (GPL-3.0) | Varies ($$ to $$$) | Formant |

### Decision Matrix
**Use eSpeak NG when:**
- Accessibility is the primary concern
- Supporting 50+ languages simultaneously is essential
- Running on embedded or resource-constrained devices
- Network availability is uncertain
- Lowest possible cost is required
- Deterministic output is important

**Use Neural TTS when:**
- Natural, human-like speech is required
- Audio quality is critical for user experience
- Customer-facing applications
- Emotional or expressive synthesis needed
- User satisfaction and engagement matter

## Raccoon Mission Notes

### Current Status
eSpeak NG is **actively maintained** by the open-source community. The project receives regular updates and language additions, though development pace is modest.

### Integration Strategy: When to Use vs Neural Models
1. **Accessibility-first applications** - eSpeak NG is the optimal choice
2. **Multi-language scenarios** - Use eSpeak NG for breadth, neural for depth
3. **Hybrid approach** - eSpeak NG as fallback when neural models unavailable
4. **Resource-constrained environments** - eSpeak NG is the only practical option
5. **Offline-first products** - eSpeak NG provides guaranteed availability

### Key Considerations
- **Not recommended** for primary user-facing speech in products with quality expectations
- **Excellent choice** for secondary/accessibility speech output
- **Consider** for voice-only interfaces in low-bandwidth environments
- **Maintain** awareness of GPL-3.0 obligations in any deployment

### Integration Complexity
- **Low**: Simple command-line wrapper or library binding
- **Moderate**: Handling language selection and phoneme control
- **Advanced**: Customizing voice characteristics per language

### Sustainability
The eSpeak NG project demonstrates long-term stability with community support. However, it's not actively developed with new features—primarily receiving maintenance updates and language improvements. Production use is well-established across multiple platforms.

## Example Usage

### Basic Command Line
```bash
espeak-ng "Hello, this is a text to speech synthesis example" -w output.wav
```

### Language Selection
```bash
espeak-ng -v es "Hola, esto es una prueba de síntesis de texto a voz"
espeak-ng -v fr "Bonjour, ceci est un test de synthèse vocale"
espeak-ng -v ja "こんにちは、これは音声合成のテストです"
```

### Phoneme Control
```bash
espeak-ng --phonemes "həˈləʊ wɝld"
```

### Python Integration
```python
import subprocess

def synthesize(text, language='en'):
    cmd = ['espeak-ng', '-v', language, '-w', '/tmp/output.wav', text]
    subprocess.run(cmd)
    # Load and return audio
```

## Further Reading
- [eSpeak NG GitHub Repository](https://github.com/espeak-ng/espeak-ng)
- [Formant Synthesis Explained](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formant)
- [Speech Synthesis Overview](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_synthesis)
- [Text-to-Speech Comparison](https://github.com/uncloseai-speech)
