Boston Globe -- Nuance Communications Inc. has taught our cars how to talk. Now it’s trying to teach them when to shut up.

Earlier this month, Burlington-based Nuance received a US patent for a system that reads incoming text messages aloud, through a car’s audio system — but only when it concludes that it’s safe for the driver to hear them.

A car can’t read minds, but its built-in sensors can read the road. The Nuance system captures data on driving conditions and uses it to decide whether it’s the best time to play incoming messages.

Nuance is a leading maker of software that translates spoken words into digital text, and text into speech. Its software is installed in smartphones, including the Apple Inc. iPhone, personal computers, and cars. The company’s Dragon Drive system lets drivers place calls or send texts using voice commands, or hear incoming messages read aloud.

Nuance declined to comment, but according to its patent, the technology would constantly monitor the car’s speed, traffic density, and road conditions, and also download weather data from the Internet. It uses this information to estimate the amount of conscious effort a driver needs to safely operate the car under certain conditions.

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