Speech processing apparatus having a speech synthesis unit that performs speech synthesis while selectively changing recorded-speech-playback and text-to-speech and method

• US 8,027,835 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2008
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Aizawa, Michio
• Primary Examiner(s): Wozniak; James S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sirjani; Fariba
• Application Number:
  US12/170,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20090018837A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,175 Days
• Field of Search: 704/260, 704/258, 704/273, 704/274
• US Class Current: 704/258
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/02 Methods for producing synthetic speech; Speech synthesisers
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/08 Text analysis or generation of parameters for speech synthesis out of text, e.g. grapheme to phoneme translation, prosody generation or stress or intonation determination

Abstract

A speech processing apparatus which can playback a sentence using recorded-speech-playback or text-to-speech is provided. It is determined whether each of a plurality of words or phrases constituting a sentence is a word or phrase to be played back by recorded-speech-playback or a word or phrase to be played back by text-to-speech. When each of the plurality of words or phrases is to be played back in a first sequence using the determined synthesis method, it is selected whether to playback each of the plurality of words or phrases in the first sequence or a sequence different from the first sequence, based on the number of times of reversing playback using recorded-speech-playback and playback using text-to-speech. Each of the plurality of words or phrases is played back in the selected sequence using the selected synthesis method.

Claims

1. A speech processing apparatus which generates guidance speech corresponding to user operation using a speech synthesis unit configured to perform speech synthesis while selectively changing recorded-speech-playback and text-to-speech, the apparatus comprising:

a guidance holding unit that holds

(i) a first guidance including fixed portions indicating fixed messages, and a first variable portion, and a second variable portion, wherein the first variable portion and the second variable portion are located between the fixed portions and indicate that a first message and a second message corresponding to user operation are inserted,

(ii) a second guidance that has the second variable portion located at the end of a fixed portion and is synonymous with the first guidance, and

(iii) a third guidance which has the first variable portion located at the end of a fixed portion and is synonymous with the first guidance;

an entry holding unit that holds a set of entries in which spellings, pronunciations of the spellings, and pieces of speech based on the pronunciations which are associated with user operation are configured to be registered; and

an acquisition unit that acquires an entry corresponding to operation performed by a user from said entry holding unit,

wherein, based on a number of times of changing between the recorded-speech-playback and the text-to-speech when performing speech synthesis, said speech synthesizer unit applies;

the first guidance if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the first guidance is less than a predetermined number,

the second guidance if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the first guidance is not less than the predetermined number, and if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the second guidance is less than the predetermined number, and

the third guidance if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the first guidance is not less than the predetermined number, and if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the second guidance is not less than the predetermined number, and if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the third guidance is less than the predetermined number.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communication unit configured to perform network communication,

wherein the user operation includes an operation associated with network communication, and

wherein said entry holding unit comprises an address book for network communication.

3. A speech processing method of generating guidance speech corresponding to user operation by controlling a speech processing apparatus having

a guidance holding unit that holds

(i) a first guidance including fixed portions indicating fixed messages, and a first variable portion, and a second variable portion, wherein the first variable portion and the second variable portion are located between the fixed portions and indicate that a first message and a second message corresponding to user operation are inserted,

(ii) a second guidance that has the second variable portion located at the end of a fixed portion and is synonymous with the first guidance, and

(iii) a third guidance which has the first variable portion located at the end of a fixed portion and is synonymous with the first guidance;

an entry holding unit that holds a set of entries in which spellings, pronunciations of the spellings, and pieces of speech based on the pronunciations which are associated with user operation are configured to be registered, and a speech synthesis unit that performs speech synthesis while selectively changing recorded-speech-playback and text-to-speech, the method comprising the steps of;

acquiring an entry corresponding to an operation performed by a user from the entry holding unit; and

applying, based on a number of times of changing between the recorded-speech-playback and the text-to-speech when performing speech synthesis;

the first guidance if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the first guidance is less than a predetermined number,

the second guidance if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the first guidance is not less than the predetermined number, and if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the second guidance is less than the predetermined number, and

the third guidance if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the first guidance is not less than the predetermined number, and if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the second guidance is not less than the predetermined number, and if the number of times of changing when performing speech synthesis using the third guidance is less than the predetermined number.

4. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program that causes a computer to execute a speech processing method defined in claim 3.