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Texas Instruments Speak & Read (Type 1)

Date of introduction:	1980	Display technology:	Fluorescent
New price:		Display size:	9 alphanumeric
Size:	10" x 7" x 1.3"
Weight:	17 ounces	Serial No:
Batteries:	4*C cells	Date of manufacture:	wk 44 year 1980
AC-Adapter:	AC9199	Origin of manufacture:	USA
Precision:		Integrated circuits:	TMC0270 (CD2705), TMC0280 (CD2801), 2 * TMC0350 (CD2394,2395)
Memories:
Program steps:		Courtesy of:	Joerg Woerner
		Download manuals:	(US: 2.877 kB) (US: 40 kB)

Shortly after the invention of the synthesizer technology to reproduce human speech with tuned voices stored in ROM's (integrated circuits) this funny product appeared.

Speak & Read uses an electronic voice and programmed activities to help children build reading skills. More than 250 basic words are introduced through activities like "Word Zapper" and "Hear It", helping young children recognize letters and words alike.

This educational toy was rated by Texas Instruments for childrens aged between 4 and 8 years.

An alphanumeric display was used as feedback during typing words.

Other products in the Speak & line cover spelling words and math. Compare this Speak & Read with both Speak & Spell and Speak & Math.

Dont't miss the appearance of the Speak & Spell in the movie „E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial“. Do you know Qubais Reed Ghazala ? Get more tunes from your Speak & Read with circuit-bending.

An inside view of some dismantled Speak & Spell products could be found here.

View the more serious Language products like the Language Tutor.

Don't miss the rare Speak & Learn. This product appeared on the market shortly before Texas Instruments discontinued its Consumer Products Division in 1983.

Press the Play button and get some real Speak & Spell tunes.
(MP3 files provided by Dirk Bohlig)

This Speak & Read is an early one. Please notice the gold lettered "Texas Instruments" on the display screen and the large "TI" logo on the keyboard. Later models got a slightly different design. Compare a later model here.

Eight years later the Super Speak & Read with the position sensitive keyboard technology was introduced.

Eight different Speak & Read Cartridge Libraries are known:

Name	Grade	Words	Description	Module	Wordlist
A Dog On A Log	1	143	Rhyming words such as log, dog, pig, big. Plural endings such as boxes, watches, hats and trees.		(US: 34 kB)
On The Track	1	131	Consonant blends such as bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, g, pl, pr, sc, sh, sl, sk, sm, sp, st, sw, tr.		(US: 34 kB)
The Seal That Could Fly	2	136	Sound-alike vowel combinations such as ay and ai, ea and ee. Word ending in er and est.		(US: 34 kB)
The Third Circle	2	172	R-controlled vowelssuch as ir, ar, er, ur, or; and words with suffixes ful and ly.		(US: 36 kB)
Who´s Who At The Zoo	2	184	The contraction n´t (don´t, didn´t, wasn´t, isn´t). Verbs ending in ed, er, s and es.		(US: 37 kB)
Sea Sights	3	169	Compound words such as shipmate, sunburn, seafood; words ending with er and est; and syllables.		(US: 36 kB)
A Ghost in the House	3	128			(US: 33 kB)
The Millionth Knight	3	133	Silent letter combination such as chalk, phone, limb; and suffixes less, ous, and able.		(US: 34 kB)

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