[DECtalk] Multiple Languages and DECtalk

GUI Access guiaccess at covad.net
Sun Mar 12 19:13:10 EST 2006


>I have the Express 4.2CD drivers here and there is no such
>program.  I think it must have been around 4.3 or 4.4.  I think I saw
>a multilanguage demo before 4.61 somewhere but I don't know.  Also
>it's possible they were using a custom dictionary.  I saw that the
>4.3 demo had a special dictionary which had to be loaded when the demo is run.


Yes, all DECtalks have to have this dictionary.  There is a different 
dictionary per language; the fact that the 4.3 demo looks for a file 
called dectalk.dic and not something like dectalk_us.dic or dt_us.dic 
makes me think 4.3 did not support multiple languages.  Note that 
with 4.61 and up the dictionaries are named dtalk_us.dic, 
dtalk_uk.dic, etc.  The language is part of the dictionary file name.


>
>On a different note, The original DEC-Talk must be very old.  I was
>reading the developer's manual on the archive and at the end of
>chapter 6 it has a demo to use to show off the voices.  It was dated
>1984.  The original would have to be older than that since it only
>supports six voices and the demo used at least seven.


I think the original DECtalk came out in 1983.  I have no idea in 
what form--software vs. PC card vs. the big stand-alone units with 
the telephone terminals.

GUI Access


>
>At 03:50 PM 3/11/2006, you wrote:
>>I believe DEC went to multiple language support somewhere around DECtalk
>>software 4.2.  The 4.2 software for the DECtalk PC came with a new program
>>called usa.exe which was loaded onto the DECtalk PC board.  I think that had
>>something to do with multi-language support.  Unfortunately I don't have a
>>foreign version, or even know if there ever was such a thing, they may have
>>just been thinking about the future.
>>Jayson.
>
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