The macOS “say” utility does not work for non-root users in Sierra
Solution 1:
It was a compatibility issue with tmux. Works as expected outside of tmux sessions.
Solution 2:
Make sure the reattach-to-user-namespace
program installed and add lines like the following to your ~/.tmux.conf, when you run "say" utility inside of a tmux session.
brew install reattach-to-user-namespace
# In .tmux.conf:
set-option -g default-command "reattach-to-user-namespace -l zsh"
# To kill your existing tmux server (and everything running “inside” it!):
tmux kill-server
Some useful links:
1. Mac "say" not working in tmux session - https://github.com/tmux/tmux/issues/716
2. tmux-MacOSX-pasteboard - https://github.com/ChrisJohnsen/tmux-MacOSX-pasteboard