Returns the phrase for a voiced transition between two snapshots, or
null when this change carries nothing to announce. An empty string
is a valid phrase (it arms "silence") - only null falls through to
the spend check.
true when a transition must expire (spend) an armed phrase - e.g.
a busy-state start whose later clear would otherwise re-announce the
stale phrase through an aria-atomic region. Checked only when
arm returned null.