An algorithm for high accuracy name pronunciation by parametric speech synthesizer
Tony Vitale · 1991
... This paper describes how an algorithm for high accuracy name pronunciation was implemented in software based on a combination of cryptanalysis, statistics, and linguistics. The algorithm behind the utility is a two-stage procedure: (1) the decoding of the name to determine its etymological grouping; and (2) specific letter-to-sound rules (both segmental rules as well as stress-assignment rules) that provide the synthesizer parameters with sufficient additional information to accurately pronounce the name as would a typical speaker of American English. Default language and thresholds are settable parameters and are also described. While the complexity of the software is invisible to applications writers as well as users, this functionality now makes possible the automation of highly accurate name pronunciation by parametric speech synthesizer