Use C-e l to check the line containing the next edit, C-e w to hear its word, and C-e c to inspect its character. Repeating C-e w at the same position spells the word. These are reading commands, not movement commands. For a larger unit, C-e [ reads the paragraph and M-x emacsvox-speak-sentence RET reads the sentence around point.
A positive prefix changes line, sentence or paragraph reading to start at point. For example, C-u C-e l reads the rest of the line; C-u C-e [ reads the rest of the paragraph. C-u -1 C-e l reads from the line’s beginning to point. Enter the minus sign and digit as part of the prefix argument, not as document text. The default form without a prefix reads the whole unit.
Emacs determines sentences, paragraphs and pages from the mode and text. A page for C-e ] is an Emacs text page, not necessarily one screenful or a printed page. That command also sets a page mark: do not use it while preserving a selection for an edit. For more detail, see Sentences, Paragraphs and Pages in the GNU Emacs Manual.
For a bounded passage, set and inspect a region as described in Select and check the text first, then use C-e r. A short region read preserves its endpoints and active selection. Speech follows pronunciation and presentation settings, so silence is not proof that the selected source contains no punctuation or whitespace. Inspect the boundaries before editing.
Whole-buffer reading with C-e b, or the untracked rest-of-buffer form
C-u C-e b, is useful for short text. Neither supplies the interruption
position tracking described next. With the current default size limit,
buffer or region requests of 40,000 characters or more fall back to
windowful reading rather than reading the entire request. That helper removes
other windows and reads a screenful from point. Use smaller passages to retain
your window arrangement, or tracked reading when the backend supports it.
The limit is recorded in ems--large-text-size.
These commands read the buffer’s accessible text. In Info, that is the current node, not the entire manual; narrowing can also restrict a document. Folding, pronunciation and mode-specific presentation affect what you hear. Use the application’s structural reader for tables, messages or other special views, and Narrowing in the GNU Emacs Manual for restricted editing views.