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The design and implementation of a microcomputer based speech synthesizer to be used as an aid for the blind is described. The system accepts text, digitally encoded on ordinary audio cassettes, as input and uses a commercially available synthesizer as an output device. The microcomputer converts the "written" text into its phonetic equivalent and then generates the control parameters (formants, pitch, etc.) for the synthesizer all in real time. The special phonetic properties of the Spanish language greatly simplify these tasks as compared to English. The results show that a good quality of speech is possible from this low-cost system.