# What voice controls does Google document for Chirp 3: HD voices (pace, pause tags, SSML subset, punctuation) and where do they not apply?

- id: art_01M5NP5SXXV3GKSMZD94TZFV1V
- type: article · status: active · revision: 3
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T07, T13 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-24T22:52:11.267Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5NP5SXXV3GKSMZD94TZFV1V

Corrected 2026-10-24 - see C3-B955-10; the original statements below are kept for history and are superseded where the correction says so. Problem: control timing of Chirp 3 HD speech. Conditions: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech Chirp 3: HD voices. Method: pace via speaking_rate from 0.25 (very slow) to 2.0 (very fast), 1.0 unadjusted. Pause tags [pause short], [pause long] and [pause] work only in the markup input field, not the text field; their length is not fixed and adapts to context; the model may occasionally disregard them if placed unnaturally, and excessive use can cause problems. SSML subset (synchronous requests only; not for streaming): speak, say-as, p, s, phoneme, sub, break, audio, prosody and voice; tags not on that list are ignored. Punctuation guidance: periods = longer pause, commas = shorter, ellipses = longer deliberate pause, hyphens = brief pause; reading the script aloud before synthesising is advised. Use (inference): for exact timing use SSML break or post-edi...

Problem: control timing of Chirp 3 HD speech. Conditions: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech Chirp 3: HD voices. Method: pace via speaking_rate from 0.25 (very slow) to 2.0 (very fast), 1.0 unadjusted. Pause tags [pause short], [pause long] and [pause] work only in the markup input field, not the text field; their length is not fixed and adapts to context; the model may occasionally disregard them if placed unnaturally, and excessive use can cause problems. SSML subset (synchronous requests only; not for streaming): speak, say-as, p, s, phoneme, sub, break, audio, prosody and voice; tags not on that list are ignored. Punctuation guidance: periods = longer pause, commas = shorter, ellipses = longer deliberate pause, hyphens = brief pause; reading the script aloud before synthesising is advised. Use (inference): for exact timing use SSML break or post-edit silence; for natural beats use punctuation and pause tags; test per voice. Failure modes: pause tags in the text field are spoken or ignored (check); SSML ignored in streaming. Limitations: the page does not document emotion or style tags for Chirp 3 HD; page undated; round-1 gap note (Chirp tag support) is closed by this finding.

Curator correction 2026-10-24 (discovery audit record C3-B955-10; sources re-fetched 2026-10-24, excerpts re-located by curator GET): C3-B575-11 asks where Chirp 3 HD controls do not apply but omits that the SSML and voice-control sections are marked Preview (Pre-GA) and that pause control and custom pronunciation are not available in listed locales. C3-B664-05 recommends custom_pronunciations without the locale exclusions. Pace control is available in all locales.

Curator qualifications: All cited documentation excerpts located on the live pages by curator GET; no video sources.

Limitations: No emotion-style control documented; behaviour of ignored tags was not tested.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://cloud.google.com/text-to-speech/docs/chirp3-hd",
      "note": "Pace control; Pause control; Pause control; Supported SSML elements"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Curator correction 2026-10-24 (discovery audit record C3-B955-10; sources re-fetched 2026-10-24, excerpts re-located by curator GET): C3-B575-11 asks where Chirp 3 HD controls do not apply but omits that the SSML and voice-control sections are marked Preview (Pre-GA) and that pause control and custom pronunciation are not available in listed locales. C3-B664-05 recommends custom_pronunciations without the locale exclusions. Pace control is available in all locales. · locator: curator correction paragraph in this record body (C3-B955-10) · source: https://cloud.google.com/text-to-speech/docs/chirp3-hd
- [sourced_fact] SUPERSEDED IN PART 2026-10-24 by curator correction C3-B955-10 (see the correction claim above); original kept for history: Problem: control timing of Chirp 3 HD speech. Conditions: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech Chirp 3: HD voices. Method: pace via speaking_rate from 0.25 (very slow) to 2.0 (very fast), 1.0 unadjusted. Pause tags [pause short], [pause long] and [pause] work only in the markup input field, not the text field; their length is not fixed and adapts to context; the model may occasionally disregard them if placed unnaturally, and excessive use can cause problems. SSML subset (synchronous requests only; not for streaming): speak, say-as, p, s, phoneme, sub, break, audio, prosody and voice; tags not on that list are ignored. Punctuation guidance: periods = longer pause, commas = shorter, ellipses = longer deliberate pause, hyphens = brief pause; reading the script aloud before synthesising is advised. Use (inference): for exact timing use SSML break or post-edit silence; for natural beats use punctuation and pause tags; test per voice. Failure modes: pause tags in the text field are spoken or ignored (check); SSML ignored in streaming. Limitations: the page does not document emotion or style tags for Chirp 3 HD; page undated; round-1 gap note (Chirp tag support) is closed by this finding. · locator: Pace control; Pause control; Pause control; Supported SSML elements · source: https://cloud.google.com/text-to-speech/docs/chirp3-hd

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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