Google Text-to-speech Filipino Language for Talkback Screen Reader is Now Available

Last October, Google has finally released the Filipino language support on its 3.13.3 update for their text-to-speech engine for Android and other products. Google TTS converts the text into speech which can be useful especially for visually impaired users of Talkback, a screen reader built-in to Android operating system. However so far the Filipino language is only available in the following Google products:

• Talkback screen reader for Android
• Waze

That means in Google Translate for example, you can hear a speech feedback when you translate Filipino to English and some other languages, but no speech will be heard when you translate to Filipino. I’m sure it will come eventually so we’ll just have to wait.

I was very happy when I heard about the news and tried the Filipino language right away. I’ve waited for this for so long and now it’s already available, and I’m sure all visually impaired Filipino users of Talkback will also be using this language once they update their Google TTS on their Android devices.

How to Change the Google TTS Language to Filipino

For those who want to try out the Filipino language first make sure you have the latest version of the engine. To do this open Play Store, search for ‘google tts’ and tap update. If you don’t see the update button that means your version is already up-to-date. All you have to do is go into Settings > Text-to-speech > Google TTS Settings and change the language to Filipino Pilipinas. However you can also hear a sample of the Filipino speech on the Facebook video below which made by Rene Orense, a Talkback user.