Versos Readers

The cast

Readers

124 voices read the library: each is an AI voice designed by Versos, with an invented face and name, never a real person's voice or likeness. Tutors Edward, Charles and Mingjue carry the translations and lessons.

English

Lionel

English RP, lyrical · male voice · Romantic
29 readings

Abigail

American New England · female voice
19 readings

Bill

English RP with warm period colouring · male voice
15 readings

Christina

English RP · female voice
15 readings

Arthur

English Received Pronunciation / Southern English · male voice
14 readings

Declan

Irish (Dublin, literary register) · male voice
14 readings

Trevor

Northern English (Cumbrian/Yorkshire, light educated register) · male voice
14 readings

Timothy

Southwest English (Dorset/Devon), gentle rural burr, educated · male voice
13 readings

Horace

English RP, Augustan · male voice · 18th century
12 readings

Walt

American Northeast / New England · male voice
12 readings

Archie

Canadian English (Ontario/Maritime) · male voice
11 readings

Monty

English RP, light verse · male voice · Victorian comic
9 readings

Hector

English RP, military · male voice · Victorian / First World War
8 readings

Hollis

Boston Brahmin · male voice · 19th century
3 readings

Cecil

East Midlands / East Anglian (Clare), with Cockney mode · male voice
2 readings

Ambrose

English RP, clerical · male voice · 17th–19th century
1 reading

Calvin

African-American English (standard and dialect registers) · male voice
1 reading

Elizabeth

English RP / educated Southern · female voice
1 reading

Josie

American Midwest · female voice
1 reading

Robbie

Scottish Lowland / Doric · male voice
1 reading

Alfie

London / light Cockney · male voice · 19th century

Anand

Indian English (educated Bengali/North Indian) · male voice

Angus

Standard Scottish English (Edinburgh) · male voice

Anne

Northern English · female voice · Victorian

Charles

modern RP, southern England · male voice · a mature British man in his fifties, deep soothing bass-baritone, calm, wise, articulate, smooth rich timbre, brisk educational cadence

Chen Xia

English · female voice

Claire

English · female voice

Edward

modern RP, southern England · male voice · a British man from southern England, around fifty, low warm baritone, measured, reflective, quiet authority, modern RP

English (Kent / standard southern British) · female voice · 40s, timeless literary narrator

Elena

English · female voice

Giulia

English · female voice

Gwyn

Welsh English · male voice

Hank

American Midwest / Hoosier · male voice

Harry

English RP with soft Midlands warmth, young · male voice · about 24, c.1917

New Zealand · female voice · early 20th century

Inês

English · female voice

Isobel

Scottish · female voice · 19th century

Jack

Australian (Broad/General, 19c bush) · male voice

Javier

English · male voice

Jethro

American West / frontier · male voice

Katrin

English · female voice

Laurence

English RP, Victorian, deep · male voice · about 45, c.1855

Lettie

American Southern · female voice · 19th century

Maeve

Irish (educated, Dublin/Leinster) · female voice

Marco

English · male voice

Matthias

English · male voice

Padraig

Irish (rural Ulster/Meath/West) · male voice

Prudence

Canadian English (Ontario) · female voice

Tiago

English · male voice

Toru

Indian English (Bengali, 19c educated) · female voice

Wendell

American South (Kentucky/Upland South) · male voice

Zhou Ming

English · male voice

Étienne

English · male voice

Spanish

Everardo

Mexican (central) Spanish · male voice
202 readings

Fernando

Castilian Spanish (Baroque register) · male voice
51 readings

Diego

Castilian Spanish · male voice
28 readings

Arsenio

Andalusian/Castilian Spain · male voice
24 readings

Cipriano

Peruvian (coastal Lima) Spanish · male voice
15 readings

Teresa

Colonial Mexican for Sor Juana (retain Castilian for Avila) · female voice
13 readings

Angel

Southeastern Spanish (Murcia/Orihuela) · male voice
12 readings

Julian

Cuban (Havana) Spanish · male voice
12 readings

Rafael

Andalusian Spanish · male voice
12 readings

Rodolfo

Central American (Nicaraguan) Spanish · male voice
11 readings

Lisandro

Rioplatense (Buenos Aires/Montevideo) Spanish · male voice
4 readings

Rosa

Galician-Spanish · female voice
3 readings

Camilo

Colombian Andean (Bogota) Spanish · male voice
2 readings

Alma

Neutral Castilian Spanish · female voice
1 reading

Delfina

Rioplatense Spanish (Uruguayan) · female voice
1 reading

Gertrudis

Cuban Spanish · female voice
1 reading

Macario

Northern Spanish (Basque/Bilbao-Salamanca) · male voice
1 reading

Venezuelan (Caracas/Cumana) Spanish · male voice

Extremaduran/Castilian Spanish · female voice

Medieval Castilian (modern-pronounced, archaic register) · male voice

Andean Spanish · male voice · 19th century

Catalan / Valencian Spanish · male voice · Renaissance–19th century

French

Gustave

Parisian French (standard, literary) · male voice · late 50s, silver-streaked beard
281 readings

Francois

Standard French, measured classical diction · male voice · mid 50s
53 readings

Jules

Parisian French (youthful, faubourg-tinged) · male voice · mid 20s to early 30s
20 readings

Valentin

Standard French, classical · male voice · 18th century
12 readings

Southern French (Provencal, Midi) with rolled r, pronounced final e and open vowels · male voice · late 60s

Standard Parisian French · male voice · about 30, c.1868

Standard French, grave classical cadence · female voice · early 40s

Belgian French (Walloon-Brussels, softer vowels, septante/nonante rhythm, slower pace) · male voice · late 40s

Parisian French (refined salon) · female voice · early 30s

Quebecois French (period-appropriate, early 20th c. Laurentian) · male voice · early 50s

Italian

Guido

Tuscan-based standard Italian, classical, slightly formal and sonorous · male voice
267 readings

Enrico

Standard Italian with a light northern (Emilian/Lombard) lilt · male voice
92 readings

Carlo

Northern / central Italian · male voice · 18th century
10 readings

Salvatore

Sicilian / southern Italian regional accent · male voice
5 readings

Ludovico

Tuscan / northern Italian · male voice · Renaissance / Baroque
1 reading

Standard Italian, light Lombard colour · female voice · about 40, c.1910

Lucia

Standard Italian (neutral, Lombard-leaning warmth) · female voice

Standard Italian, Tuscan diction · male voice · about 25, c.1820

German

Friedrich

Standard German (Buhnendeutsch / Hochdeutsch, slightly northern, clear) · male voice · late 40s to 50s, Biedermeier / Romantic era
306 readings

Leopold

Austrian German (educated Viennese, gentle, soft consonants, not dialect) · male voice · mid 40s to 50s, early-20th-century Viennese
38 readings

Emil

Berlin-tinged Hochdeutsch (urban, quick, dry) · male voice · 30s to 40s, Weimar-era Berlin
33 readings

Otto

Berlin Hochdeutsch · male voice · Expressionist / Weimar
2 readings

Standard German, faint Saxon softness · male voice · late 40s, c.1785

Standard German, soft and clear (north-central) · female voice · late 30s to 40s, c.1900

Hochdeutsch with light southern warmth · male voice · about 34, c.1804

Standard German read in a warm, slightly archaic cadence with Upper German (Austrian-Bavarian) colouring; Middle High German pronunciation only if corpus text is MHG original · male voice · 30s to 40s, 13th-century wandering singer

Portuguese

Rui

Azorean Portuguese · male voice · 19th century
207 readings

Dinis

Medieval Galician-Portuguese (reconstructed) and 16th-century European Portuguese · male voice
70 readings

Garrett

European Portuguese, standard Lisbon (educated, closed vowels) · male voice
67 readings

Sebastião

European Portuguese, satirical · male voice · 18th century
4 readings

Brazilian Portuguese (Rio de Janeiro, Carioca) · male voice

European Portuguese, Lisbon, early 20th century · male voice

European Portuguese (Alentejo/Azorean-leaning standard), with Brazilian reading option for Firmina · female voice

Chinese

Chinese
355 readings

Mingjue

Standard Mandarin (Putonghua), soft, slightly Jiangnan-gentle but not regional · male voice
228 readings

Chinese · female voice · Serene, contemplative woman of about 45: still, round, soft mezzo; thoughtful, inward calm, 'still as water'. Standard Mandarin, no regional or English accent (Taiwan/Mainland-neutral).
33 readings

Standard Mandarin (Putonghua), neutral, slightly northern gravity · male voice

Hongjian

Putonghua, courtly lyric · female voice · Tang dynasty

Putonghua, austere register · male voice · Tang dynasty

Putonghua, Southern Tang lyric · male voice · Five Dynasties

Standard Mandarin (Putonghua), refined, slightly soft · female voice

Putonghua, pastoral register · male voice · Tang dynasty

Putonghua, regal register · male voice · imperial

Putonghua, Daoist register · male voice · Tang dynasty

Standard Mandarin (Putonghua), neutral, lighter and wry · male voice

Standard Mandarin (Putonghua), open and resonant · male voice

Putonghua, frontier register · male voice · Tang dynasty

Standard Mandarin (Putonghua), clear Beijing-leaning, no regional colouring · male voice

Standard Mandarin (Putonghua), refined and slightly soft · male voice