The WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia aims to produce recordings of Wikipedia articles being read aloud. See Spoken articles for articles that have already been recorded, and Requests for instructions on how to request a recording of a particular article.
Some people wonder why creating spoken recordings of articles is worthwhile, so a quick discussion of the unique benefits is in order.
Spoken articles make Wikipedia content available to those who can understand English but cannot read it.
Users can listen to Wikipedia articles while they perform tasks that preclude reading but not concentration (such as driving, biking, running, doing housework, etc.).
Visually impaired users can use screen readers, of course, but with current technology, they may not be as accurate as a human vocal performance. This is particularly true of articles relating to science, mathematics, linguistics, and other areas where unusual pronunciation or symbols are prevalent.
They are a valuable learning tool for those learning English, but only if a link is given to the version of the page that is read. This allows readers to listen to the words being pronounced while reading the words.
They are a valuable learning tool for auditory learners (people who learn most effectively by listening to information delivered orally).
Some may find it easier to concentrate on reading an article while listening to it, especially in an environment with distracting sounds (with the use of headphones).
In performing the articles aloud, readers end up catching inconsistencies, redundancies, and awkward phrases that might have been missed by other editors. In this way, the written version of Wikipedia improves.
Problems
However, the project does have some difficulties and drawbacks that one should be aware of:
Recording and editing articles can be time-consuming, and recordings are sometimes abandoned or have their source text dramatically changed before they are finished.
Incorrect pronunciation can mislead non-English-speaking users.
To maintain a consistent vocal sound and to avoid the degradation in sound quality that comes from re-editing compressed audio files, edits to an existing recording should be done by the original recorder. Thus, in cases where a recording needs to be modified and the original recorder is not available to do it, the recording may need to be re-recorded entirely or removed.
The audio file format used in Wikipedia is the open source standard, Ogg Vorbis, which avoids proprietary formats which may include DRM provisions. However, audio files encoded in Ogg Vorbis are not widely supported in many portable digital music players. For information on how to play Ogg Vorbis files on a computer, see the Ogg media help page.
Wikipedia articles are constantly evolving. Once created, audio versions become less and less accurate when compared with the current article (unless updated too).
There is no way to follow or indicate links. One possible solution is Audio Hyperlinks
Alternatives
For people wishing to listen to articles that don't yet have a spoken version:
Software that converts text to voice is readily available and can be easily used to read out Wikipedia pages on-the-fly.
The web-based Pediaphon service uses speech synthesis to generate MP3 audio files and podcasts from all English, French, German and Spanish (the latter in beta as of 4 December 2009) language Wikipedia articles. The service is also available for Polish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, and Czech language Wikipedia articles.
In progress
Recordings
The following articles are currently being recorded or edited. This list is maintained to prevent duplicate recordings, and to keep other project members informed of a recording's progress. Please only place yourself on the list once you have begun work on a recorded version, not before you've actually started. If an article has been on this list for several weeks the user may have become too busy for the project and you should feel free to drop them a reminder on their talk page. If the user updates the list to indicate that the recording process has finished, they may appreciate help in editing the recordings so feel free to offer.
There is a process for reviewing Spoken Wikipedia recordings to ensure quality control as discussed in Wikipedia:WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia/Review. Please add your name to the table below if you are reviewing an article to prevent duplicated reviews. A list of reviewed files can be found here.
The Spoken Barnstar may be awarded to an editor who makes outstanding contributions in the form of spoken articles for Wikipedia. Outstanding contributions may include: recording ten good articles, recording three featured articles, or doing an incredibly good job of recording one long, complex, excellent, featured article despite all odds.
Audio Barnstar
The Audio Barnstar is more general and may be awarded to editors who make a significant contribution to the wiki by creating and/or adding original or rare audio files. Historical recordings, self-made music, self-made examples of sound effects or musical styles, natural sounds, etc.
Advertising
This project also has a Wikipedia ad banner. You can display it by adding {{wikipedia ads|ad=181}} onto a page.
