High-quality speech output generation through advanced phrase concatenation
Esther Klabbers · 1997
This paper describes a method for generating natural sounding speech, called phrase concatenation, which is used in a telephone inquiry system that provides train timetable information. The concatenation technique used combines pre-recorded words and phrases, but is new in that it involves the recording of several prosodically different versions of otherwise identical phrases. Although no formal evaluation has taken place yet, we feel confident in saying that the output meets high quality standards and approaches the quality of natural speech. 1. INTRODUCTION During the last decade, the performance of spoken dialogue systems has improved substantially. At the moment it is possible to support a number of simple practical tasks in limited domains. As a result, many telephone -based information systems are being developed in different countries. The practical goal of the NWOTST Priority Programme is to build a prototype of a Dutch train timetable information system. The system is call...