Auditory-articulatory analysis for speech quality assessment
View Patent ↗Auditory-articulatory analysis for use in speech quality assessment. Articulatory analysis is based on a comparison between powers associated with articulation and non-articulation frequency ranges of a speech signal. Neither source speech nor an estimate of the source speech is utilized in articulatory analysis. Articulatory analysis comprises the steps of comparing articulation power and non-articulation power of a speech signal, and assessing speech quality based on the comparison, wherein articulation and non-articulation powers are powers associated with articulation and non-articulation frequency ranges of the speech signal.
1. A method of performing auditory-articulatory analysis comprising the steps of:
comparing an articulation power and a non-articulation power for a speech signal, wherein the articulation and non-articulation powers are powers associated with articulation and non-articulation frequencies of the speech signal; and
assessing speech quality based on the comparison between the articulation and non-articulation powers.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the articulation frequencies are approximately 2˜12.5 Hz.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the articulation frequencies correspond approximately to a speed of human articulation.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the non-articulation frequencies are approximately greater than the articulation frequencies.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the comparison between the articulation power and non-articulation power is a ratio between the articulation power and non-articulation power.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the ratio includes a denominator and numerator, the numerator including the articulation power and a small constant, the denominator including the non-articulation power plus the small constant.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the comparison between the articulation power and non-articulation power is a difference between the articulation power and non-articulation power.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of assessing speech quality includes the step of:
determining a local speech quality using the comparison between the articulation and non-articulation powers.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the local speech quality is further determined using a weighing factor based on a DC-component power.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein an overall speech quality is determined using the local speech quality.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the overall speech quality is further determined using a log power P s .
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein an overall speech quality is determined using a log power P s .
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of comparing includes the step of:
performing a Fourier transform on each of a plurality of envelopes obtained from a plurality of critical band signals.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of comparing includes the step of:
filtering the speech signal to obtain a plurality of critical band signals.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the step of comparing includes the step of:
performing an envelope analysis on the plurality of critical band signals to obtain a plurality of modulation spectrums.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of comparing includes the step of:
performing a Fourier transform on each of the plurality of modulation spectrums.