Verbal, fully automatic dictionary updates by end-users of speech synthesis and recognition systems
First Claim
1. A method of allowing an end-user of a text-to-speech system or a speech recognition system to verbally update a phonetic dictionary, comprising the steps of:
- recording a verbal pronunciation of at least one word, as spoken by the user;
generating a phonetic transcription of the at least one word based on the verbal pronunciation;
augmenting the phonetic transcription with syllable stress markers based on the verbal pronunciation; and
entering the phonetic transcription into the dictionary.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system that allows users, or maintainers, of a speech-based application to revise the phonetic transcription of words in a phonetic dictionary, or to add transcriptions for words not yet present in the dictionary. The application is assumed to communicate with the user or maintainer audibly by means of speech recognition and/or speech synthesis systems, both of which rely on a dictionary of phonetic transcriptions to accurately recognize speech and pronunciation of a given word. The method automatically determines the phonetic transcription based on the word'"'"'s spelling and the recorded preferred pronunciation, and updates the dictionary accordingly. Moreover, both speech synthesis and recognition performance are improved through use of the updated dictionary.
264 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of allowing an end-user of a text-to-speech system or a speech recognition system to verbally update a phonetic dictionary, comprising the steps of:
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recording a verbal pronunciation of at least one word, as spoken by the user; generating a phonetic transcription of the at least one word based on the verbal pronunciation; augmenting the phonetic transcription with syllable stress markers based on the verbal pronunciation; and entering the phonetic transcription into the dictionary. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An article of manufacture for allowing an end-user of a text-to-speech system or a speech recognition system to verbally update a phonetic dictionary, comprising:
a computer readable medium having computer readable program code stored therein, the computer readable code for causing a computer system to receive a speech signal corresponding to at least one word spoken by the end-user, convert the speech signal into a phonetic transcription of the at least one word augment the phonetic transcription with syllable stress markers based on the speech signal, and enter the phonetic transcription into the dictionary.
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9. A method for a text-to-speech (TTS) system to update individual entries in a phonetic dictionary, comprising the steps of:
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receiving an indication from an end-user that the TTS system has mispronounced at least one word; after receiving said indication, recording a verbal pronunciation of the at least one word as spoken by the end-user; determining a phonetic transcription that corresponds to the at least one word as spoken by the end-user; and storing the phonetic transcription in the dictionary. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for a speech recognition system to update individual entries in a phonetic dictionary, comprising the steps of:
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receiving an indication from an end-user that a phonetic transcription of at least one word in the dictionary should be updated; after receiving said indication, recording a verbal pronunciation of the at least one word as spoken by the end-user; determining a phonetic transcription that corresponds to the at least one word as spoken by the end-user; and storing the phonetic transcription in the dictionary. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for allowing an end-user of a text-to-speech system or a speech recognition system to verbally update a phonetic dictionary, comprising:
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a memory device storing the phonetic dictionary; a processor in communication with said memory device, the processor configured to receive a recorded verbal pronunciation of at least one word, as spoken by the end-user, generate a phonetic transcription of the at least one word based on the verbal pronunciation, augment the phonetic transcription with syllable stress markers based on the verbal pronunciation, and enter the phonetic transcription into the dictionary. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification