tailieunhanh - Báo cáo khoa học: "COMPUTER SIMULATION OF SPONTANEOUS SPEECH PRODUCTION"

This paper pinpoints some of the problems faced when a computer text production model (COMMENTATOR) is to produce spontaneous speech, in speech. This paper discusses some of the problems in the light of the computer model of verbal production presented £n Sigurd (1982), Fornell (1983). For experimental purposes a simple speech synthesis device (VOTRAX) has been used. The Problem of producing naturally sounding utterances is also met in text-to-speech systems (see . Carlson & Granstr~m, 1978). . | COMPUTER SIMULATION OF SPONTANEOUS SPEECH PRODUCTION Bengt Sigurd Dept of Linguistics and Phonetics Helgonabacken 12 s 223 62 Lund SWEDEN ABSTRACT This paper pinpoints some of the problems faced when a computer text production model COMMENTATOR is to produce spontaneous speech in particular the problem of chunking the utterances in order to get natural prosodic units. The paper proposes a buffer model which allows the accumulation and delay of phonetic material until a chunk of the desired size has been built up. Several phonetic studies have suggested a similar temporary storage in order to explain intonation slopes rythmical patterns speech errors and speech disorders. Small-scale simulations of the whole verbalization process from perception and thought to sounds hesitation behaviour pausing speech errors sound changes and speech disorders are presented. 1. Introduction Several text production models implemented on computers are able to print grammatical sentences and coherent text see . contributions in Allen 1983 Mann 5 Matthiessen 1982 . There is however to my knowledge no such verbal production system with spoken output simulating spontaneous speech except the experimental version of Commentator to be described. The task to design a speech production system cannot be solved just by attaching a speech synthesis device to the output instead of a printer. The whole production model has to be reconsidered if the system is to produce natural sound and prosody in particular if the system is to have some psychological reality by simulating the hesitation pauses and speech errors so common in spontaneous speech. This paper discusses some of the problems in the light of the computer model of verbal production presented in Sigurd 1982 Fornell 1983 . For experimental purposes a simple speech synthesis device VOTRAX has been used. The Problem of producing naturally sounding utterances is also met in text-to-speech systems see . Carlson Granstrom 1978 . Such .