Pat, I’ve actually done some experiments with my DynaVox speech synthesis device like this one:

http://www.dynavoxtech.com/products/vmaxplus/

The selection of voices is exceptional, something on the order of 50 different voices including ones with a British accent. I use “Clive” when ordering crumpets and tea. The one drawback is, it sounds quite robotic with a staccato tempo.

It has a BASIC-like programming language so I have created some custom applications and, after two years, I continue to discover more things that it will do. The Owner's Manual is 1600+ pages.