Re: "MacOS reading out voiceover even though voiceover is switched off"
Wondering if a different feature than VoiceOver may also be in use on your Mac: eg: here are two examples:
Example One:
If text is selected when you press the keyboard shortcut, the selected text is spoken. Otherwise, available text items in the current window are spoken; for example, if Mail is the current window, an email message
is read.
See how to set it up / turn it off: Have your Mac speak text that’s on the screen - Apple Support
NB: 5: To stop the speaking, press the keyboard shortcut again. (the default key combination is Option-Esc)
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Example Two:
Eg: In many apps, your Mac can read aloud documents, web pages, messages and more.
In an app on your Mac, do any of the following:
- Hear an entire document: Choose Edit > Speech > Start Speaking.
- Hear part of a document: In a document, select the text you want to hear, then choose Edit > Speech > Start Speaking.
- Stop the speaking: Choose Edit > Speech > Stop Speaking.
Above is from: Hear your Mac read documents - Apple Support