Minority Opinion: Minimum Maximum for Checkpoint 4.15

CURRENT UAAG CHECKPOINT 4.12 (29 September 2000 draft)
      Allow the user to configure and control synthesized speech
      playback rate according to the full range offered by the speech
      synthesizer. The lower bound for this range must be at most 120
      words per minute. The upper bound for this range must be at
      least 400 words per minute. The user must be able to increase
      or decrease the playback rate in increments of 5% of the
      current playback rate. [Priority 1]
END CURRENT

OBJECTION: Minimum maximum rate cited in UAAG Checkpoint 4.15 is too slow.

RATIONALE:
Based upon my research into the capacities of the most commonly deployed 
speech engines, the average maximum speech rate works out to be 677.5 words 
per minute, which, as i noted in my post, archived at:

(long URI warning)
<http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/2000AprJun/0482.html>

is akin to having 2.1 children, so i re-propose that we adopt either 600 or 
650 words per minute (which, in my opinion, is a conservative minimum 
maximum) or that we adopt 700 words per minute (a more useful and practical 
maximum) as the minimal upper range for synthesized speech.

i'd still like supplemental speech users, such as low vision and dyslexic 
users, as well as any other speech output users to weigh in on this issue, 
as well...

gregory
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          Gregory J. Rosmaita, <unagi69@concentric.net>
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Received on Thursday, 19 October 2000 02:13:44 UTC