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Build A Sentence-Level Text-To-Speech Reader in JavaScript

This document outlines the process of building a sentence-level Text-to-Speech (TTS) reader using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. It covers how to implement TTS functionality in the browser, dynamically highlight sentences, and create a user interface with controls for playback. The article also suggests potential extensions for the project, such as saving progress and adding a visual progress bar.

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4 views10 pages

Build A Sentence-Level Text-To-Speech Reader in JavaScript

This document outlines the process of building a sentence-level Text-to-Speech (TTS) reader using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. It covers how to implement TTS functionality in the browser, dynamically highlight sentences, and create a user interface with controls for playback. The article also suggests potential extensions for the project, such as saving progress and adding a visual progress bar.

Uploaded by

f8tcl06pa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript https://jsdev.

space/tts-sentence-reader/

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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript

Build a Sentence-Level Reader with JS


TTS & Highlights
June, 23rd 2025 5 min read

Table of Contents

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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript https://jsdev.space/tts-sentence-reader/

In this article, we’ll build a simple web tool to explore how Text-to-Speech
(TTS) works in JavaScript. We’ll also dive into the logic of sentence-level
highlighting. These two features are often combined to create accessible,
dynamic reading experiences in the browser.

We’ll go step-by-step:

1. Learn how TTS works in the browser

2. Explore how to highlight sentences dynamically

3. Build a working mini tool with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (Demo & Code )

📢 What is TTS in the browser?


JavaScript provides built-in support for speech synthesis using the
SpeechSynthesis API. It allows us to speak text out loud using voices
available in the system.

Core objects:

• speechSynthesis — controller to play, pause, stop, and resume speech

• SpeechSynthesisUtterance — represents the text that will be spoken

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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript https://jsdev.space/tts-sentence-reader/

✨ Simple example:

JS Copy

1 c o n s t msg = n e w SpeechSynthesisUtterance("Hello, world!"


2 window.speechSynthesis.speak(msg);

⚙ Add voice and settings:

JS Copy

1 c o n s t utter = n e w SpeechSynthesisUtterance("This is a test"


2 c o n s t voices = window.speechSynthesis.getVoices();
3 utter.voice = voices.find(v =>= v.lang ===== 'en-US'
4 utter.rate = 1.2;
5 utter.pitch = 1;
6 window.speechSynthesis.speak(utter);

You can also track when speech starts and ends:

JS Copy

1 utter.onstart = () =>= console.log('Started speaking'


2 utter.onend = () =>= console.log('Finished speaking'

✍ Sentence-level Highlighting
To show which sentence is currently being read, we’ll highlight that sentence

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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript https://jsdev.space/tts-sentence-reader/

using CSS and JavaScript.

Example HTML:

HTML Copy

1 <p>
2 <span class="sentence">First sentence.<</span>
3 <span class="sentence">Second sentence.<</span>
4 <</p>

CSS for highlighting:

CSS Copy

1 .sentence.active {
2 background-color: yellow;
3 font-weight: bold;
4 }

JavaScript highlighting logic:

JS Copy

1 f u n c t i o n highlight(index) {
2 document.querySelectorAll('.sentence').forEach((el, i) =>= {
3 el.classList.toggle('active', i ===== index);
4 });
5 }

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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript https://jsdev.space/tts-sentence-reader/

🚀 Project: Reader with TTS and


Highlighting
Our tool will:

• Read sentences one-by-one

• Highlight the current sentence

• Provide Play, Pause, Resume, Stop buttons

• Let the user select a voice

📄 HTML Structure

HTML Copy

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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript https://jsdev.space/tts-sentence-reader/

1 <!DOCTYPE html>
2 <html lang="en">
3 <head>
4 <meta charset="UTF-8" //>
5 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scal
6 <meta name="description" content="Build an interactive sentence
7 <title>Interactive TTS Article Reader<</title>
8 <</head>
9 <body>
10 <h1>Read Along TTS Demo<</h1>
11 <div class="toolbar">
12 <button id="start">Play<</button>
13 <button id="pause" disabled>Pause<</button>
14 <button id="resume" disabled>Resume<</button>
15 <button id="stop" disabled>Stop<</button>
16 <button id="reset">Reset<</button>
17 <select id="voices"><</select>
18 <</div>
19 <div class="text-block" id="reader">
20 <span class="line">Learning to code is a never-ending journey
21 <span class="line">Technologies evolve rapidly, requiring con
22 <span class="line">JavaScript, HTML, and CSS are essential to
23 <span class="line">Frameworks like React and Vue enhance fron
24 <span class="line">Back-end skills with Node.js extend JavaSc
25 <</div>
26 <div class="progress">
27 <span id="progressText">0/0<</span>
28 <div class="bar"><div class="bar-fill" id="bar"><</div><</div>

🎨 CSS Styling

CSS Copy

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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript https://jsdev.space/tts-sentence-reader/

1 body {
2 font-family: sans-serif;
3 margin: 0;
4 padding: 2rem;
5 background: #f0f4f8;
6 color: #333;
7 }
8 h1 {
9 text-align: center;
10 margin-bottom: 2rem;
11 }
12 .toolbar {
13 display: flex;
14 justify-content: center;
15 flex-wrap: wrap;
16 gap: 1rem;
17 margin-bottom: 2rem;
18 }
19 .toolbar button,
20 .toolbar select {
21 padding: 0.6rem 1.2rem;
22 border-radius: 4px;
23 border: none;
24 font-size: 1rem;
25 }
26 .toolbar button {
27 background: #0077cc;
28 color: white;

💡 JavaScript Logic

JS Copy

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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript https://jsdev.space/tts-sentence-reader/

1 const lines = document.querySelectorAll('.line');


2 const playBtn = document.getElementById('start');
3 const pauseBtn = document.getElementById('pause'
4 const resumeBtn = document.getElementById('resume'
5 const stopBtn = document.getElementById('stop');
6 const resetBtn = document.getElementById('reset'
7 const voiceSelect = document.getElementById('voices'
8 const progressText = document.getElementById('progressText'
9 const progressBar = document.getElementById('bar'
10
11 c o n s t synth = window.speechSynthesis;
12 l e t voices = [];
13 l e t currentIndex = 0;
14 l e t currentUtterance = n u l l ;
15 l e t isPaused = f a l s e ;
16
17 f u n c t i o n populateVoices() {
18 voices = synth.getVoices();
19 voiceSelect.innerHTML = '';
20 voices.forEach((voice, index) =>= {
21 c o n s t opt = document.createElement('option');
22 opt.value = index;
23 opt.textContent = `${voice.name} (${voice.lang})`;
24 voiceSelect.appendChild(opt);
25 });
26 }
27
28 synth.onvoiceschanged = populateVoices;

✅ How it All Works Together


• Each sentence is a <span class="sentence">

• We iterate over them and use SpeechSynthesisUtterance to read


aloud

• While speaking, we highlight the current sentence and scroll to it

• On speech end, the next sentence is read automatically

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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript https://jsdev.space/tts-sentence-reader/

🔚 Conclusion
Now you understand:

• How browser TTS works

• How to apply dynamic sentence highlighting

• How to build a full-featured reading UI from scratch

You can extend this project by:

• Saving progress to localStorage

• Adding a visual progress bar

• Loading external articles or user input

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Build a Sentence-Level Text-to-Speech Reader in JavaScript https://jsdev.space/tts-sentence-reader/

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