Turn On or Off Narrator Intonation Pauses in Windows 10

How to turn on or off Narrator Intonation Pauses in Windows 10

As you may already know, Narrator is a screen-reading app built into Windows 10. Narrator lets users with vision issues to use PC and complete common tasks. The user can enable or disable the intonation pauses feature for Narrator which are punctuation pauses that make speech sound more natural.

Microsoft describes the Narrator feature as follows:

Narrator lets you use your PC without a display or mouse to complete common tasks if you’re blind or have low vision. It reads and interacts with things on the screen, like text and buttons. Use Narrator to read and write email, browse the Internet, and work with documents.

Specific commands let you navigate Windows, the web, and apps, as well as get info about the area of the PC you're in. Navigation is available using headings, links, landmarks, and more. You can read text (including punctuation) by page, paragraph, line, word, and character as well as determine characteristics like font and text color. Efficiently review tables with row and column navigation.

Narrator also has a navigation and reading mode called Scan Mode. Use it to get around Windows 10 using just the up and down arrows on your keyboard. You can also use a braille display to navigate your PC and read text.

Windows 10 allows to customize options for Narrator. You can change its keyboard shortcuts, personalize Narrator's voice, enable Caps Lock warnings, and more. You can choose the voice for Narrator, adjust the speaking rate, pitch, and volume.

The Narrator supports Scan mode that lets you navigate apps, email, and webpages using the arrow keys. You’ll also be able to use common keyboard shortcuts to read text and jump directly to headings, links, tables, and landmarks.

To launch certain Narrator features, you can use its keyboard shortcuts. The keyboard shortcuts include a special modifier key, which is set to both Caps Lock and Insert by default. You can change the modifier keys.

Also, you can turn on special Lock Mode for the modifier key of Narrator. When it is enabled, you do not have to press the Narrator key to launch a Narrator feature.

Narrator comes with support for reading characters phonetically. That is, reading out “a Alfa, b Bravo, c Charlie” while navigating “abc” by character.

According to Microsoft, users don’t want to hear the phonetic information announced automatically. Instead, this should be an on-demand feature, to be called upon only when the user needed it. Starting in build 18282, Narrator doesn't announce the phonetic information automatically. As you navigate by characters, this information will be omitted. If you need the phonetic information to disambiguate characters, you can issue a command to hear the phonetics. Use the keyboard command of Narrator key + Comma twice quickly. If, for example, you are using the Standard Keyboard layout with the default Narrator key setting of “Caps Lock or Insert”, you would issue the command of Caps Lock + Comma (or Insert + Comma), where the Comma key is pressed twice quickly while depressing the Caps Lock (or Insert) key.

In Windows 10, it is possible to enable or disable Narrator to make the intonation pauses. When enabled, Narrator makes punctuation pauses that make speech sound more natural. This is only available for some voices.

To turn on or off Narrator Intonation Pauses in Windows 10, do the following.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to Ease of Access -> Narrator.
3. On the right, enable Narrator if required.
4. Scroll down to the Change what you hear when reading and interacting section.
5. Turn on or off the option Have Narrator use punctuation to determine pauses when reading on the right side.

You are done.

Note: This option is enabled by default in my Windows 10.

Alternatively, you can apply a Registry tweak.

Enable Narrator Character Phonetic Reading in Registry

1. Open the Registry Editor app.
2. Go to the following Registry key.

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Narrator

   See how to go to a Registry key with one click.

3. On the right, modify or create a new 32-Bit DWORD value IntonationPause.
   Note: Even if you are running 64-bit Windows you must still create a 32-bit DWORD value.
4. Set its value data to one of the following values:
   • 0 - Disabled
   • 1 - Enabled
5. You are done.

To save your time, you can download the following Registry files:

Download Registry Files

The ZIP archive includes the undo tweak.

That's it.

More Narrator tips:

• Activate Keys on Touch Keyboard when Lift Finger in Windows 10 Narrator
• Enable Narrator Character Phonetic Reading in Windows 10
• Enable Narrator Voice Emphasize Formatted Text in Windows 10
• Change Narrator Context Level for Buttons and Controls in Windows 10
• Change How Narrator Reads Capitalized Text in Windows 10
• Change Narrator Verbosity Level in Windows 10
• Lock Narrator Key in Windows 10
• Change Narrator Modifier Key in Windows 10
• Enable Narrator Scan Mode in Windows 10
• Change Audio Output Device for Narrator in Windows 10
• Disable Lower Volume of Other Apps when Narrator is Speaking
• Disable Online Services for Narrator in Windows 10
• Disable Narrator Home in Windows 10
• Minimize Narrator Home to Taskbar or System Tray in Windows 10
• Customize Narrator Cursor Settings in Windows 10
• Customize Narrator Voice in Windows 10
• Change Narrator Keyboard Layout in Windows 10
• Start Narrator Before Sign-in in Windows 10
• Start Narrator after Sign-in in Windows 10
• All Ways to Enable Narrator in Windows 10
• Disable Narrator Keyboard Shortcut in Windows 10
• Hear Advanced Information About Controls with Narrator in Windows 10
• Change Narrator Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 10
• Turn On or Off Narrator Caps Lock Warnings in Windows 10
• Read by Sentence in Narrator in Windows 10
• Disable Narrator QuickStart Guide in Windows 10
• Unlock Extra Text to Speech Voices in Windows 10
• How to Change Narrator Audio Channel in Windows 10

Support us

Winaero greatly relies on your support. You can help the site keep bringing you interesting and useful content and software by using these options: