Method and apparatus for generating synthetic speech with contrastive stress
View Patent ↗Techniques for generating synthetic speech with contrastive stress. In one aspect, a speech-enabled application generates a text input including a text transcription of a desired speech output, and inputs the text input to a speech synthesis system. The synthesis system generates an audio speech output corresponding to at least a portion of the text input, with at least one portion carrying contrastive stress, and provides the audio speech output for the speech-enabled application. In another aspect, a speech-enabled application inputs a plurality of text strings, each corresponding to a portion of a desired speech output, to a software module for rendering contrastive stress. The software module identifies a plurality of audio recordings that render at least one portion of at least one of the text strings as speech carrying contrastive stress. The speech-enabled application generates an audio speech output corresponding to the desired speech output using the audio recordings.
1. A method for providing speech output for a speech-enabled application, the method comprising:
receiving from the speech-enabled application a text input comprising a text transcription of a desired speech output;
identifying at least one first portion of at least one token of the text input that differs from at least one corresponding first portion of at least one other token of the text input, and at least one second portion of the at least one token that does not differ from at least one corresponding second portion of the at least one other token;
assigning contrastive stress to the identified at least one first portion of the at least one token, but not to the identified at least one second portion of the at least one token;
generating, using at least one computer system, an audio speech output corresponding to at least a portion of the text input, the audio speech output comprising at least one portion carrying contrastive stress corresponding to the at least one first portion of the at least one token of the text input, to contrast with at least one other portion of the audio speech output corresponding to the at least one corresponding first portion of the at least one other token of the text input; and
providing the audio speech output for the speech-enabled application.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying comprises:
identifying a plurality of tokens of the text input of a same text normalization type for which a contrastive stress pattern is to be applied; and
identifying the at least one token to be rendered with contrastive stress from among the plurality of tokens of the same text normalization type.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the same text normalization type is a text normalization type selected from the group consisting of: an alphanumeric sequence type, an address type, a Boolean value type, a currency type, a date type, a digit sequence type, a fractional number type, a proper name type, a number type, an ordinal number type, a telephone number type, a flight number type, a state name type, a street name type, a street number type, a time type and a zipcode type.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of tokens are identified based at least in part on at least one indication in the text input that the contrastive stress pattern is desired in association with the plurality of tokens.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the at least one indication comprises at least one Speech Synthesis Markup Language tag.
6. The method of claim 2 , wherein identifying the plurality of tokens comprises:
tokenizing the text input;
automatically identifying the text normalization type of the plurality of tokens; and
automatically determining that the contrastive stress pattern is to be applied for the plurality of tokens.
7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one token to be rendered with contrastive stress is identified based at least in part on an order of the plurality of tokens in the text input.
8. Apparatus for providing speech output for a speech-enabled application, the apparatus comprising:
a memory storing a plurality of processor-executable instructions; and
at least one processor, operatively coupled to the memory, that executes the instructions to:
receive from the speech-enabled application a text input comprising a text transcription of a desired speech output;
identify at least one first portion of at least one token of the text input that differs from at least one corresponding first portion of at least one other token of the text input, and at least one second portion of the at least one token that does not differ from at least one corresponding second portion of the at least one other token;
assign contrastive stress to the identified at least one first portion of the at least one token, but not to the identified at least one second portion of the at least one token;
generate an audio speech output corresponding to at least a portion of the text input, the audio speech output comprising at least one portion carrying contrastive stress corresponding to the at least one first portion of the at least one token of the text input, to contrast with at least one other portion of the audio speech output corresponding to the at least one corresponding first portion of the at least one other token of the text input; and
provide the audio speech output for the speech-enabled application.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor executes the instructions to identify the at least one token at least in part by:
identifying a plurality of tokens of the text input of a same text normalization type for which a contrastive stress pattern is to be applied; and
identifying the at least one token to be rendered with contrastive stress from among the plurality of tokens of the same text normalization type.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the same text normalization type is a text normalization type selected from the group consisting of: an alphanumeric sequence type, an address type, a Boolean value type, a currency type, a date type, a digit sequence type, a fractional number type, a proper name type, a number type, an ordinal number type, a telephone number type, a flight number type, a state name type, a street name type, a street number type, a time type and a zipcode type.
11. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor executes the instructions to identify the plurality of tokens based at least in part on at least one indication in the text input that the contrastive stress pattern is desired in association with the plurality of tokens.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the at least one indication comprises at least one Speech Synthesis Markup Language tag.
13. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor executes the instructions to identify the plurality of tokens at least in part by:
tokenizing the text input;
automatically identifying the text normalization type of the plurality of tokens; and
automatically determining that the contrastive stress pattern is to be applied for the plurality of tokens.
14. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a plurality of computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform a method for providing speech output for a speech-enabled application, the method comprising:
receiving from the speech-enabled application a text input comprising a text transcription of a desired speech output;
identifying at least one first portion of at least one token of the text input that differs from at least one corresponding first portion of at least one other token of the text input, and at least one second portion of the at least one token that does not differ from at least one corresponding second portion of the at least one other token;
assigning contrastive stress to the identified at least one first portion of the at least one token, but not to the identified at least one second portion of the at least one token;
generating an audio speech output corresponding to at least a portion of the text input, the audio speech output comprising at least one portion carrying contrastive stress corresponding to the at least one first portion of the at least one token of the text input, to contrast with at least one other portion of the audio speech output corresponding to the at least one corresponding first portion of the at least one other token of the text input; and
providing the audio speech output for the speech-enabled application.
15. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the identifying comprises:
identifying a plurality of tokens of the text input of a same text normalization type for which a contrastive stress pattern is to be applied; and
identifying the at least one token to be rendered with contrastive stress from among the plurality of tokens of the same text normalization type.
16. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the same text normalization type is a text normalization type selected from the group consisting of: an alphanumeric sequence type, an address type, a Boolean value type, a currency type, a date type, a digit sequence type, a fractional number type, a proper name type, a number type, an ordinal number type, a telephone number type, a flight number type, a state name type, a street name type, a street number type, a time type and a zipcode type.
17. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of tokens are identified based at least in part on at least one indication in the text input that the contrastive stress pattern is desired in association with the plurality of tokens.
18. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the at least one indication comprises at least one Speech Synthesis Markup Language tag.
19. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein identifying the plurality of tokens comprises:
tokenizing the text input;
automatically identifying the text normalization type of the plurality of tokens; and
automatically determining that the contrastive stress pattern is to be applied for the plurality of tokens.
20. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the at least one token to be rendered with contrastive stress is identified based at least in part on an order of the plurality of tokens in the text input.