DJ Parrot is a very small web application which can (or cannot) help you to learn foreign languages
by listening and repeating words aloud, just like parrots do :-)
The application keeps all the words in the database on the remote server,
and speech synthesis happens locally on the client (your browser).

Why:
 * I had the aim of deepening my knowledge and improving my practical skills.
 * I desired to study Dutch language and have someone/something reading the words for me.
 * I wanted to compare three popular Python-based web frameworks - Flask, Bottle and Django.
 * I got inspired by simplicity of Bottle framework and availabilty of speech synthesis in browsers.

Tools:
 * Back-end: Bottle microframework + Bottle Cork plugin + argparse
 * Database: SQLite 3 (which is inbuilt in Python)
 * Frontend: Bootstrap 4 + Font Awesome + JavaScript & jQuery + SpeechSynthesis API

Attention:
 * The application has its limitations:
    - if a language is not supported by a browser,
      then the default language is applied and the word will be pronounced wrong (letter by letter);
    - the database of words was created in a semi-automated way,
      therefore you can find incorrect words categorization and even translation.
 * The app definitely has lots of bugs because I was focused in exploring dev tools and not in testing to make the app perfect.
 * Hence, repeat words after the Parrot, but be careful - parrots are not that smart!
   I take no responsibility if you learn foreign words incorrectly and finally speak some nonexisting language.
 * In the case of Emergency, please stay calm, go to github and open an issue, or contact me at LinkedIn:
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/natallia-savelyeva-15407a12a/.

Usage:
 * Just launch run.py and open http://127.0.0.1 in your browser. Try "run.py -h" to see options.
 * Start your work - learn words at http://127.0.0.1/words or listen to a story at http://127.0.0.1/story.

Features:
 * Authentication.
 * Features for all users:
    - search for a word in the database;
    - collect words from categories and read them in several languages with optional repeats;
    - exclude words from being read;
    - load voices available for the required language; 
    - read a full-text story using the desired language;
    - change SpeechSynthesis parameters: voice, volume, rate, pitch; 
    - statistics: number of unique words, categories and subcategories;
    - support options to launch DJ Parrot from command line.
 * Admin features:
    - init/backup/restore the database;
    - add a new word into the database;
    - translate a word into several languages and read the results aloud.