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.
Although activity is slower than it once was, anyone is welcome to participate in the project.
Remove the |Semi-active parameter from this template if activity resumes or if this tag was changed in error. If almost no activity occurs in this WikiProject, consider replacing this tag with {{WikiProject status|Inactive}}.
Here are just some reasons why it is worthwhile creating spoken recordings of articles.
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 running, or housework).
Visually impaired users can use screen readers, but 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 commonly requiring unusual or unfamiliar pronunciation, or the use of symbols.
They are a valuable learning tool for those learning English. If a link is given to the version of the page that was recorded then users may listen to the words while reading them.
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 an article while listening to it, especially in an environment with distracting sounds (with the use of headphones).
In performing the articles aloud, readers can catch inconsistencies, redundancies, and awkward phrases not noticed by other editors, thus improving the written version of Wikipedia.
A few caveats
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. It helps to start with smaller, more manageable articles first and then move up to bigger ones.
Incorrect pronunciation can mislead non-English-speaking users. This can be solved by looking up the pronunciation for words before performing the recording.
There are several audio formats supported by MediaWiki, the software behind Wikipedia:
Ogg Vorbis: Although it's neither very well supported (see Media help page) nor lossless, it's recommended for recording articles. Small files with high audio quality can be produced using Ogg Vorbis, which makes them easy to be up- and downloaded and respectively streamed, even with a slow Internet connection.
WAV (PCM): The well-known wave format. It is supported by nearly every browser and media player but it produces huge files. The file size limit may pose an issue here. For pronunciation of single words, it is however suitable at its best.
FLAC: It is lossless (this means you can edit it as often as you need to without losing quality) and compressed, but still produces large files.
Note that a software called TimedMediaHandler that runs on Wikipedia’s servers will automatically convert your uploaded audio files into different file formats for best compatibility and user experience.
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.
Wikipedia articles are constantly evolving; once created, audio versions become less and less accurate when compared with the current article. This can be solved with updated audio recordings.
There is no way to follow or indicate links, although Audio Hyperlinks are one possible solution.
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. See screen reader.
The web-based Pediaphon service uses speech synthesis to generate MP3 audio files and podcasts of Wikipedia articles in different languages.
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 place yourself on the list only after 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. DO NOT SIGN UP UNLESS YOU ARE ACTUALLY PLANNING ON COMPLETING THE RECORDING! Recordings in progress that are not completed in two weeks after being reminded will be deleted.
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.
For revival: (This project is currently semi-active)
== Wikiproject Spoken Wikipedia Revival ==
[[File:Information.svg|25px|alt=Information icon]] Hello, I'm [[User:ExampleUser|ExampleUser]]. I wanted to let you know that the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia|Wikiproject Spoken Wikipedia]], has been tagged with a semi-active tag. I am messaging you about this because you are listed under the wiki-project's [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia/Participants|list of active participants]]. Please contribute to the WikiProject if you want to keep it alive! I hope that it becomes active again! ~~~~
== Wikiproject Spoken Wikipedia Revival ==
Hello, I'm ExampleUser. I wanted to let you know that the Wikiproject Spoken Wikipedia, has been tagged with a semi-active tag. I am messaging you about this because you are listed under the wiki-project's list of active participants. Please contribute to the WikiProject if you want to keep it alive! I hope that it becomes active again!~~~~
