Re: [css3-speech] “neutral” voice

On 23 July 2012 14:56, Jens O. Meiert <jens@meiert.com> wrote:
>
> What is the definition of a “neutral” voice (family)? It seems the
> spec so far fails to define this [1]?
>
>
> [1] http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-speech/#voice-props-voice-family


Well, the note accompanying <gender> says...

    "Note that the interpretation of the relationship between a
person's age or gender, and a recognizable
    type of voice, cannot realistically be defined in a universal
manner as it effectively depends on numerous
    criteria (cultural, linguistic, biological, etc.)..."

So, perhaps it's not possible to really define it further, as it's
only intended as a hint whose meaning is left up to the speech
synthesis engine?

However, a question worth addressing might be: Is "neutral" intended
to communicate, "I don't care about the gender, use whatever is the
cultural default", or "I do care about the gender, and I want the
voice to be gender non-specific if possible." If it were the former,
the speech engine would default to a male voice, but if it were the
latter, it would use a distorted or robotic voice.

My interpretation would be that it is the latter, but perhaps it
should be made clear.

Jon