diff --git a/platform/base.js b/platform/base.js
index b8b1556..dc214f7 100644
--- a/platform/base.js
+++ b/platform/base.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 const childProcess = require('child_process')
 const once = require('one-time')
+const symbolTTS = require('../symbol-tts.js')
 
 class SayPlatformBase {
   constructor () {
@@ -28,7 +29,11 @@ class SayPlatformBase {
       })
     }
 
-    let { command, args, pipedData, options } = this.buildSpeakCommand({ text, voice, speed })
+    let { command, args, pipedData, options } = this.buildSpeakCommand({
+      text: symbolTTS(text),
+      voice,
+      speed
+    })
 
     this.child = childProcess.spawn(command, args, options)
 
@@ -84,7 +89,12 @@ class SayPlatformBase {
     }
 
     try {
-      var { command, args, pipedData, options } = this.buildExportCommand({ text, voice, speed, filename })
+      var { command, args, pipedData, options } = this.buildExportCommand({
+        text: symbolTTS(text),
+        voice,
+        speed,
+        filename
+      })
     } catch (error) {
       return setImmediate(() => {
         callback(error)
diff --git a/symbol-tts.js b/symbol-tts.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c29787
--- /dev/null
+++ b/symbol-tts.js
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+// This file converts symbols into their audible form
+// It's essentially a tool for 'escaping' characters for TTS purposes
+const lookup = new Map()
+
+// lookup.set(/!/g, ' exclamation mark ')
+lookup.set(/@/g, ' at ')
+lookup.set(/#/g, ' octothorpe ')
+lookup.set(/\$/g, ' dollar sign ')
+lookup.set(/%/g, ' percent ')
+lookup.set(/\^/g, ' caret ')
+lookup.set(/&/g, ' and ')
+lookup.set(/\*/g, ' asterisk ')
+lookup.set(/\(/g, ' left paren ')
+lookup.set(/\)/g, ' right paren ')
+lookup.set(/-/g, ' minus ')
+lookup.set(/\+/g, ' plus ')
+lookup.set(/_/g, ' underscore ')
+lookup.set(/=/g, ' equals ')
+lookup.set(/"/g, ' quote ')
+// lookup.set(/'/g, ' single quote ') // would break words like "don't"
+lookup.set(/\]/g, ' right bracket ')
+lookup.set(/\[/g, ' left bracket ')
+lookup.set(/\}/g, ' right curly ')
+lookup.set(/\{/g, ' left curly ')
+lookup.set(/\|/g, ' pipe ')
+lookup.set(/\//g, ' slash ')
+lookup.set(/\\/g, ' backslash ')
+// lookup.set(/:/g, ' colon ')
+// lookup.set(/;/g, ' semicolon ')
+// lookup.set(/./g, ' period ')
+// lookup.set(/,/g, ' comma ')
+// lookup.set(/?/g, ' question mark ')
+lookup.set(/`/g, ' backtick ')
+lookup.set(/~/g, ' tilde ')
+lookup.set(/>/g, ' greater than ')
+lookup.set(/</g, ' less than ')
+lookup.set(/\r/g, ' ')
+lookup.set(/\n/g, ' ')
+
+module.exports = (text) => {
+  lookup.forEach((after, before) => {
+    text = text.replace(before, after)
+  })
+
+  return text
+}