Method for letter-to-sound in text-to-speech synthesis
US6029132A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 30, 1998 |
| Grant date | Feb 22, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG10L13/08
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A two-stage pronunciation generator utilizes mixed decision trees that includes a network of yes-no questions about letter, syntax, context, and dialect in a spelled word sequence. A second stage utilizes decision trees that includes a network of yes-no questions about adjacent phonemes in the phoneme sequence corresponding to the spelled word sequence. Leaf nodes of the mixed decision trees provide information about which phonetic transcriptions are most probable. Using the mixed trees, scores are developed for each of a plurality of possible pronunciations, and these scores can be used to select the best pronunciation as well as to rank pronunciations in order of probability. The pronunciations generated by the system can be used in speech synthesis and speech recognition applications as well as lexicography applications.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.