Apparatus and method for distinguishing similar-sounding utterances speech recognition
First Claim
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1. A method of utilizing a speech recognizer to distinguish a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a speaker-specified hint as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the method comprising:
- (a) identifying the hint and associating with it the provided utterance;
(b) using the hint to establish a condition for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar sounding utterances; and
(c) selecting a recognition result, derived in conjunction with operation of the speech recognizer, that satisfies the condition.
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Abstract
Speaker-specified hints are used to establish conditions for a speech recognition system to select a recognition result for a previously provided utterance from among various possible homophones. The hints may characterize the utterance by a linguistic property, such as an orthographic, morphological, or semantic property.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of utilizing a speech recognizer to distinguish a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a speaker-specified hint as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the method comprising:
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(a) identifying the hint and associating with it the provided utterance;
(b) using the hint to establish a condition for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar sounding utterances; and
(c) selecting a recognition result, derived in conjunction with operation of the speech recognizer, that satisfies the condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
(a) providing a list of alternative recognition possibilities and (b) filtering the list based upon the condition.
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3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the step of providing a list of alternative recognition possibilities includes using the speech recognizer to provide entries in the list.
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4. A method according to claim 2, wherein the step of providing a list of alternative recognition possibilities includes utilizing a linked dictionary to provide entries in the list.
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5. A method according to claim 2, wherein the step of providing a list of alternative recognition possibilities includes both using the speech recognizer and utilizing a linked dictionary to provide entries in the list.
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6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the hint includes reference to the context of previous dictation to characterize the provided utterance.
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7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the hint is a linguistic property characterizing the provided utterance.
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8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the hint is an orthographic property characterizing the provided utterance.
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9. A method according to claim 7, wherein the hint is a morphological property characterizing the provided utterance.
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10. A method according to claim 7, wherein the hint is a semantic property characterizing the provided utterance.
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11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the hint is a fractional spelling of the provided utterance.
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12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the hint is a grammatical term characterizing the provided utterance.
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13. A method of utilizing a speech recognizer to distinguish a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a plurality of speaker-specified hints as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the method comprising:
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(a) identifying the hints and associating with them the provided utterance;
(b) using the hints to establish conditions for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar-sounding utterances; and
(c) selecting a recognition result, derived in conjunction with the operation of the speech recognizer, that satisfies the conditions.
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14. A speech recognition system for distinguishing a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a speaker-identified hint as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the system comprising:
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(a) a hint recognizer which identifies the hint and associates with it the provided utterance;
(b) a condition specifier, coupled to the hint recognizer, which uses the hint to establish a condition for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar-sounding utterances; and
(c) a result selector, coupled to the condition specifier, which selects a recognition result that satisfies the condition. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A speech recognition system for distinguishing a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a plurality of speaker-specified hints as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the system comprising:
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(a) a hint recognizer for identifying the hints and associating with them the provided utterance;
(b) a condition specifier, coupled to the hint recognizer, for using the hints to establish a condition for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar-sounding utterances; and
(c) a result selector, coupled to the condition specifier, for selecting a recognition result that satisfies the conditions.
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25. A speech recognition system that is capable of distinguishing a provided utterance from one or more similar-sounding utterances when a speaker-specified hint as to the spelling of the provided utterance is provided, the hint being different from a full or partial spelling starting from the beginning of the provided utterance, the system comprising:
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(a) means for identifying the hint and associating with it the provided utterance;
(b) means for using the hint to establish a condition for distinguishing the provided utterance from the one or more similar-sounding utterances; and
(c) means for selecting a recognition result, derived in conjunction with operation of the speech recognizer, that satisfies the condition.
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Specification