diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 10031b9..d367327 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -69,7 +69,9 @@ stackvox speak --normalize --file post.md       # normalize, then synthesize
 stackvox say   --normalize "**Shipped** 1,198.9 MPG"   # normalize, then send to daemon
 ```
 
-`--normalize` is off by default on `speak`/`say`, so notification phrases synthesize exactly as before. The tuning flags mirror the library defaults (all on except emoji-strip): `--no-markdown`, `--no-expand-units`, `--no-expand-numbers`, `--no-pauses`, `--tables {drop,csv}`, `--strip-emoji`, `--no-terminal-stops`, `--locale`, and a `--pronunciations FILE` (a JSON `{"written": "spoken"}` map, applied whole-word and case-insensitively).
+`--normalize` is off by default on `speak`/`say`, so notification phrases synthesize exactly as before. The tuning flags mirror the library defaults (all on except emoji-strip): `--no-markdown`, `--no-dev-terms`, `--no-expand-units`, `--no-expand-numbers`, `--no-pauses`, `--tables {drop,csv}`, `--strip-emoji`, `--no-terminal-stops`, `--locale`, and a `--pronunciations FILE` (a JSON `{"written": "spoken"}` map, applied whole-word and case-insensitively).
+
+**Dev-output handling** (on by default; `--no-dev-terms` to disable) covers two things espeak reads badly: acronyms it says as words (`CLI` → "C L I", `AWS`, `URI`, `IAM`, …) and file-line references, which it voices literally as "dot py colon". A `file.ext:line` ref is re-spoken lead-with-the-line: `engine.py:42` → "line 42 of engine py", `cli.py:100-118` → "lines 100 to 118 of cli py", `foo.ts:666:10` → "line 666, column 10 of foo ts". Times, ratios, and versions (`12:30`, `3:1`, `1.2.3`) are left alone.
 
 Bash completion:
 
diff --git a/stackvox/text.py b/stackvox/text.py
index 69b1ec0..5febc1f 100644
--- a/stackvox/text.py
+++ b/stackvox/text.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
     "strip_thousands_separators",
     "versions_to_words",
     "decimals_to_words",
+    "speak_file_refs",
     "expand_units",
     "apply_pronunciations",
     "shape_pauses",
@@ -110,6 +111,46 @@ def decimals_to_words(text: str) -> str:
     )
 
 
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# File & line references                                                      #
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# `engine.py:42` reads as "…dot py colon forty two" — the dots and colon get
+# voiced literally. Spoken aloud the line number is the signal and the filename
+# is noise, so lead with "line N of <file>" (how a person actually says it) and
+# soften the path: drop directories to the basename, and voice the dotted name
+# word by word.
+
+_FILE_REF = re.compile(
+    r"(?<!\w)"
+    r"(?:[\w.-]*/)*"  # optional directory segments (dropped — "src/" reads as "slash")
+    r"([A-Za-z0-9_-]+(?:\.[A-Za-z][\w-]*)+)"  # filename with >=1 letter-initial extension
+    r":(\d+)(?:-(\d+))?(?::(\d+))?"  # :line, optional -end (range) or :column
+    r"(?!\w)"
+)
+
+
+def speak_file_refs(text: str) -> str:
+    """Turn ``path/file.ext:line`` refs into spoken "line N of file ext".
+
+    ``engine.py:42`` -> "line 42 of engine py"; ``cli.py:100-118`` -> "lines 100
+    to 118 of cli py"; ``foo.ts:666:10`` -> "line 666, column 10 of foo ts". The
+    ``:line`` suffix is the trigger, so bare times/ratios/verses (``12:30``,
+    ``3:1``, ``John 3:16``) and dotted versions (``1.2.3``) are left untouched —
+    none of them carry a dotted-filename before the colon.
+    """
+
+    def repl(match: re.Match[str]) -> str:
+        basename = match.group(1).replace(".", " ")
+        start, end, column = match.group(2), match.group(3), match.group(4)
+        if end:
+            location = f"lines {start} to {end}"
+        else:
+            location = f"line {start}" + (f", column {column}" if column else "")
+        return f"{location} of {basename}"
+
+    return _FILE_REF.sub(repl, text)
+
+
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Pronunciations                                                              #
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
@@ -290,11 +331,17 @@ def _shape_paragraph(
     text: str,
     *,
     pronunciations: dict[str, str] | None,
+    dev_terms_flag: bool,
     expand_units_flag: bool,
     expand_numbers_flag: bool,
     pauses_flag: bool,
     locale: str,
 ) -> str:
+    # File refs first: it consumes the ":line" digits (so the number stages see a
+    # plain "line 42", not a decimal) and forms the spoken basename before the
+    # dev-term dict runs over it.
+    if dev_terms_flag:
+        text = speak_file_refs(text)
     if expand_numbers_flag:
         text = strip_thousands_separators(text)
     if pauses_flag:
@@ -345,6 +392,7 @@ def normalize_for_speech(
         shaped = _shape_paragraph(
             para,
             pronunciations=effective_pronunciations,
+            dev_terms_flag=dev_terms,
             expand_units_flag=expand_units_flag,
             expand_numbers_flag=expand_numbers_flag,
             pauses_flag=pauses,
diff --git a/tests/test_text.py b/tests/test_text.py
index 6e44cc2..11329df 100644
--- a/tests/test_text.py
+++ b/tests/test_text.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
     markdown_to_paragraphs,
     normalize_for_speech,
     shape_pauses,
+    speak_file_refs,
     strip_emoji,
     strip_thousands_separators,
     versions_to_words,
@@ -54,6 +55,44 @@ def test_semver_normalizes_end_to_end():
     assert "0 point 7.0" not in out
 
 
+# --- file & line references ------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_file_ref_leads_with_line_then_file():
+    assert speak_file_refs("unifiedAPIv2.service.ts:666") == "line 666 of unifiedAPIv2 service ts"
+
+
+def test_file_ref_drops_directories_to_basename():
+    assert speak_file_refs("Open /abs/path/to/module.py:7.") == "Open line 7 of module py."
+
+
+def test_file_ref_line_range():
+    assert speak_file_refs("cli.py:100-118") == "lines 100 to 118 of cli py"
+
+
+def test_file_ref_line_and_column():
+    assert speak_file_refs("foo.ts:666:10") == "line 666, column 10 of foo ts"
+
+
+def test_file_ref_leaves_times_ratios_verses_untouched():
+    text = "Meet at 12:30, the ratio was 3:1, see John 3:16."
+    assert speak_file_refs(text) == text
+
+
+def test_file_ref_leaves_dotted_versions_untouched():
+    assert speak_file_refs("bump to 1.2.3 and 0.7.0") == "bump to 1.2.3 and 0.7.0"
+
+
+def test_file_ref_normalizes_end_to_end():
+    out = normalize_for_speech("See `engine.py:42` for the fix.", markdown=True)
+    assert out == "See line 42 of engine py for the fix."
+
+
+def test_file_ref_disabled_with_dev_terms():
+    out = normalize_for_speech("See engine.py:42.", markdown=False, dev_terms=False)
+    assert out == "See engine.py:42."
+
+
 # --- units -----------------------------------------------------------------