# Addition of Audio to Words



## Edher

I greatly benefit from this on-line dictionary. Frankly, I think it's one of the most helpful resources on the web since not only does it define the word for you, but it also teaches you how to employ it properly. I haven't had many problems using this webpage, yet, as great as it is, I still believe it can be improved. I am aware that there are other on-line dictionaries on the web similar to this one but with some modifications. Some of them have audio. Meaning that one could actually listen to the pronunciation of the word. I think this would help a lot, especially people like myself, whose second language is English. Furthermore, this can also be applied to the other languages. I hope you take this into consideration.

                                                                      Thank you for your time,


----------



## atignirgal

I agree, audio clips (I need them for the Spanish pronunciation) would be such a welcome addition! Although would it slow down page loading time I wonder?


----------



## mkellogg

Thanks for the suggestion.  I know that I've heard it many times before... Every time I discuss this with a company that has recordings of words, the price turns out to be well beyond what an advertising supported website can pay... 

Despite this, I hope to have a solution within 6 months or so!

Mike


----------



## hypertweeky

mkellogg said:
			
		

> Thanks for the suggestion. I know that I've heard it many times before... Every time I discuss this with a company that has recordings of words, the price turns out to be well beyond what an advertising supported website can pay...
> 
> Despite this, I hope to have a solution within 6 months or so!
> 
> Mike


May I help?


----------



## Edher

How can we help raise funds for this addition of sound? I mean, I think most of the users would agree with me that we still want to keep this website cost-free, that is without a doubt the essence of what makes this source so incredible. But is there a different way that we can be of some help Kellog? Maybe by posting adds of this website at school, and informing people about it some how. Would an increase in number of visitors help with funding?


----------



## mkellogg

Hi Edher,

Thanks for the offer of promoting the site.  Telling your friends about WordReference is always apprecated!  I think what might work out best over the long term would be to ask members of this forum to donate their voices to create new sound files.  Only in that way can we represent the diversity of accents that we have out there in the world, both in English and Spanish!

I've got an idea of how I can make it simple and convenient for people to record their voices, but I know that it is going to be a lot of work getting it all together...

_But_, in the meantime, feel free to ask in the forum for someone to attach a .wav or .mp3 file to hear a pronunciation.  Most people can use Windows' Sound Recorder to do the job.

Mike


----------



## Mary Solari

Though as a student of languages I strongly advocate the use of the phonemic dictionary (after all, it's only a bunch of symbols that you can use for all languages!!!), I understand that with the technology we have today, we could well record our voices and share that knowledge with all the rest. I volunteer to contribute with my spanish from Argentina and Spain.


----------



## billhmjr

_But_, in the meantime, feel free to ask in the forum for someone to attach a .wav or .mp3 file to hear a pronunciation.  Most people can use Windows' Sound Recorder to do the job.

*How can we "attach a .wav or .mp3 file" in the forum, that is, in a post?*


----------



## el alabamiano

billhmjr said:
			
		

> _But_, in the meantime, feel free to ask in the forum for someone to attach a .wav or .mp3 file to hear a pronunciation. Most people can use Windows' Sound Recorder to do the job.
> 
> *How can we "attach a .wav or .mp3 file" in the forum, that is, in a post?*


After clicking on "Reply," scroll down until you see:





 Additional Options Miscellaneous OptionsShow your signature

Automatically parse links in text
Disable smilies in text

Attach FilesValid file extensions: bmp doc gif jpe jpeg jpg mp3 pdf png psd txt wav xls zip


*Manage Attachments* 

Thread SubscriptionNotification Type:
Do not subscribe No email notification Instant email notification Daily email notification Weekly email notification Rate ThreadIf you like, you can add a score for this thread.
Choose a rating 5 : Excellent 4 : Good 3 : Average 2 : Bad 1 : Terrible 

​


----------



## billhmjr

Thanks el alabamiano good instructions.


----------



## billhmjr

One quick way to bring audio to the on-line dictionary and actually listen to the pronunciation of the words is to employ one or both of the programs below.  I have both and find lots of creative ways to use them in my study of Spanish.

Babylon-Pro 
http://www.babylon.com/ ( is great for clinking on individual words for *translation * and *audio * of word)

TextAloud
http://www.wugnet.com/shareware/spow.asp?ID=447 ( is great for listening to *highlighted text * or *individual words*.  Selected text can be saved as *audio mp3 * or *wave file.*

I purchased and us AT&T Natural Voices with these two programs.  They are quite good.

AT&T Natural Voices [tm]  Click the links below to test the voices

(US English) http://wcarchive.cdrom.com/pub/bws/bws_44/Mike16mp3.mp3

(US English) http://wcarchive.cdrom.com/pub/bws/bws_44/Crystal16mp3.mp3

(UK English) http://wcarchive.cdrom.com/pub/bws/bws_44/Audrey.mp3

(LA Spanish) http://wcarchive.cdrom.com/pub/bws/bws_44/Rosa.mp3

Best regards to all,

Bill


----------

