SpeechSynthesis.speaking

This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for the proper prefixes to use in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the spec changes.

The speaking read-only property of the SpeechSynthesis interface is a Boolean that returns true if an utterance is currently in the process of being spoken — even if SpeechSynthesis is in a paused state.

Syntax

var amISpeaking = speechSynthesisInstance.speaking;

Value

A Boolean.

Examples

var synth = window.speechSynthesis;

var utterance1 = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance('How about we say this now? This is quite a long sentence to say.');
var utterance2 = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance('We should say another sentence too, just to be on the safe side.');

synth.speak(utterance1);
synth.speak(utterance2);

var amISpeaking = synth.speaking; // will return true if utterance 1 or utterance 2 are currently being spoken

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Web Speech API
The definition of 'speaking' in that specification.
Draft  

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari (WebKit)
Basic support 33 44 (44) [1] Not supported Not supported Not supported
Feature Android Chrome Firefox Mobile (Gecko) Firefox OS IE Phone Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support (Yes) (Yes) ? 2.5 Not supported Not supported Not supported
  • [1] Can be enabled via the media.webspeech.synth.enabled flag in about:config.

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

 Contributors to this page: chrisdavidmills
 Last updated by: chrisdavidmills,