Speech Synthesis Markup Language. It’s an XML-based markup language used to control aspects of synthetic speech generation, such as voice, volume, rate, pitch, and pronunciation. Developers use SSML to enhance the spoken output of text-to-speech (TTS) systems by specifying how the text should be articulated. This can be particularly useful in applications like virtual assistants, accessibility tools, and any other systems that convert text into spoken audio.
For example, you can use SSML to make a virtual assistant emphasize certain words, pause for effect, or change the pitch or speed of the speech to sound more natural or to convey different emotions. Here’s a simple example of how SSML might look to alter the way a sentence is spoken:
<speak> Hello, <break time="500ms"/> this is an example of <emphasis level="strong">SSML</emphasis>. </speak>