Automated speech pronunciation attribution

• US 10,559,296 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2018
• Issued: 02/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Lewis, Justin, Takehana, Lisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Azad, Abul K
• Application Number:
  US15/995,380
• Publication Number:
  US 20180286382A1
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/02 Methods for producing synthetic speech; Speech synthesisers
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/02 Feature extraction for speech recognition; Selection of recognition unit
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus for determining candidate user profiles as being associated with a shared device, and identifying, from the candidate user profiles, candidate pronunciation attributes associated with at least one of the candidate user profiles determined to be associated with the shared device. The methods, systems, and apparatus are also for receiving, at the shared device, a spoken utterance; determining a received pronunciation attribute based on received audio data corresponding to the spoken utterance; comparing the received pronunciation attribute to at least one of the candidate pronunciation attributes; and selecting a particular pronunciation attribute from the candidate pronunciation attributes based on a result of the comparison of the received pronunciation attribute to at least one of the candidate pronunciation attributes. With the methods, systems, and apparatus, the particular pronunciation attribute, selected from the candidate pronunciation attributes, is provided for outputting audio associated with the spoken utterance.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a digital assistant device that stores multiple user profiles that are each associated with a respective one of multiple users, a voice command of a particular one of the multiple users, wherein the voice command includes a particular term that, among the multiple users, is pronounced uniquely by the particular one of the multiple users, and wherein each user profile stored by the digital assistant device specifies pronunciation data for terms that the respective user pronounces uniquely;

matching the voice command to a particular user profile among the multiple stored user profiles that are stored by the digital assistant;

generating, by the digital assistant device, an acknowledgment of the voice command, wherein the acknowledgement includes the particular term and pronunciation data that was stored in the matched, particular user profile and that reflects the unique pronunciation of the particular term by the particular one of the multiple users; and

providing, for output by a speech synthesizer of the digital assistant device, a spoken representation of the acknowledgment, wherein the spoken representation of the acknowledgement of the voice command includes the particular term as uniquely pronounced by the particular one of the multiple users.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital assistant device includes an automated speech recognizer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular term comprises a name that is an object of the voice command.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pronunciation data indicates that an emphasis is to be placed on a particular syllable of the particular term.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising determining that the particular one of the multiple users spoke the voice command.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular one of the multiple users is determined to have spoken the voice command based on detecting a short range signal associated with a device that is known to be associated with the particular one of the multiple users.

7. A system comprising one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a digital assistant device that stores multiple user profiles that are each associated with a respective one of multiple users, a voice command of a particular one of the multiple users, wherein the voice command includes a particular term that, among the multiple users, is pronounced uniquely by the particular one of the multiple users, and wherein each user profile stored by the digital assistant device specifies pronunciation data for terms that the respective user pronounces uniquely;

matching the voice command to a particular user profile among the multiple stored user profiles that are stored by the digital assistant;

generating, by the digital assistant device, an acknowledgment of the voice command, wherein the acknowledgement includes the particular term and pronunciation data that was stored in the matched, particular user profile and that reflects the unique pronunciation of the particular term by the particular one of the multiple users; and

providing, for output by a speech synthesizer of the digital assistant device, a spoken representation of the acknowledgment, wherein the spoken representation of the acknowledgement of the voice command includes the particular term as uniquely pronounced by the particular one of the multiple users.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the digital assistant device includes an automated speech recognizer.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the particular term comprises a name that is an object of the voice command.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the pronunciation data indicates that an emphasis is to be placed on a particular syllable of the particular term.

11. The system of claim 7, comprising determining that the particular one of the multiple users spoke the voice command.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the particular one of the multiple users is determined to have spoken the voice command based on detecting a short range signal associated with a device that is known to be associated with the particular one of the multiple users.

13. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a digital assistant device that stores multiple user profiles that are each associated with a respective one of multiple users, a voice command of a particular one of the multiple users, wherein the voice command includes a particular term that, among the multiple users, is pronounced uniquely by the particular one of the multiple users, and wherein each user profile stored by the digital assistant device specifies pronunciation data for terms that the respective user pronounces uniquely;

matching the voice command to a particular user profile among the multiple stored user profiles that are stored by the digital assistant;

generating, by the digital assistant device, an acknowledgment of the voice command, wherein the acknowledgement includes the particular term and pronunciation data that was stored in the matched, particular user profile and that reflects the unique pronunciation of the particular term by the particular one of the multiple users; and

providing, for output by a speech synthesizer of the digital assistant device, a spoken representation of the acknowledgment, wherein the spoken representation of the acknowledgement of the voice command includes the particular term as uniquely pronounced by the particular one of the multiple users.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the digital assistant device includes an automated speech recognizer.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein the particular term comprises a name that is an object of the voice command.

16. The device of claim 13, wherein the pronunciation data indicates that an emphasis is to be placed on a particular syllable of the particular term.

17. The device of claim 13, comprising determining that the particular one of the multiple users spoke the voice command.