Texas Instruments Speak & Spell (British Voice Type 2)

There are a lot of differences between American English and British English, therefore Texas Instruments had to change the Speech-ROM's of the original Speak & Spell to sell it on the United Kingdom market.

The pictured Speak & Spell sports the membrane keyboard with the huge TI logo, we know four different US designs:

Even the Speak & Spells with the United Kingdom Speech-ROMs received all three designs, don't miss the early UK Type 1 and the later UK Type 3.

Compare this red Speak & Spell with the blue Buddy, introduced in the same year in Germany, the French speaking La Dictée Magique or the colorful Grillo Parlante sold in Italy.

Dismantling this Speak & Spell manufactured in January 1985 by Texas Instruments in their Rieti, Italy facility for the British market reveals a design centered around three Integrated Circuits:

As of today we know a total of 10 different plug-in modules for the Speak & Spell, a comprehensive overview including the wordlists could be found here. 

American English and British English

There are vast differences in culture between Americans and their British Commonwealth counterparts throughout the world.

American English is spoken in the USA, Canada and many Pacific Rim countries where America has exerted an influence.

British English is spoken throughout the British Commonwealth of 54 countries, some of the most notable being the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, with Canada being the exception. Although part of the Commonwealth, Canadians tend to speak a mixture of American and British English due to that country's proximity to the USA (although they spell the British way).

Examples:

From "A guide on the differences between American and English culture" © Bruce Longman, 2000. 

If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.

© Joerg Woerner, July 13, 2005. No reprints without written permission.