Spoken Word
by Weston Ruter · WordPress.org page · Website
Spoken Word has 100+ active installs on WordPress.org and 6,522 downloads all time. We have tracked it since September 4, 2026; download trends appear after 30 days of data. The last update was on January 21, 2018, tested up to WordPress 4.9.31.
Spoken Word at a glance
Is Spoken Word well maintained?
Features
The feature list from the plugin's own readme on WordPress.org, trimmed to the essentials.
- Uses local text-to-speech engine in user’s browser. Directly interfaces with the speechSynthesis browser API. Zero external requests or dependencies
- Words are selected/highlighted as they are being spoken to allow you to read along
- Skips speaking elements that should not be read, including footnote superscripts (the sup element)
- Pauses of different length added are between headings versus paragraphs
- Controls remain in view during playback, with each the current text being spoken persistently being scrolled into view. (Requires browser support for…
- Back/forward controls allow you to skip to the next paragraph; when not speaking, the next paragraph to read will be selected entirely
- Select text to read from that point; click on text during speech to immediately change position
- Multi-lingual support, allowing embedded text with [lang] attribute to be spoken by the appropriate voice (assuming the user has it installed)
- Settings for changing the default voice (for each language), along with settings for the rate of speech and its pitch. (Not supported by all engines.) Changes…
- Hit escape to pause during playback
- Voice preferences are persistently stored in localStorage, with changes synced across windows (of a given site)
- Ability to use JS in standalone manner (such as in bookmarklet)
Spoken Word reviews and ratings
7 reviews on WordPress.org, with the most recent ones as their authors posted them.
7 reviews
- 5★
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5
- 4★
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2
- 3★
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0
- 2★
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0
- 1★
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0
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Thank you!
Thank you, this plug very great. everything is OK. But currently version only support English engine and only running in PC. android no effect.
askdavidchen -
Works as it should
Install, activate, and done! Will give it a 5 star rating if it's possible to customize some options.
Wnd -
Very nice plugin
Thank you for the plugin. Since my Website works with the eleven40 Pro on Genesis theme, the plugin first did not show up. My solution was to just add a div in the blog/page post like: <div class="entry-content" itemprop="articleBody">, since the post itself did only have a div with the itemprop="text".
Beate Ziebell -
It just worked.
I installed it, activated it then listened to the results. Very simple and very impressed.
Mick Holton -
Prima en handig
Makkelijk te gebruiken, plaatst zich automatisch bovenaan de pagina, wie het voorgelezen wil hebben kan dat doen. Veeg een tekst aan en dan wordt vanaf de start van de selectie voorgelezen.
tonhendriks -
Do you have, please, a tutoria to add Spanish and Portuguese Languages?
Do you have, please, a tutoria to add Spanish and Portuguese Languages?
tehealing
Details
Add text-to-speech (TTS) to content, with playback controls, read-along highlighting, multi-lingual support, and settings for rate, pitch, and voice.
The full description, screenshots and every review live on the WordPress.org page.
Tags
- audio
- speech synthesis
- text to speech
- tts
- voice
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- Version
- 1.0.1
- Last updated
- Jan 21, 2018
- First published
- Jan 21, 2018
- Requires WordPress
- 4.7
- Tested up to
- 4.9.31
- Requires PHP
- 5.4
- Pricing
- Free on WordPress.org
Spoken Word FAQ
What does Spoken Word do?
According to its WordPress.org readme, Spoken Word offers Uses local text-to-speech engine in user’s browser. Directly interfaces with the speechSynthesis browser API. Zero external requests or dependencies, Words are selected/highlighted as they are being spoken to allow you to read along, Skips speaking elements that should not be read, including footnote superscripts (the sup element), Pauses of different length added are between headings versus paragraphs and Controls remain in view during playback, with each the current text being spoken persistently being scrolled into view. (Requires browser support for.
How many active installs does Spoken Word have?
WordPress.org reports 100+ active installs for Spoken Word as of September 7, 2026.
Is Spoken Word still maintained?
The last release was on January 21, 2018, more than a year ago. WordPress.org shows a warning on plugins that go this long without an update.
Is Spoken Word free?
Spoken Word is free to install from WordPress.org. Many plugins also sell a paid version or add-ons.