Method and apparatus to model and transfer the prosody of tags across languages
A method of transferring the prosody of tag questions across languages includes extracting prosodic parameters of speech in a first language having a tag question and mapping the prosodic parameters to speech segments in a second language corresponding to the tag question. Accordingly, semantic and pragmatic intent of the tag question in the first language may be correctly conveyed in the second language.
1. A method to model and transfer the prosody of tag questions across languages, the method comprising:
receiving speech of a first person speaking in a first language;
analyzing the speech in the first language using automatic speech recognition;
extracting prosodic parameters of the speech in the first language and outputting text in the first language corresponding to the speech in the first language based on the analyzing;
searching the speech in the first language for a tag question in the first language;
translating the text in the first language to text in a second language;
outputting translated speech in the second language that is translated from the speech in the first language based on the translated text in the second language;
analyzing the speech in the first language to find speech segments that correspond to the tag question in the first language;
extracting a fundamental frequency from the speech segments that correspond to the tag question in the first language based on the extracted prosodic parameters of the speech in the first language;
fitting a stylized smooth contour to the fundamental frequency;
mapping the stylized smooth contour into a corresponding part of pitch range of the speech in the second language;
stretching or contracting the stylized smooth contour over time;
aligning the stylized smooth contour with corresponding speech segments in the second language that correspond to the tag question; and
applying the smooth contour to the speech in the second language.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stylized smooth contour is a cubic spline.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first language is English.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the second language is a language other than English.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tag question is a grammatical structure in which a declarative statement or an imperative is turned into a question by adding an interrogative fragment.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the prosodic parameters comprise at least one of pitch, pitch range, variability within the pitch range, and speech rate.